Crave by Tracy Wolff is a Young Adult paranormal romance/fantasy novel published in 2020. The story follows protagonist Grace Foster, a 17-year-old girl from San Diego, California, who is sent to a remote boarding school in Alaska after her parents’ death. Crave is the first novel in the #1 New York Times Bestselling Crave series; the book was also an Amazon Best YA Book of 2020, Glitter magazine’s #1 Pick for Best YA of 2020, and a popular BookTok read. In 2022, Universal Studios made a film adaptation of Crave, which is available on YouTube.

This study guide refers to the 2020 eBook edition published by Entangled Publishing.

Content Warning: This guide discusses death, violence, blood, and sexual activity.

Plot Summary

The novel is narrated from Grace’s first-person, past-tense perspective. After her parents’ death in a car accident, 17-year-old Grace Foster is sent from her hometown of San Diego to live with her Uncle Finn and cousin Macy in Fairbanks, Alaska. There, she attends the elite boarding school Katmere Academy, of which her uncle is the headmaster. Grace is entranced by the harsh Alaskan wilderness and Gothic castle school though she senses that something is strange about her environment.

On Grace’s first evening on campus, an alluring male student approaches Grace. Though she doesn’t know, he’s Jaxon Vega, the most powerful vampire in the school. He warns her about the school’s dangers, telling her to leave immediately. He is rude, but Grace stands up to him, which surprises Jaxon. Grace feels a strong magnetism toward him but doesn’t want to acknowledge it. That night, two boys attack her, dragging her out into the snow. Jaxon saves her, though Grace doesn’t know it was him.

Grace is plagued by altitude sickness and other mishaps, like hurting her ankle during a snowball fight. Macy and Flint, her easygoing, funny friends, help Grace acclimate to the school, which has distinct cliques that don’t interact. Jaxon’s black-clothed group is called The Order, and they don’t mingle with anyone.

Grace explores the library and meets Lia, who is chanting a strange language from a book. Lia kindly invites Grace for tea and reveals that her boyfriend, Hudson Vega, died last year. He was Jaxon’s older brother. Grace and Lia bond over grief since Grace misses her parents.

Grace notices that Jaxon never eats and makes jokes about biting. She figures out that he’s a vampire, and he admits it. They have gotten closer, and the other students are surprised at how Jaxon cares for her since he is usually cold. Grace isn’t scared of him, though it takes her a while to accept that Katmere Academy is full of supernatural students. Macy confirms that Grace is the only human. Everyone else falls into categories of witches (like Macy), vampires (like Jaxon and Lia), dragons (like Flint), wolf-shifters (like the boys who attacked her).

In the cafeteria one day, Flint tells Grace to sit with him, and the chandelier almost falls on her. Jaxon believes someone tried to kill her. He tracks down the werewolves, who he thinks are responsible. Using telekinesis, Jaxon throws werewolves around the room. He sinks his teeth into the lead werewolf, nearly killing him, until Grace yells for him to stop. Jaxon thinks Grace will fear him now, but instead, she is attracted to his protectiveness. They kiss passionately, which causes earthquakes from Jaxon’s power.

When Grace asks about Hudson, Jaxon explains that Hudson had the power to control others. Hudson wanted the vampires to rule everyone, starting a rift between all other supernatural beings. Jaxon killed Hudson to stop his power-hungry rampage. Jaxon is the next Vampire King now. Jaxon’s mother, the Vampire Queen, blames him for Hudson’s death; she scratched Jaxon, leaving a scar running down the side of his face.

One night, Jaxon serves Grace tea that Lia brought as a peace offering. After they drink the tea, Jaxon becomes possessed by fury. He nearly hurts Grace, but he controls his power enough for her to run away. Grace, who is woozy and poisoned from the tea, is ambushed by Lia, who knocks her out.

Grace awakens in the tunnels under the school. She’s tied up on an altar, and Lia explains that she will be sacrificed in a spell to bring Hudson back. Lia tells Grace she’s not an ordinary human, which Grace doesn’t understand. Jaxon and Flint arrive, but Flint is in his dragon form and wants to kill Grace before Lia can fulfill her plan. Flint and the other dragons have been trying to kill Grace since the beginning to keep Hudson from returning and destroying the world.

In a tough battle, Jaxon subdues dragon Flint, then attacks Lia. When Jaxon is injured, Grace cuts herself and lets Jaxon drink her blood to survive. They stop Lia’s spell, causing her to evaporate into dust. A few days later, magic smoke appears in Hudson’s form, brandishing a sword to attack Jaxon. Grace activates a power she didn’t know she had to protect Jaxon; she covers Jaxon, blocking Hudson’s attack, and turning to stone. Jaxon carries Grace, in her new form as a gargoyle, to the infirmary. Grace’s Uncle Finn assures Jaxon they will find a way to break Grace out of her gargoyle form.