What Are You Looking For?

This collection brings together poems, essays and stories by young adult writers with varied identities. Its subjects range from coming out and faith to friendship, family, first kisses and break-ups.

A year of diary entries follows Clem through school and shifting relationships. The book explores attraction, rejected advances, family life and the uncertainty of coming out, in an informal voice.

This is a sibling story about the changes a new baby brings, told through the playful idea that the baby is a dinosaur.

This is a story of teenage attraction complicated by family connections, friendship and uncertainty about a boy’s choices. Tracy also links the relationship to shared hopes around basketball.

This collection offers a range of short stories about emotional needs and growing up, rather than one continuous plot. A story about a teenage girl coming out may be a useful point of connection.

This is a historical coming-of-age story about a boy whose everyday interests are gradually unsettled by war, friendship and changes within his family.

This is a coming-of-age journey about a famous actor and four fans confronting private fears, changing relationships and the difference between a public image and a real person.

A flamboyant, funny theatrical story about identity and belonging, it follows Tiny through family life, friendship, coming out and romantic disappointments. The musical-script structure gives personal experiences an exuberant public voice while making room for vulnerability and reflection.

A contemporary coming-of-age story about queer identity, family ties and friendship, told in verse through Kai’s perspective. Its social concerns sit alongside romance and everyday school life, while the ending’s handling of these strands remains only partly clear.

A playful search story built around surprise: Louis’s failed-looking tricks become an entertaining show. Its visual humour, colourful illustrations and diverse audience create a warm, upbeat reading experience, with a final reveal involving the rabbit.

Expect a queer coming-of-age story balancing intimate moments and friendship with outing, parental rejection and a conversion-therapy storyline. Its serious material is presented alongside humour, romance and a rescue effort.

This is a visually led story about a frightened newcomer trying to return home. Its emotional centre is Leaf’s isolation, while the woodland animals’ changing response opens space to discuss fear, curiosity and welcome.

A dark, emotionally charged YA mystery about first love, bereavement and unanswered questions. Its alternating timelines gradually reveal what happened, while Dylan’s investigation tests his understanding of Ellis and the people around him.

Expect a tense mystery driven by anonymous messages, exposed secrets and changing alliances. The book combines a fast-moving school thriller with commentary on racism, privilege and the pressures placed on marginalised students.

A contemporary coming-of-age romance about Simon’s identity, friendships and first relationship, told alongside anonymous email exchanges. It offers LGBTQ+ representation, humour and emotional growth, while placing personal discovery alongside school conflict and online communication.

A warm, issue-rich coming-of-age romance about being seen honestly within family, faith and school life. Its humour and friendships sit alongside serious questions about racism, homophobia and cultural ownership.

A coming-of-age story about identity, belonging and disclosure, balancing painful social pressures with friendship, family love and romantic possibility. It offers a queer Mexican American protagonist whose choices are shaped by school, faith and immigration-related family separation.

A suspenseful historical coming-of-age story about friendship, fear and noticing injustice. Its child’s-eye investigation opens onto difficult adult realities, while humour, community details and emotional relationships give the darker subject matter human texture.

A gentle family story about preparing for and enjoying a grandmother’s visit from Tanzania. Lulu joins in practical preparations and shared pleasures, while the book highlights affection, cultural connection and relationships between generations.

This is an emotionally serious coming-of-age story about three teenagers whose relationships are shaped by AIDS, queer identity, family, activism and prejudice. It offers historical context alongside romance, friendship and moments of community, hope and self-acceptance.

This is a coming-of-age story about leaving home, making a new life and navigating first love while music gives Marty a route towards independence. It foregrounds identity, trust, relationships, friendship and found family.

This is a character-led coming-of-age novel about identity, secrecy, family and finding community. Its emotional centre is Amir’s attempt to reconcile his Muslim family life, sexuality, fear and desire for freedom.

A relationship-focused coming-of-age story about a student discovering what she feels and wants, while school, friendship and family pressures shift around her. It offers a queer girl at the centre of the story and treats her emotional life as significant.

This offers a historical romance centred on restricted independence, a former prisoner’s attempt to change direction, and attraction complicated by family authority and Jesse’s remaining sentence.

A school mystery about a child under social pressure, with a new friendship helping him investigate an accusation. Humour sits alongside bullying, prejudice, moral choices and family conversations about religion and values.

This is an introspective recovery story about a teenager forced to reconsider his view of himself and other young people. Its centre is the gradual development of connections in hospital, alongside questions of identity, mental health, love, friendship and family.

This is a coming-of-age story about being open with oneself and others. Its journey structure brings Bradley into contact with varied people while he explores friendship, attraction and belonging.