What Are You Looking For?

This is a coming-of-age journey about bereavement, uncertain family ties and making a fresh start. Kendall’s encounters with Evie, Miss Clare and Marcus broaden the story beyond her search for one relative.

A richly imagined coming-of-age fantasy that joins Cromwell’s England to a fairy-tale realm. Coriander is curious, persistent and resilient, but the story also brings bereavement, coercion, danger and moral conflict into her journey.

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.

A focused, dual-narrative historical novel about displacement, survival and access to water. Its language is spare, but the experiences include war, deaths and severe deprivation, balanced by perseverance and collective problem-solving.

This is an ocean adventure about attempting something others doubt, preparing carefully, coping with difficult conditions and discovering capability. It also brings ocean wildlife and pollution into the story through Lucy’s classmates.

This is a warm, socially grounded adventure about two girls whose friendship grows after an initially hostile meeting. A herd of cows, family difficulties and community problems combine humour, feeling and an unexpectedly hopeful direction.

This is a survival adventure centred on resilience, resourcefulness, grief and connection with nature. Karana's growing self-sufficiency drives the story, while her isolation and the treatment of Indigenous characters add weight beyond the adventure.

This is a survival adventure about dependent pets forced into an unknown, dangerous world. Its emotional centre is the animals’ struggle to cope, cooperate and change when familiar human protection disappears.

This is a fast-moving wartime escape story combining orphanhood, sibling loyalty and espionage. Its child characters repeatedly make difficult choices while trying to survive danger, loss and separation.

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.

Choose this for a reader who enjoys horses, richly imagined landscapes, folklore and a slowly tightening mystery. Its emotional centre is a complicated family whose love and resilience coexist with absence, suspicion and uncertainty.

A story of sporting ambition and family inheritance, shaped by segregation and racial prejudice. Its verse form brings rhythm to Charley’s determination, while historical danger and a consequential choice give the narrative emotional weight.

Expect an imaginative underwater adventure with a determined heroine, a strong sibling bond, unusual creatures and a richly developed river community. The story combines quest tension with questions about trust, belonging and changing long-held assumptions.

A lively, voice-led coming-of-age novel combining humour and friendship with family strain, social pressure and gang-related danger. Lemar’s art and relationships offer warmth, but the story also reaches a killing and difficult choices.

This is a historical family story about rebuilding after hardship. Ellie’s practical courage, connection with nature and willingness to help others sit alongside grief, difficult choices and uncertainty about what people have experienced.

Expect a lively, illustrated fantasy quest built around an underdog team. The story combines dungeon challenges, comic world-building and a friendship arc, while Kit’s impulsive decision creates the central problem.

A varied historical-fiction collection following protagonists through moments of cultural encounter, disaster, illness, family upheaval and racial hardship in Canadian history.

Expect a quirky, high-energy family adventure combining mystery, humour and possible magic. Its strongest feature is the seven siblings’ unusual individuality alongside their shared determination to tackle problems together.

This is a competitive team story about twin identity, changing roles and finding opportunities beyond one familiar strength. Basketball rivalry drives the action, while an injury prompts questions about cooperation, individuality and second chances.

A school-set story about a reluctant student encountering boxing, a new community and a threat to her school. Tessa’s changing relationship with New Directions appears to drive the book.

This is a claustrophobic horror adventure built around entrapment, pursuit and uncertainty. Its strongest offering appears to be sustained suspense, with young characters facing danger while escape and trust remain unresolved.

A faith-based guide for preteens about living out a God-given mission through everyday choices, relationships and perseverance. Each chapter combines direct explanation with a preteen’s story intended to connect the teaching with ordinary life.

Consider this for a teenager interested in family identity and history; make space for questions about parentage and the lasting effects of war.