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A fantasy premise turns an expected future upside down: Liz must find her place in an afterlife where people grow younger. Her adjustment brings grief and frustration alongside friendship, love and personal choices.

A family story about Floss’s choice to live with her father, whose failing café brings financial strain and upheaval. School friendships add another thread, and the ending is open rather than fully settled.

This is a spooky, folksy fantasy about two girls whose quarrel unleashes a graveyard full of angry ancestors. The story pairs that supernatural danger with questions of friendship, family history and finding a place to belong.

A playful, offbeat tale that pairs an unusual word sequence with colourful illustrations; its story may feel deliberately odd rather than neatly explained.

A lyrical fairy tale with atmospheric illustrations and a cinematic flow. Its central appeal is the developing bond between Maude and Tony.

The story pairs a friendship with a school-surveillance conflict: Max wants to help Fuzzy fit in, while the school’s digital system keeps penalising her. Robot learning and student assessment are part of the plot.

A cross-generational mystery unfolds through Henni’s investigation and emails with Leo. Alongside puzzles and friendship, the book examines migration, prejudice, belonging and the pressure placed on people whose home is questioned.

This is a light, episodic school fantasy in which magical animals appear from Ms Plum’s cupboard and become catalysts for pupils’ changing behaviour, confidence, friendships and worries.

A suspenseful family mystery follows Footer as she investigates what happened after a devastating fire. Her mother’s bipolar disorder and Footer’s uncertainty about her own perceptions make the investigation emotionally complicated.

A lively, fast-moving adventure blends slapstick humour with the playful fascination of miniature things. Its central appeal lies in the collision between an ordinary boy’s unusual power and consequences he cannot control, alongside friendship and school tensions.

A fast-moving survival adventure places Sam and Delphy in immediate danger from wildfire while their developing friendship becomes central to their effort to reach safety.

This is a serious, character-led account of friendship tested by colonial injustice. It offers a personal route into Kenya’s history, showing how fear, racial privilege and silence can damage people across divided communities.

Expect a brisk fantasy quest built around danger, escape and puzzle-solving. The book spends substantial time in Noradz, where cleanliness is enforced harshly, before moving towards a frightening confrontation in the City of the Rats.

This is a coming-of-age story about balancing loyalty, pressure and future plans. Its central appeal is watching Ashley become more confident while dealing with a complicated school event and uncertain relationships.

A dark, imaginative adventure for readers who enjoy secret societies, mythological creatures and determined protagonists. Its strongest hooks are the hunter trials, the forest’s threats and Winnie’s effort to reclaim her family’s standing.

This is a richly layered historical coming-of-age novel about a book-loving girl negotiating family duty, education, friendship and romance while a murder’s consequences reach into her community.

A warm, unusual story about an orphan girl and a gorilla forming a family, while facing official scrutiny and prejudice. Its humour and tenderness sit alongside uncertainty about belonging and justice.

This is an urgent science-fiction adventure with horror elements: invasive plants threaten communities, while three young people investigate why they are unaffected. Alongside survival, the opening gives attention to illness, self-image, friendship and family relationships.

This offers imaginative fantasy alongside sustained questions about Black identity, friendship, prejudice and self-determination. Its dual perspective gives Tavia and Effie distinct forms of identity exploration, though the opening may feel slow before the action intensifies.

This is a symbolic story about colours whose town becomes divided after one colour claims superiority. Friendship, mixing and cooperation challenge exclusion, making the book particularly useful for starting conversations about racism and belonging.

This combines a fast-moving school-and-woods thriller with questions about ecological responsibility and engineered life. Its suspense is paired with empathy for children, adults and even people who behave harmfully.

This is a tender, nature-centred story about a boy’s bond with a seal and his grandfather. Its strongest offering is emotional range: delight in the sea sits alongside physical danger, disappearance, the grandfather’s absence and the passage of generations.

This is a character-led story about four lonely children becoming connected. Its emotional focus is stronger than its action, with distinct voices, friendship and courage developing alongside questions about fate and belonging.

A friendship-centred science-fiction novel with humour, mystery and emotional weight. Its central contrast—one friend human and one an android—invites readers to think about identity, belonging and the qualities that make relationships meaningful.

A warm, idea-led adventure about friendship across a human–robot divide. Its central relationship invites readers to question inherited beliefs, while action and humour keep the story moving.

This is a humorous but unsettling story about whether an android’s fear, jealousy and desires indicate genuine feeling. Ivy’s viewpoint makes ordinary human behaviour seem strange, inviting empathy and close attention.

A lively school-and-family story about handling change, friendship and unfair treatment through humour and imagination. Omar’s Muslim identity is part of everyday life, not a separate lesson.

A brisk historical mystery follows Lily and Tom from their travelling life into a more dangerous search involving a carved treasure, a new friendship and hidden family secrets. Its accessible prose and illustrations may suit readers who enjoy adventure but prefer shorter chapter books.

A richly imagined adventure about mapmaking, friendship and courage under authoritarian rule. Isabella must act when murder, imprisonment and a friend’s disappearance unsettle her island, leading her towards magic and danger in the Forbidden Territories.

A fast-moving rescue adventure about courage, loyalty and learning to trust. Wolves are central companions, while Feo’s journey brings danger, humour and a friendship that develops under pressure.

Expect an imaginative, creature-filled adventure centred on finding sanctuary. Friendship, loyalty, courage and environmental loss sit alongside danger, threatening creatures and occasional insulting language.

This is a comic school adventure about embarrassment, reputation and the wish to become popular. Dante’s supernatural surroundings, friendship plots and illustrated presentation offer energetic humour alongside questions about confidence and belonging.

This is a free-verse school story about friendship changing, family crisis and finding a way to express difficult feelings. Nate’s love of reading and writing becomes important as he faces anger, worry and transition.

This is an empathetic school story about an autistic girl navigating sensory overload, anxiety, bullying and friendship while deciding how openly to present herself. It offers recognition without promising an uncomplicated transformation.

This is an emotionally serious friendship story rather than a straightforward adventure. Its imagined kingdom, school conflicts and family pressures lead into an unsoftened account of bereavement.

A tense boarding-school mystery about disappearance, grief and alliance-building. Its international, multi-ethnic and multi-religious cast includes positively portrayed queer characters, while Gothic atmosphere and several intertwined storylines create a more demanding emotional and structural experience.

This is a suspenseful historical story about family separation and friendship under political pressure. The documentary-style sections let readers see events through children’s eyes while gradually revealing the risks surrounding their attempts to stay connected.

This is a mysterious, emotionally serious novel about a child helping a strange being while his family faces a baby’s dangerous illness. Its imaginative uncertainty and lyrical language may appeal to readers who enjoy stories that leave some questions open.

Expect a quest-led fantasy centred on bravery, friendship and teamwork. Magical creatures create danger, while the conflict is framed as a struggle against an evil wizard’s spell rather than realistic wrongdoing.

Expect anarchic humour, imaginative adventures and a central character who challenges adult authority. Pippi’s friendships, confidence and physical strength drive the fun, while the episodic structure offers distinct comic situations rather than one tightly unfolding plot.

Expect a playful creative-process story rather than a straightforward adventure: Soren experiments, receives blunt reactions and keeps revising. Its humour includes a friend vomiting at an early song, alongside warmth about friendship and improvement.

This is an emotionally layered YA novel about two Muslim Somali girls whose difficult family circumstances bring them together. Its central movement is from resentment and isolation towards understanding, with school, faith, culture and community shaping their experiences.

This is a reflective story about losing a familiar home and friendship, then slowly finding steadiness elsewhere. Its poem-by-poem structure gives Diana’s changing feelings room to emerge through observations, notes and everyday family moments.

This is a suspenseful clan drama about uncovering hidden wrongdoing while friendships and loyalties are tested. It combines investigation with battles, a forbidden relationship, grief and a change in leadership.

Expect a fast-moving fairy-tale adventure involving illness, magic, strange creatures, rival pursuers and travel through unsettling settings. Red’s fear, friendship with Goldie and changing understanding of others drive the story.