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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 tense science-fiction quest follows three boys from a free community towards the Tripods’ city, amid remnants of an earlier civilisation, snowbound landscapes and a society shaped by conquest.

A poetic, emotionally serious story about two traumatised teenagers seeking connection and truth. Its unusual voices and recurring poems offer rich interpretation, while difficult experiences and contested ideas about healing require thoughtful engagement.

A gritty coming-of-age story about a Mexican American teenager navigating school, neighbourhood pressures and competing futures. Eddie’s relationships and private reading help him reconsider the identity he has built and the choices available to him.

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 compact Norse fantasy about an overlooked boy who responds to hardship with ingenuity rather than force. Its adventure introduces gods, giants and morally complicated mythology while leaving room to reflect on courage, loss and belonging.

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.

A lively fantasy mystery for readers who enjoy hidden worlds, supernatural beings, competition and surprises. Its emotional centre is Amari’s search for her brother and her movement from feeling like an outsider towards recognising her strengths.

This is a visually contrasting, rhyming story about a boy who loves the natural world, faces homophobic bullying at school, and develops a plan to reclaim his school through creativity and nature.

A dark, atmospheric fantasy for readers who enjoy folklore, mystery and psychological unease. Alice’s search for her mother carries questions about trust, belonging and who has the right to shape a story.

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.

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 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.

This offers a brisk supernatural mystery rooted in London, drama, museum history and identity. Its appeal lies in clues, red herrings and links between attacks across time, alongside Niamh’s new friendships and possible romance.

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 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.

Expect a gently comic adventure in which a boy, a dragon and St George confront expectations about what dragons and heroes should be. The story makes room for poetry, friendship and a staged solution rather than presenting fighting as the only answer.

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.

A chaptered fantasy adventure about investigating a group that trades promises of protection for wealth. It combines suspense, political danger, action and questions about trust, leadership and the use of fear.

A comic fantasy apprenticeship story becomes a tense encounter with an invisible mind-entering creature. Tiffany’s learning involves practical care, responsibility and confronting powerful influences, alongside magic, community conflict and imaginative humour.

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.

A faith-centred historical adventure about rebuilding Jerusalem, political danger and a young person discovering where he belongs. Expect biblical themes, journeys, opposition and an emphasis on courage, loyalty and service.

This is a family-centred historical novel about Black children growing up amid racism and hardship. Its conflicts involve a death sentence, racial identity, land ownership, voting rights, work, community pressure and the effort to preserve dignity.