Your ultimate SFF Back to School Reading List
It’s that time of year again, with everyone running to buy new school shoes and packed lunch supplies ready to go back to school. Time to choose your next read is non-existent, so let us decide for you with this guide to what to pick up next based on your favourite school subject.
Maths: The Devil’s Playbook by Markus Heitz
Gambling requires a head for numbers, and when retired gambler Tadeus Boch comes into the possession of a mysterious playing card needed to play a game they say was created by the Devil himself, he’ll need all of his mathematical ability to protect the highest stake he’s ever wagered: his life.
English: The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
There’s nothing that says English more than poetry, and this gorgeously written, lyrical debut from the bestselling co-author of This Is How You Lose The Time War explores the power of verse and fairy tales with all the comfort of a classic.
Biology: Shark Heart by Emily Habeck
Featuring a marine biologist’s favourite animal, this moving and heartfelt novel follows the relationship between Wren and Lewis, who has received a rare and devastating diagnosis: he’s turning into a great white shark.
Chemistry: The Never List by Jade Presley
Romantasy books are always full of chemistry but The Never List takes this to the next level, with not one but four incredible love interests for our main character, Rylee.
Physics: Esperance by Adam Oyebanji
A mysterious woman who claims to be from Nigeria, but who has high-tech gadgets and extraordinary physical abilities that seem not of this world, raises questions about time and space itself in this gripping speculative thriller about the scars left by the Atlantic slave trade.
History: The Shocking Experiments of Miss Mary Bennet by Melinda Taub
Frankenstein meets Fingersmith in this queer reimagining of Pride and Prejudice, in which the ignored Mary Bennet seeks to escape the marriage mart of regency England by burying herself in the science of reanimating the dead.
Geography: When There Are Wolves Again by Emma Swift
An extraordinary speculative novel of past, present and future, this ultimately hopeful novel about climate change focuses on the reintroduction of wolves to Britain so it perfect for geography lovers.
Classics: Wearing the Lion by John Wiswell
Every classicist knows the story of Heracles. But in John Wiswell’s gentle interpretation of Greek mythology, Heracles may not be quite like you expect.
Media Studies: The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
An epic, historical drama set in Golden Age Hollywood, this spellbinding novel about an unknown actress’s rise to stardom and the jealous bit player who will do anything to win the fame she believes she deserves will satisfy any film buff.
Psychology: The Malevolent Eight by Sebastien de Castell
A band of emotionally unstable mages, who are determined to bring peace no matter how many people they have to kill first, lead the charge (and the grounds for psychoanalysis) in this irreverently humorous and action-packed epic fantasy.
Sex Education: Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube Twenty-year-old Tem must train with a basilisk to learn the power of seduction and win the prince’s hand in marriage in this eye-opening, not-safe-for-work romantasy that will definitely teach you a thing or two!
Happy reading!
Gaby Puleston-Vaudrey
Assistant Editor, Arcadia Books
