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A teen’s attempt to turn grief into a list of brave experiences drives this novel. Drawing, friendship, family strain and a developing crush all shape Georgia’s search for what living fully means to her.

Gerald’s loyalty to Angel and efforts to withstand abuse sit alongside bereavement and family instability. The story also includes trusted support from Aunt Queen and Mr Washington, rather than focusing only on danger.

A nature-rich animal adventure follows a young vole family travelling in search of safety.

Expect a mystery-driven adventure grounded in Ranofer’s aspiration to practise goldsmithing and his effort to expose his half-brother’s theft. The ancient Egyptian setting is described in substantial detail.

This is a bleak but ultimately hopeful family story: the children’s resourcefulness and the quiet help they receive are set against hardship and cruelty in their community.

This historical adventure centres on a child facing a frightening wartime decision: whether to carry out her mother's order to destroy the shipyard they have been left to protect.

A linked fantasy collection with different heroines and challenges: a rescue journey, a princess finding her own magical abilities, and a girl learning to manage dragon transformations.

A determined girl searches for her missing father in a forest associated with a deadly beast, in a magical Beauty and the Beast retelling.

This is a Cambodian Cinderella retelling centred on Angkat’s endurance of family-caused wrongs and her effort to regain her rightful place.

The story follows CC as she considers her future, guided by an ancient book, alongside children from different backgrounds. Its historical notes may add context to the adventure.

This is a fantasy adventure about training for a war, but it also puts Evie's ideas about princesshood, family and compassion under pressure.

This is a fantasy adventure that pairs a missing-sister search with a wider threat to a kingdom. Collun's belief that he is a coward gives his journey a personal challenge as well as external dangers.

This is a mother-daughter adventure in which a princess's choices have consequences for her family and kingdom. Bravery and the mother-daughter bond are central to its premise.

This blends a child’s worry about a missing parent with a story-within-the-story about Marco Polo. The historical adventures give Mark something absorbing to follow while he waits.

This is a fantasy adventure about a newly adopted child who discovers a hidden connection to his family’s past and chooses to help someone trapped in another world.

This is a family-and-friendship story about a boy facing a personal challenge: finding the courage to express his feelings. Its emotional centre appears to be Louis's inner experience.

A fantasy quest puts a timid sister in an unfamiliar role: seeking a cure while facing dangers she feels unready for. Sisterly devotion and the search for courage are central.

This is a magical-creature adventure built around a hidden sanctuary, family ties and rules that can be broken. Its central conflict grows from a threat to the refuge and Kendra’s need to face her fears.

Grandpa recounts pioneer experiences, and Janie draws encouragement from the hardships those early settlers endured.

A steampunk family adventure centres on Maggie’s loyalty to Lizzie as a reunion gives way to suspicions, family mysteries and danger.

This is a science-fiction adventure about a would-be pilot investigating her father’s wartime actions while confronting unsettling discoveries about her world.

This is a wartime friendship story in which childhood play sits alongside an attempt to track down Nazi spies. Cory’s desire to be brave is tested by mistakes and hurtful choices.

At its heart, this is a story about a young adventurer reconsidering solitude and facing a test of courage while travelling with two horses.

A fantasy quest centres on a girl whose unusual ability to understand dragons may help her find a way to aid someone she loves.

This is an imaginative fairy-tale adventure about family, friendship and finding missing people, combining modern Virginia with an older magical world. Its shifting settings, time structure and recognisable story figures may appeal to readers who enjoy elaborate retellings.

Expect an imaginative fantasy journey centred on a brother and sister. Alongside crystal landscapes, unusual characters and confrontations, the book explores family strain, inner fears, courage, forgiveness and finding a sense of home.

This is a concise, illustrated Christian biography combining life events with Calvin’s writings, ministry, theology and sixteenth-century setting. It includes personal relationships, bereavement and illness, while presenting Calvin within a distinctly Reformed understanding of church history.

A culturally rooted fantasy adventure combining Filipino mythology, humour, friendship and a quest involving a stolen soul key. It places grief and family longing alongside supernatural peril, while presenting courage, empathy, gratitude and teamwork as important values.

A lively mystery set around art, deception and relationships, with a bold young investigator at its centre. Alongside suspense, it explores artistic value, loyalty, jealousy and the difference between legal wrongdoing and deeper moral harm.

Expect a tense wartime adventure centred on a boy whose loyalty is unsettled by family revelations and encounters with Nazi brutality. Its main appeal is the combination of suspense, historical setting and moral awakening rather than light-hearted adventure.

This is a quest fantasy in which music has unusual power and animals’ inner voices matter. Its imaginative conflict is paired with emotionally weighty separations, giving the adventure a tender as well as threatening atmosphere.

A vivid fantasy about discovering belonging, forming friendships and investigating a magical mystery. Its imaginative school setting and chapter-ending tension may draw readers onwards, but Harry’s neglect, bereavement and frightening final confrontation give the adventure a darker emotional edge.

This is a compact, straightforward adventure about caring for wildlife when family work and personal convictions pull in different directions. Mystery and pursuit keep the story moving, while Maya’s choices centre responsibility, trust and competing needs.

This is a high-stakes survival story about three teenagers fleeing danger, with friendship and hope providing emotional counterweights to fear, loss and an uncertain journey.

A lively family adventure pairs a serious kidnapping situation with comic sibling behaviour and improvised plans. The children’s contrasting personalities drive much of the story, especially during their confinement and attempts to influence or outwit their captors.

Expect a historical adventure centred on Sally and Roger, their mother’s efforts to protect gold, and the threat posed by approaching British forces. The book also foregrounds family loyalty, courage and a woman taking charge.

This is a historical diary about a family trying to remain together amid Gold Rush hardship. It offers domestic perspective as well as danger, grief and ethical choices, with a generally bleak atmosphere and attention to friendship over sudden wealth.

This is a fast-moving fantasy quest about rescuing Gus, uncovering dangerous family secrets and navigating a frightening parallel world. Its emotional centre is Oksa’s determination to protect her friend while facing increasingly perilous trials.

This is a brisk child-centred mystery in which Benjie’s enthusiasm for spying and Pete’s protective actions help uncover burglaries. Suspense comes from the family’s vulnerability and Benjie’s capture, while humour and animal loyalty soften the danger.

This is a supernatural mystery about investigating rumours, with suspense arising from a mountain setting, an eccentric family’s mansion and the possibility that the reported half-human Beast is real.

This is a suspenseful animal mystery centred on Sammy’s determination to respond to the threat to his family’s sheep. Its strongest appeal is likely the steadily escalating question of what is killing or taking the animals.

This is a determined sibling-rescue adventure rooted in a little-known historical episode. It combines family loyalty and questions about adoption with travel, danger and prejudice, while inviting readers to notice how institutions and communities treat vulnerable children.

This is a contemporary school story about a girl working out where she belongs while friendships, racial identity and public events reshape her understanding of courage. It offers an emotionally grounded route into questions about rules, protest and standing up for values.

A folklore-infused fantasy about a cursed princess undertaking dangerous trials to save her brothers. Its strongest threads are family loyalty, courage, sacrifice and repairing harm, while its trials include physical danger, death and bereavement.

This is a varied speculative-fiction collection rather than one continuous story. Its appeal lies in imaginative settings, changing moods and morally pressured situations, but the individual stories may differ considerably in intensity and subject matter.

This is a reflective coming-of-age story about bereavement, family relationships, friendship and ideas of beauty. Melissa uses memories and her father’s journal while trying to understand love and decide how to live in the present.