What Are You Looking For?

A reflective coming-of-age novel centred on a teenager waiting for her fisherman father, with family strain, friendship, first love, self-image and prejudice among its stated concerns.

A fantasy novel with an unusual time-based world and a forbidden romance at its heart. It may particularly appeal to readers interested in steampunk-like settings and LGBT protagonists, while its darker content merits advance discussion.

This is a serious verse novel about friendship under pressure. It offers a close view of BJ’s insecurity, the pull of social acceptance, and how rumours and prejudice can intensify a painful situation.

Expect an unusual war fantasy where friendship and chosen family matter amid occupation, bodily vulnerability and shifting loyalties. Its experimental form may reward patient readers, but the story’s violence and sexual exploitation are substantial.

This is a supernatural mystery with a strongly suspenseful premise: a murdered teenager’s spirit seeks answers.

A stark historical journey about a young woman claiming an independent life, while discovering that escape does not remove poverty, danger or responsibility. Its restrained style and unsettled emotional relationships may reward readers who prefer serious, atmospheric fiction over easy comfort.

This is a romantic fantasy about people negotiating marriage, status, belief and social expectations in a fictional world resembling colonial America. Friendship, adventure and intrigue accompany a relationship that becomes a passionate marriage.

This is a dark, suspenseful Viking voyage to Vinland, blending historical detail, mythology, magic and monsters. Peer and Hilde face deceptive adults, secrets and danger, while the story explores truth, responsibility, maturity, love, loss and longing.

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 coming-of-age novel that combines personal stories with substantial exploration of Deaf culture, language and rights. It may suit readers interested in how identity, communication and community shape one another.

A thoughtful university coming-of-age story about discovering that romance is not the only way to understand love. Its central journey may offer recognition around asexual and aromantic identities, alongside humour, friendship and emotional uncertainty.

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 dark supernatural mystery combines witchcraft, ghosts, grief and romance. Viola’s investigation is supported by friendships and a search for justice, while the story also builds suspense through murder, dangerous spirits and unsettling deaths.

This offers a tense journey story alongside a close account of sibling care. Clem’s storytelling, memories and uncertain perspective add emotional depth, while the political setting invites reflection on belonging, surveillance, displacement and how families preserve hope under pressure.

This is an emotionally heavy story about loss and its aftermath, combining a dead girl’s perspective with the family’s attempts to cope. Its strongest appeal may be its focus on love, hope and change after trauma.

A historical adventure rooted in the early-20th-century Philippines, following Amihan and Mariposa as they respond to official policy and try to return to Culion. Its emotional centre is family love and friendship.

This is a war novel that places personal memories, family bonds and village life alongside the First World War. Its account of military justice gives the story a strong moral and emotional focus.

Expect an imaginative factory adventure centred on five children, with comic fantasy, moral contrasts and a strong focus on Charlie’s honesty. The story also includes poverty, rule-breaking and punishments that may prompt differing reactions.

This is a politically charged LGBTQ+ dystopia where romance develops amid authoritarian control and criminalisation. Its strongest offering is a tense exploration of how quickly rights, safety and personal freedom can be taken away.

This appears to be children’s fiction shaped partly by the author’s experience of meeting young people in the youth justice system.

A suspenseful mystery about a child pursuing truth while separated from her family. Its science-fiction ideas sit alongside friendship, courage and self-discovery, with a hopeful emotional thread reported alongside danger and uncertainty.

This is a supernatural romance built around powerful attraction, danger and the tension between protection and control. Its strongest discussion point is whether intense devotion can coexist with equality and respect.

A gentle story about a child’s strong attachment to a treasured toy, the upset caused by losing it, and the difficulty of getting it back after it is bought at a fair.

A moving historical war story about Stephen and Danny, whose growing love unfolds amid trench warfare, bereavement and hostility towards gay men. Expect both tense action and quieter attention to vulnerability, friendship, identity and the emotional costs of conflict.

This is a tense dystopian story about selection, survival and uncertainty, pairing a damaged future society with a personal struggle over whether affection and trust can coexist.

This is an emotionally intense fantasy finale combining romance, family grief, supernatural politics and dangerous missions. Its appeal lies in interconnected relationships and high-stakes choices, but it expects familiarity with a wider fictional world.

This offers a slow-burn romance set against royal duty, forbidden magic and an investigation into killings. Its strongest appeal appears to be the developing relationship between Denna and Mare, alongside questions about identity and loyalty.

A lively friendship-and-romance story about being swept into someone else’s enthusiasm. Its humour comes from literary role-play, school encounters and crossed signals, while Julie’s uncertainty gives the story a more reflective question about love.

A relationship-centred story that places family expectations and a school exercise about class and racial prejudice in direct tension. Amy’s decision to challenge the exercise appears to drive the central conflict.

This is a historical mystery-adventure about loyalty, investigation and survival amid crowded, dangerous city streets. Its strongest appeal may be the determined young detective partnership, while crime, pursuit and imprisonment give the story a serious edge.