The Magicians by Lev Grossman is a fantasy book that involves magic and a world different from Earth.  The main character is Quentin, and he is a very smart student.  He excels at math of any kind, and he loves Latin exams and speaking contests, and has many friends that are smart like he is.  But he believes his life is boring because ever since he has read Christopher Plover's Fillory book series, he wants to learn magic, and his life in Brooklyn can't give him that.  But one day, when a paper flies from his hands, he goes through a forest of plants and old vines to find himself in Upstate New York at the magical academy called Brakebills.  After being accepted into the school after a very strange entry exam, he finally learns that magic is real, and very deadly.

After Quentin has spent a number of years at Brakebills learning about magic and almost all of its properties, he finally graduates with his new friends and they all live in the same apartment somewhere in New York.  They realize, however, that there is more to life than what they see.  When a lost friend comes and finds them, they bring with them a world full of possibility and danger.  Fillory is real, and it is not a world to be underestimated. Follow Quentin, his friends, and all his adventures in Lev Grossman's The Magicians, which is a young adult rated book.