The Magicians

The Magicians by Lev Grossman, 402 pages

Since he was a small child, Quentin has been obsessed with the Narnia-esque world of Fillory, brought to life through a series of kids' books. When he's a senior in high school, he learns that magic is real and that Fillory may not be as fictitious as he once thought. He's soon admitted to Brakebills, a mysterious and highly competitive magical university, where he learns to hone his magical abilities, particularly while dealing with the massive hangovers he gets from hanging out with his close-knit group of carousing friends.

Since a large chunk of this book involves a regular person suddenly gaining entry into a previously unknown magical world, there are plenty of comparisons between The Magicians and Harry Potter. But make no mistake: the sex, drugs, alcohol, and gritty danger of The Magicians make it a poor comparison. Both the Magicians trilogy (of which this is Book 1) and the Harry Potter series have their place in the world of fantasy novels, and both are fantastic, (and yes, both involve magical schools) but that's about all they have in common. I can't wait to see what's next in this thoroughly engrossing series.