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Felicity aims to enter medical school despite institutional resistance to women in science. A journey funded by a mysterious young woman becomes a perilous quest, while Felicity also navigates an estranged friendship and a suitor’s proposal.

A seriously ill boy sets off with his dog to pursue a mountain-climbing goal; his best friend faces a difficult question of loyalty. The story centres on illness, friendship and a risky runaway journey.

A clique friendship story about loyalty, belonging and the strain caused by one girl’s control over group membership. Each girl gets a say in the story.

A family and friendship story set amid Cold War suspicion, centred on Marjorie's efforts to find her own voice and decide how to treat others.

This is a mystery driven by two friends’ different reactions: Parker is determined to prove Evans guilty, while Matt remains cautious. Their search takes them into an antique shop, where a tense encounter unfolds.

This is a dual-protagonist mystery: Alice and her tutor Iris investigate what happened to Brooke, while Alice’s earlier disappearance remains unexplained. Their search involves a reward, a suspected boyfriend and clues from Christie’s mysteries.

Readers navigate friendship tensions, a shared crush, discomfort about body hair and an invitation to join a popular group that comes with a price. Their decisions determine how their story unfolds.

A classic quest premise drives Alex from an unusual shop encounter towards a dragon's lair. The adventure is framed around courage, fear, friendship and choices that may change his life.

Sage travels from Starland to Wishworld on a mission involving wishes, a deadline and the challenge of life on a new planet.

The story centres on friendship under pressure and a powerful invention whose control could affect money, culture and politics.

The book offers several school-life storylines, including a student's wish to change his appearance, another student's plan concerning bullies, a mysterious valentine message and an invention nearing its reveal.

The boys share games and basketball interests, while Jamal’s family food, mealtime customs and occasional special clothes differ from Joseph’s. Their friendship is the story’s central focus.

Megan faces a move that means leaving her friends. She feels sad, but later finds positive aspects of living in a new place.

A fantasy rescue adventure centres on friendship and helping Mae search for Pan Pan, who may be taken to Jack Frost’s icy zoo.

The scouts are unsettled after time-related events, and Jen sets out to encourage them through a search for a jackalope. They encounter a young cowgirl living in the woods with unusual animals.

A contemporary young-adult story about Ariana, consent and accountability, it follows her from a sexual encounter without clear agreement through rumours, new friendships and a group effort to expose Luis.

The novel follows three teenagers as the 11 September attacks reshape their lives, bringing grief and uncertainty alongside new friendships and a gradual effort to move forward.

Babymouse wants to stand out rather than conform, and takes that ambition into the film club, where she sets out to make a movie.

This is a grief-centred story about a teenager facing her mother's death, state care and successive foster homes. It also follows her relationships with friends and the possibility of finding family in unexpected places.

Expect a fantasy adventure centred on a riding competition, a lost magical helmet and help from two friends. Horses, fairies and goblins are part of its story world.

This is a friendship story shaped by serious illness and anticipated loss. Jory’s changing relationships and her struggle with anger sit alongside the practical and emotional support the characters offer one another.

Bat and Squirrel communicate through notes while awake at different times. Their misunderstandings shape a humorous friendship story about finding common ground across differences.

This is a comic school mystery as well as a friendship story: the newcomers must piece together what is happening while learning how the school’s social world works.

A dragonrider fantasy with political upheaval at its heart, the story follows two young competitors whose shared past and opposing family histories complicate their choices about power and loyalty.

Expect a layered fantasy mystery, with Polly piecing together memories and the significance of stories she and Tom invented. It also follows her changing friendships and sense of self as she grows up.

A real-life adventure about a runner and a stray dog whose companionship develops during an ultramarathon, followed by Leonard’s effort to bring Gobi home.

A playful Easter hunt pairs a story with opportunities for children to help locate and count chocolate eggs and notice a dotted pattern.

This is the third Everworld book. The friends’ search for Senna continues, while Merlin’s possible knowledge and separate agenda complicate their hopes of finding her.

A close-knit scout group’s summer outing becomes a supernatural adventure, with friendship, camp routines, an unexpected encounter with the Cloud People and unicorns.

The story pairs magical transformations with practical kindness: the hedgehog makes gifts for visitors, then needs their help when the wool is gone.

A historical story of friendship under pressure, following Leah and Jeff as the Civil War puts them on opposing sides and faith becomes part of their separate experiences.

This fantasy brings a rescue adventure into the run-up to a wedding. Creel’s friendships and loyalties are central, alongside the possibility of peace between humans and dragons.

A group of exiled teenagers face a survival choice in an undead-infested setting, while secrets among them complicate their search for safety and other survivors.

Expect a character-led ghost story, with the supernatural mystery intertwined with bereavement, loneliness and the effort to belong in a new family.

Claire’s arrival in Paris brings new sights, people and language, alongside the pleasure of exploring with Camille. Her curiosity about why she was sent there drives the mystery.

Expect supernatural mystery alongside questions of loyalty: Zoey and Stevie Rae share a secret, while friendships and enmities shift around them.

A collection of true childhood stories, written by children and adults recalling their own childhoods. They touch on friendship, choices and qualities including honesty, kindness, forgiveness and perseverance, with cartoon strips featuring the Souper Kids.

A fantasy adventure combines monster battles and a perilous rescue with Cameron’s struggle against anxiety. Friendship, danger and the consequences of loss drive the journey.

A contemporary story about unreturned love, keeping secrets and Tretch’s effort to be more open about who he is. His bond with Matt and his supportive older brother sit alongside his difficulty talking with his parents.

A warm-spirited fantasy about a young bruja negotiating family rules and friendship, with returned spirits bringing a magical mystery. Leo’s grief over her mother’s death and her friend Caroline’s bereavement sit alongside the bakery, spellwork and community celebrations.

This is a story of upheaval and endurance, with Sara’s inventive inner life and kindness at its centre. Her changed circumstances bring loneliness, hunger and cold, alongside friendships and the possibility of renewed happiness.

At its heart, this is a friendship story shaped by a child’s encounter with another boy’s terminal illness. Their shared kite-making day sits alongside questions of suffering, memory and connection.

Expect a war story centred on Joseph’s bond with Adonis, rather than a battle narrative alone: the struggling zoo and its animals are also central to the plot.

Sam’s attachment to print clashes with a proposed online school newspaper, and she learns her best friend supports the change. The story also follows Sam’s school-paper interests and her budding crush.

Photographs and poetic words explore friendship, imaginative play and belonging, with an afterword about the stories behind the images.

A wish-granting magical book sets off the central adventure, with Tiga and her friends trying to rescue Fran. Witches, Silver City and glittery magic shape the story.