What Are You Looking For?

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.

A teen romance is set against a school-wide disagreement about whether basketball-team money should be shared. Romantic choices become part of the girls’ attempt to pressure the boys towards compromise.

A culturally grounded vampire story pairs supernatural suspense with a teenager’s struggles over home, family, trust and belonging. Its unusual perspective may invite thoughtful discussion as well as emotional preparation.

This offers a plot-led fantasy involving assassination, magic, royal duty, secrets and romance. Its central appeal is the partnership between an ambitious apprentice and a highly dangerous royal agent, while the volume leaves major messages unresolved.

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 richly imagined sequel where magical danger carries emotional consequences. Alongside romance and wonder, the story examines whether compassion, memory and mercy can interrupt cycles of violence and inherited fear.

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

This is comic, diary-like young-adult fiction about Georgia Nicolson, whose self-centredness, friendship and romantic uncertainty sit alongside a sense that she has not yet grown up. Its humour includes recurring theatrical and eccentric comic situations.

This is a character-led fantasy about maintaining balance while society modernises. Korra faces political unrest, spiritual conflict and difficult leadership choices, alongside friendships and romance. The storytelling offers more serious emotional and philosophical territory than typical children’s programming, with later seasons carrying greater intensity.

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.

A high-stakes fantasy about a young woman whose lethal magical ability has been controlled by authority. It offers questions about self-definition, freedom, trust and whether power can be used justly, alongside graphic violence and emotional darkness.

This is an ensemble fantasy about cats facing leadership uncertainty, personal loyalties and unsettling mysteries. It offers relationship dilemmas, humour and character change, but its later conflict is darker and may feel less clear or controlled.

Choose this for a romance-led story with mystery elements, emotional fallout and social themes. It offers a second-chance relationship alongside questions about scholarships, reputation, secrecy and whether competitive systems genuinely support young people.

A socially engaged teen romance about challenging gendered expectations while navigating popularity, leadership, family pressures and cultural identity. Its central tension asks whether pursuing justice can coexist with fairness, empathy and personal relationships.

A puzzle-led mystery for readers who enjoy secrets, shifting timelines and an atmospheric setting. Marlowe’s self-deprecating humour and developing relationship with Akilah sit alongside family tragedy, present-day danger and questions about how the past shapes the present.

This is an adventurous, emotionally charged fantasy combining dragons with Cold War intrigue. It follows danger, friendship, romance and hope while confronting racism, bereavement, political violence and the destructive consequences of power.

A character-led YA novel about a Muslim teenager negotiating prejudice, family background, self-protection and first love in post-9/11 America. Music and breakdancing provide important ways for Shirin to cope and express herself.

This is a lively university romance built around an advice column: Mary-Elizabeth gives relationship guidance while navigating attraction, questionable choices, shaken confidence and changing views of the people around her.

This offers a tense zombie-survival story alongside a developing romance between two boys. Its distinctive appeal lies in combining wilderness adventure with questions about belonging, prejudice, fear and how communities respond to outsiders.

This is a multi-viewpoint historical romance about four young Black women balancing love, work, family expectations and social change in 1910 Chicago. It offers ambitious characters and a setting shaped by racial inequality and restricted opportunities for women.

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 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 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 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.

This is a dark, suspenseful revenge thriller centred on three girls’ bond, sexual violence, misogyny and the disturbing possibility that bear attacks are connected to their situation.

This is a fast-moving fantasy about survival, theft, vengeance and shifting loyalties. Kyra’s independence and uncertainty about her identity sit alongside Tristam’s grief-driven mission, while their partnership complicates both their goals.

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 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.