In Year ofthe Griffin, universal themes of social equality and justice blend richly with some typical concerns of young adults. The novel incorporates the questions of how to adjust to a new school and survive away from home and family for the first time. As new students might do, the six major characters seek friends and even romantic partners. They learn to fit in with the group, cope with different teachers and situations, and explore their identities through relationships and the learning process.

In her treatment of these issues, Jones does not ignore the usual pitfalls of campus life. There are occasions, for example, when wine flows freely. However, the wizard Corkoran, rather than a student, is depicted drowning his sorrows in it. Elda crouches against a wall on another occasion, "sipping beer through a straw and wondering what humans saw in it." Campus cheating is...