| 100% | THEMAGICIANS | 12 | Lev Grossman novel set in a school for aspiring sorcerers (2 wds.) |
| 46% | THENICKELBOYS | 13 | 2019 Colson Whitehead novel set in a Florida reform school (3 wds.) |
| 46% | THENICKELBOYS | 13 | Colson Whitehead novel set in a Florida reform school (3 wds.) |
| 44% | NIGHTWATCH | 10 | Jayne Anne Phillips novel set in a post-Civil War asylum that's on the longlist for the 2023 National Book Award for Fiction (2 wds.) |
| 43% | NEEDFULTHINGS | 13 | Stephen King novel set in a gift shop (2 wds.) |
| 42% | THEBRIGHTSWORD | 14 | Lev Grossman novel about a knight who arrives in Camelot after the death of King Arthur (3 wds.) |
| 41% | TEENWOLF | 8 | 1985 Michael J. Fox film set in a high school (2 wds.) |
| 41% | ALLTHAT | 7 | "She's ___," 1999 rom-com set in a high school featuring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Cook: 2 wds. |
| 40% | PLAYMONEY | 9 | Cash in a Monopoly set, for example: 2 wds. |
| 40% | THESCHOLOMANCE | 14 | Trilogy of novels by 27-Across set in a magic school (2 wds.) |
| 39% | EMPRESSORCHID | 13 | Anchee Min historical novel set in China that has a flower in its title (2 wds) |
| 38% | FOODFIGHT | 9 | Messy battle in a school cafeteria: 2 wds. |
| 38% | MYSTICRIVER | 11 | 2003 movie set in Boston, for which Sean Penn and Tim Robbins each won a 1-Across: 2 wds. |
| 37% | DOCTORZHIVAGO | 13 | 1957 novel set in early 20th-century Russia: 2 wds. |
| 37% | WHITEOLEANDER | 13 | Janet Fitch coming-of-age novel set in Los Angeles that has a flower in its title (2 wds.) |
| 36% | SOUTHPARK | 9 | Animated Comedy Central series set in a small town in Colorado: 2 wds. |
| 36% | NURSEJACKIE | 11 | Showtime comedy-drama set in a hospital that ended this summer: 2 wds. |
| 36% | ANIMALDREAMS | 12 | 1990 Barbara Kingsolver novel set in Arizona that explores Native American themes: 2 wds. |
| 36% | SALADFORK | 9 | Utensil on the far left in a standard place setting: 2 wds. |
| 35% | WHITEFANG | 9 | Title wolf/dog hybrid in a Jack London novel: 2 wds. |
| 35% | THEBLACKTULIP | 13 | Alexandre Dumas historical novel set in Holland that has a flower in its title (3 wds.) |
| 35% | SULA | 4 | 1973 novel set in "the Bottom," a neighborhood slated to be demolished for a golf course |
| 35% | THESILVERARROW | 14 | Lev Grossman novel about a girl whose rich uncle sends her a steam locomotive with special powers (3 wds.) |
| 35% | STEVECARELL | 11 | "The Office" actor who's dancing in a school bus in Pharrell Williams' "Happy" video: 2 wds. |
| 34% | WAYSIDESCHOOL | 13 | Setting for a series of novels by 30-Across (2 wds.) |
| 34% | SAGHARBOR | 9 | Colson Whitehead novel set in the Hamptons (2 wds.) |
| 34% | CAKEBOSS | 8 | Reality show set in a bake shop (2 wds.) |
| 34% | AMYANDISABELLE | 14 | Elizabeth Strout novel set in the fictional town of Shirley Falls about a mother and daughter (3 wds.) |
| 34% | TROPICTHUNDER | 13 | 2008 movie with Frat Packers Jack Black and Ben Stiller that's set in a jungle: 2 wds. |
| 34% | AMERICANRUST | 12 | Novel by 31-Across set in a declining Pennsylvania steel town (2 wds.) |