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While you may have been enjoying your time this summer bed rotting and doomscrolling, for those thinking about fall rush — as a PNM, an active, or just a RushTok lurker — it might be time to lock in. Even if you’ve already picked your outfits, checked out your university’s Panhellenic site, and maybe even practiced some Q&As, Greek life is about more than just that. Spending time to understand why or why not someone chooses to rush, the dos and don’ts of Greek life, how to utilize your time in your house, and so on, are all additional ways you can prepare for this new stage in life. One way to do all this and more is by reading books about Greek life.
From serious nonfiction memoirs to juicy novels about made-up sorority drama, these books about Greek life cover a whole spectrum. Whether you’re looking for deep, insightful exploration of the implications of the Greek system, or you just want a frothy read to get you in the right mindset for bid day (because you can only watch Legally Blonde so many times), I’ve got you covered.
Check out the below list and get ready to go Greek — at least, with your reading list, that is.
Rush: A Novel follows the fictional Cali, a rising freshman, and Wilda, an alum and rush advisor, during their time at Ole Miss within the Greek system. Patton offers a nuanced, heartfelt, and uplifting look at the relationships between women, and especially between mothers and daughters, in the cutthroat world of sorority rush.
This New York Times bestseller by Alexandra Robbins is a behind-the-scenes look at all things sorority. Robbins asks questions about stereotypes, sisterhood, eating disorders, beauty standards, and the desire to belong. With a mix of narrative and reporting, Pledged keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, following Robbins along as a fellow fly on the wall.
Jana Matthews went from her position as a new professor to a faculty advisor for a National Panhellenic Conference sorority, giving her an opportunity to get to know her students further. In this nonfiction book, Matthews combined her experiences with Greek life, personal observations, and research in the fields of sociology, economics, and cognitive psychology to examine how majority-white Greek organizations can influence college campuses.
In Laura Kasischke’s novel that’s chock-full of suspense, sorority sister Nicole Werner is killed in a car crash that leaves her boyfriend strangely unharmed. After a year of mourning, a rumor spreads that Nicole is, somehow, back.
When Taylor, an outsider within her Kappa Chi sorority, is dared to seduce Conor Edwards, a hockey player and actual player, he humors her request to follow along, and even suggests that the two fake a relationship to get back at her sorority sisters. The real question is: How long can this go on? And why is something deeper brewing under the surface?
This national bestseller by Lawrence C. Ross Jr. offers a comprehensive history on African American fraternities and sororities, many of which made way for leaders such as Kamala Harris, Toni Morrison, and Colin Kaepernick. These frats and sororities provided opportunities and support, while also pioneering work in the suffragette movement, the Civil Rights Movement, and more, with America’s nine black fraternities and sororities being millions-strong, with chapters nationwide.
Kristin Griffith shares her story of self-discovery from growing up in the Bible Belt to her time in university in St. Louis, where she realized she might be gay. In her book, Griffith experiences the highs and lows of sorority life, which includes homophobia among other staples of Greek life culture. Griffith allows an intimate look into her coming-out journey and explores how that impacted her time in a sorority.
In this novella, Katie is the sweet sorority pledge fresh off a breakup, meaning she’ll be showing up without some arm candy to a party. This is where Andrew Baschnagel comes in, who’s had a crush on her for months. The two are set up on a blind date, and everything goes from there.
Comedian Sophie Santos takes the reader through her life, growing up in majority white communities and attempting to fit in wherever she went, including college. She became a tomboy misfit, a beauty pageant queen, and a stereotypical sorority girl at the University of Alabama, until eventually going on her own journey of self-discovery that later led her to the New York comedy scene.
In this fictional story, Candace Swain left a sorority party one night and was never seen again. Her body was found after two weeks, but the investigation stopped there. Lucas Vega creates a podcast, alongside guest lecturer and former U.S. marshal Regan Merritt, to revisit the case — one that has haunted him for years — and slowly begins to pick apart the secret life of Candace. But the deeper he goes, the more his life is in danger.
Diana B. Turk delves into the history of the women’s Greek system, exploring how the earliest women’s fraternities (later referred to as sororities) came to be and the values and purposes they were built upon. From here, the reader sees how these orgs developed over time, forging connections that gave many women a leg up when securing career, financial, and emotional security when maneuvering through turn-of-the-century America.
