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The story centres on three characters whose lives connect through a factory town shaped by scarcity and hardship. It brings together friendship, family ambition and resistance to the town’s rules.

Robbie’s attempt to follow his father into the air force takes him from training to dangerous wartime missions, despite being assigned as a navigator rather than a pilot.

This is a horror mystery about ambition, apprenticeship and an unsettling disturbance at an animation studio. Buddy and Dot investigate what is happening as the studio works towards a deadline.

This is a family-and-rodeo story about a boy drawn towards his father’s ambition while afraid of the danger involved. Jana and Layne’s younger sister help him confront that conflict.

A long-held dream draws Lazlo towards a lost city, where the journey brings him into contact with a legendary warrior band and questions about gods, history and the blue-skinned goddess in his dreams.

Jasmine's story brings together music, academic talent and a wish to pursue what gives her joy, despite her parents' reservations.

Four stepsisters bring competing ambitions into a newly joined family: school popularity, modelling and a hoped-for romance all create friction. The book centres on how the girls navigate these rivalries and their changing relationships.

A friendship between a boy and an unconventional pet drives this farm-set story, alongside Renzo’s ambitions and interest in the father he never knew.

This is a baseball-centred school story about ambition meeting competing responsibilities. Roy wants to impress a future high-school coach, while his academic difficulties, tutoring and strained relations with teammates complicate that goal.

The book follows Charley’s determination to ride and care for horses, then to build a life as a stagecoach driver. Her disguise and pursuit of her ambitions sit within a story of restricted opportunities for girls and women.

A first-person life story follows Aldrin from childhood towards astronaut training and the Apollo 11 Moon landing, connecting personal ambition with the achievement of a team.

Hannah faces disappointment over basketball selection alongside a friendship that is becoming more distant. Her effort to improve her game and confidence gives the story a sporting goal as well as a relationship question.

Ari wants a different future from the family bakery; meeting Hector brings baking and a developing romance into that conflict. The story also foregrounds decisions and the support loved ones may offer.

A fashion-minded teenager pursues a school show-director role while juggling creative ambition, peer competition and a crush. A paid offer to influence the contest brings a difficult choice into her story.

This is a romance shaped by a bid for stardom: Roxanne’s Hollywood prospects and her feelings pull in different directions. The book’s ending and the eventual outcome of her choices are unclear.

This is a coming-of-age fantasy about belonging and ambition, shaped by a martial-arts contest, a prophecy and a web of linked destinies.

A brisk period adventure combines pursuit and mystery with questions about identity and who gets to claim knowledge or power. London’s streets and scientific showmanship give the story a grubby, unsettling edge.

This is a high-stakes ballet competition story, with the dancers’ ambitions entangled with accusations, bullying and personal loyalties.

A magical music-festival adventure brings together friendship, fairies, singing and fashion through Rachel, Kirsty and Miley.

This is historical fiction in verse, giving three young women distinct perspectives on the Salem witch trials and the choices made as accusations spread.

A sports story in which a promising hockey opportunity is complicated by unexplained physical symptoms, while a brother’s wish to pursue drama creates a separate family disagreement.

This is a fantasy about a young woman’s search for her talent and place, set against a contested crown and a brewing conflict between kingdoms.

A supernatural school story turns the Faustian bargain into a tale of power, ambition and consequences. The children use extraordinary abilities and suffer side-effects of their addictions.

Lucy is trying to focus on exams and her future, and considers ending her relationship with Carl. After Carl crashes his car, his best friend is left with a broken neck and Carl is in a coma. Lucy also discovers she is pregnant. The story follows these intertwined crises; how they resolve is unclear.

Expect a school-centred story about young performers, ambition and social standing. Its focus appears to be the pupils’ personal drama as well as their artistic aspirations; the balance between those strands is unclear.

This combines a police investigation with a personal story about Maddie adapting after a devastating attack. Her first case involves a diamond heist and brings the investigation into contact with her family’s loss.

A story about ambition, friendship and being seen as more than a pretty face, set around Destiny’s secret beauty-contest entry and the challenges that follow.

At its heart, this is a friendship story about two young people pursuing different ambitions while confronting pressures in their lives and community.

This is an archaeology-themed adventure and missing-treasure mystery, led by a girl eager to pursue her ambitions. A local ghostly legend adds an eerie element to the expedition.

This is a romance shaped by Rose’s wish to prove herself and the limits placed on her choices. Her work as an apprentice and her uncertain feelings both contribute to the story.

This combines a young woman’s magical calling with court intrigue and a family connection to the Tudor monarchy. Mary’s distrust of love is tested by her attraction to an opponent.

A family upheaval and a determined musical ambition set the story in motion; the journey also gives Maya room to reconsider what makes a place feel like home.

Expect supernatural rivalry, fashion ambitions and a romance complicated by opposing loyalties, with a grand ball looming over both sisters’ plans.

This is a historical adventure about two sisters pursuing samurai training and revenge after a family betrayal. Its central appeal is the sisters' determination to challenge the roles expected of them.

The set offers a continuing animal-fantasy adventure: Rusty pursues becoming a warrior, while friendships and the forest clans form part of the story world.

This is a fantasy adventure shaped by the gap between Berren’s hoped-for life of daring and his present lessons. A prince’s bodyguard request and the Dragon Monks’ visit may bring swordplay closer.

A school adventure with a mystery at its centre, the book pairs animal-focused fantasy with Sunday’s ambition to carry on her father’s path.

This is a fantasy about musical magic, a school audition setback and the pressure Amelia puts on herself to become the “perfect musician”.

A lively-sounding fantasy premise combines Greek-mythology influences, magic, an immortal princess and an unlikely quest. Ana’s own wish to choose her future sits alongside the threat posed by her tutor’s search for power.

A prehistoric coming-of-age story about exclusion, belonging and Tao's ambition to paint in caves.

This is a high-stakes fantasy adventure built around a group of morally complicated outsiders, a dangerous magical object and uneasy cooperation.

This is a coming-of-age story about a young person pursuing creative and educational ambitions amid family expectations, changing relationships and uncertainty about her future.

A cast-centred look at the 2009 Fame film, combining background on the earlier film and spin-offs with profiles of the relaunched film's performers.

This is a tale of young Rangers trying to thwart a bid for the throne, with political schemes and a tournament of duels driving the conflict.

Four linked adventures follow the Cheetah Girls through an unexpected fashion trend, music-industry opportunities and preparations for a major concert. One storyline introduces Dorinda's newly discovered sister, who is white and coming to town.