What Are You Looking For?

This is a coming-of-age story about Andy’s first relationships as a gay man, set alongside memories of a painful family life and his attempt to make a new start at college.

This is a murder mystery centred on Pip’s effort to reassess a closed case. The investigation brings buried secrets and suspicion into a town still affected by the deaths.

This is a post-war story about a young person whose understanding of home and family is unsettled by a discovery. It connects private identity with the way a community remembers a difficult past.

A culturally rooted fantasy adventure combining Filipino mythology, humour, friendship and a quest involving a stolen soul key. It places grief and family longing alongside supernatural peril, while presenting courage, empathy, gratitude and teamwork as important values.

A witty, humane fantasy about growing into responsibility while facing fear, prejudice and loss. Tiffany’s work as a witch centres on caring for people, while the story also brings darker threats and emotionally difficult relationships.

This is a serious family drama about a teenager carrying responsibility for a struggling parent. Its strongest material lies in showing how trauma affects relationships, choices and the possibility of accepting support.

A thoughtful story about how children’s curiosity can become humane attention. Its emotional centre is Carl’s dance, which makes hidden wartime suffering visible while preserving his dignity and complexity.

This is a short, otherworldly survival story about bereavement and rebuilding a life. Its central movement is inward: Green's damaged identity gradually changes as she accepts help and reconnects with care.

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.

A richly imagined quest about grief, loyalty and finding meaning in a strange new world. Talking animals, folklore, riddles and snowbound landscapes create wonder, while the busy plot may reward patient reading.

This is a child-centred historical mystery about uncovering a town’s African-American past. It combines cemetery restoration, family stories, community reticence, and Raisin’s personal consequences after she sneaks out.

A warm, humorous portrait of childhood unfolds through linked episodes rather than one tightly described plot. Family, school, neighbours and memorable mishaps give the book an affectionate, community-centred feel.

This is an emotionally intense survival story about grief, anxiety and changing relationships. Its suspenseful wilderness episodes sit alongside Case’s uncertain understanding of his brother and the difficult process of living after loss.

This is an outdoor adventure about a child investigating her grandmother’s disappearance, helping eagles in difficulty and discovering a stronger sense of belonging in the mountain community.

A richly imagined fantasy combines Arthurian legend, secret societies and demons with Bree’s investigation into her mother’s death. Its strongest offering is a Black protagonist navigating grief, power and contested history alongside diverse allies and difficult questions about inherited authority.

A spooky adventure places family duty alongside questions about death, memory and letting go.

A dark, fast-moving faerie adventure that combines monsters, romance and town danger with more reflective questions about self-invention, family secrets, community complicity and whether apparent gifts or beauty can conceal coercion.

A tense, politically charged dystopian novel about a Muslim teenager resisting confinement and discrimination. Its emphasis falls on moral courage, collective action and the human consequences of Islamophobia, alongside disturbing scenes of coercion and violence.

Louie’s grief after his brother’s death unfolds alongside parental separation and a community’s devastation. The story uses ghosts and Endlander mourning traditions to explore how people remember the dead, communicate loss and begin rebuilding.

A grief-centred verse novel combining letters, school and home life, and cryptid mystery. Its emotional focus is Noah’s search for connection and belonging while navigating loss and identity.

This offers a clear way into talking about death without euphemisms. The birds’ shared rituals and differing reactions may help a child recognise that grief can look and feel different.

This is a direct, emotionally serious story about a child living through her mother’s death. It offers language for grief, shows that support can coexist with loneliness, and uses a familiar garment to represent continuing love and memory.

Fox dies after a long life, and his friends share memories that help a tree grow. The story moves through grief, remembering and renewal, while keeping Fox’s influence alive in their community.

Expect a twisty, atmospheric ghost story with humour, danger and a morally ambiguous central character. Harriet’s pursuit of power drives the tension, while the surrounding friendships and queer romantic thread add warmth and complication.

This is a serious, emotionally focused novel about returning home, confronting painful memories and imagining a future beyond harmful family dynamics. Flooding and climate danger provide an urgent backdrop, while romantic love adds another strand.

This is a child-centred detective adventure in which solving a mystery becomes a way to learn about Gran’s life, memory and the importance of understanding people as individuals.

A dark, atmospheric story for readers who enjoy ghosts, folklore, natural magic and narratives that connect across time. Three girls face danger and loss while their stories gradually converge around a threatening presence in the woods.

A lyrical island story about making connections when home means different things to different people. Tilda’s friendship with Albie brings questions of belonging, change and loss into a landscape shaped by community memory and the natural world.

This is a supernatural family drama about a dead teenager’s unexpected return and its consequences. It offers emotionally serious reflection on grief, regret, identity, memory and the possibility of repair.

This is a wartime story about a child whose ordinary village life is disrupted by evacuation, military preparations and a missing cat. It combines danger, friendship and a later family connection across generations.

This is a tender story about settling somewhere new while carrying memories of the past. It combines sadness with hope, showing how familiar relationships and community support can matter during change.

This is a character-centred story about a bereaved young person trying to manage ordinary responsibilities while carrying several earlier losses and a turbulent inner life.

A strange, claustrophobic survival story about people sharing an inescapable place, confronting missing memories and deciding whether a dangerous escape is worth attempting.

A family mystery and coming-of-age story set around a Cambodian funeral, offering an opening into heritage, migration, memory and the complicated ways families protect or withhold their past.

This is a dual-timeline adventure about a girl’s search for a lost family object and her discovery of an older generation’s wartime story. Its focus falls on loyalty, memory, courage and helping others in crisis.

A tense, idea-led science-fiction mystery about memory and trust, with a determined young protagonist, a detailed Mars setting and steadily revealed secrets. Its strongest appeal is likely the combination of speculative concepts and interpersonal uncertainty.

This is a reflective true story about a child encountering a forest fire and witnessing people and animals shelter together. It offers historical atmosphere, vivid nature imagery and a striking picture of shared vulnerability during disaster.

This is a warm, funny story about a child finding purpose and companionship through an alphabet project with her grandmother and other residents. It balances playful language with the emotional reality of memory loss and a pressured family life.

A myth-rich adventure about an orphaned boy finding allies among travelling performers while uncovering links between his father, legendary heroes and an ancient threat. Expect historical atmosphere, supernatural elements and rising suspense.

This is a reflective story about ordinary family and community life alongside the demanding work of mining. Its quiet rhythm and contrasting imagery invite attention to what the boy notices, remembers and wonders about.

This is an action-led fantasy about three teenagers drawn into danger, mystery and Greek-mythological ideas. Alongside battles and peril, it explores memory, loyalty, family fears and the importance of trusting companions.

A historical ghost mystery with strong atmosphere: Remi and Niya investigate a repeated murder, a missing child and a house connected to an old crime, while confronting a dangerous supernatural world.

A suspenseful wilderness search story that combines missing children, search-and-rescue work and questions about belonging. Kira’s unusual past gives the investigation a strongly personal and emotionally unsettled focus.

A reflective story about a community lost beneath a reservoir, balancing affection for home with the pain of forced departure. Its illustrations and poetic voice focus attention on memory, place and change.

This is a mystery-led coming-of-age story about a teenager confronting trouble, bereavement and an unsettling haunting. Its focus appears to be Paul’s search for truth and the change that follows.

This is a dark fantasy journey about responsibility, trust and the boundary between life and death. Its strongest appeal may be the combination of perilous magic, unusual companions and a protagonist confronting a hidden destiny.