What Are You Looking For?

This is a family-and-adventure story about teenage werewolf siblings balancing school and sibling relationships with a threat to the woods they secretly use.

This is a story about an unlikely friendship built around two boys’ different strengths, with football and school both part of their lives.

A horse-and-school story about a child who cares deeply about art and wants to support her grandmother's effort to benefit the school's arts programme.

This blends magical sea creatures with a story about caring for an injured Aquicorn and deciding how a town should live alongside the sea. Family support and Lana's growing independence also matter.

A family’s flight and search for safety are placed alongside information about Iraq, refugee experiences and possible ways to help. The book links one family’s story with wider circumstances.

This story combines the anticipation of a first cheerleading competition with a friendship problem: Maddy is left guessing why another girl has turned against her.

This is a music-centred story about a young performer facing a choice between a high-profile opportunity and a commitment made in her hometown.

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 lively superhero story about an overlooked helper finding recognition on his own terms. Its strongest appeal is the combination of visual energy, comic reversals, inventive narration and Nick’s determination to keep contributing.

A straightforward mystery with a teenage investigator, a friendship that supports the enquiry, boxing as a recurring motif, and danger that increases as questions are asked. It offers clues, action and school intrigue rather than an unusually experimental structure.

This is a friendship-centred mystery adventure, combining travel across America with a computer-related problem. It may suit readers who enjoy group investigations, journeys and stories involving programming or video games.

Choose this for a young reader who enjoys fast-moving fantasy but may also value a story that gives anxiety, friendship and practical coping methods a central role.

This is a serious, emotionally intense story about bereavement, abuse and recovery, balanced by friendship, romantic connection and the possibility of accepting help. Tyler’s choices drive the movement towards a different future.

This is a family-and-community story about cultural identity, belonging and resilience. Its period details, family interactions and humour sit alongside racism, economic pressure and the difficult work of translating between languages and expectations.

A warm, episodic coming-of-independence story: Kiki builds a life through useful work, new relationships and repeated problem-solving. Magic sits alongside ordinary concerns about fitting in, missing home, trusting others and discovering what she can do.

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 a supernatural thriller about a transgender teen whose post-operative recovery is interrupted by a werewolf attack. Friendship, bodily change, prejudice and the pull of revenge sit alongside the horror premise.

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.

A gentle environmental story about a small, quiet character whose observations are initially overlooked. Whisper’s eventual advocacy involves friends, creativity and persuasion rather than simply becoming louder.

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.

This is a gentle, realistic story about a child negotiating identity and belonging after moving countries. It offers a clear starting point for discussing names, pronunciation, welcome and cultural pride.

A gentle, direct introduction to anxiety, depression and loneliness, centred on the beginning of a supportive friendship. It makes talking, seeking help and finding suitable support networks part of the story.

A football-centred story about pressure, responsibility and learning to co-operate, with Roy juggling his place in the team, college, family duties and coaching. It offers both match-focused excitement and everyday-life concerns.

This is a warm, issue-led story about a child challenging binary school rules with friends. Its humour and friendship sit alongside sustained frustration, public activism and encounters with adults who misunderstand or minimise Jamie’s identity.

This is an emotionally engaging family story about a child trying to understand separation, a parent’s newly disclosed sexuality and the limits of fixing adult problems. Friendship, humour and Pride’s community provide energy and hope.

This is a fantasy adventure combining K-pop performance culture, martial-arts action and supernatural danger. Its emotional centre is a friendship group learning to work together while facing fears that affect them and others.

A serious coming-of-age novel about faith, identity and finding a voice after an attempted sexual assault. It combines family disruption, community life, friendship, romance and moral complexity rather than presenting people as simply good or bad.

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.

This is a fast-moving virtual-reality adventure with a capable but vulnerable protagonist, combining tournament gameplay with a mystery about a threatening player and technology’s real-world consequences.

Expect an ambitious illustrated adventure in which two sibling seeds face separation, danger and uncertainty while learning about Earth’s history and living systems. Its emotional centre is family loyalty, alongside a sustained interest in survival, connection and the natural world.

Choose this for a reader who enjoys high-action horror, suspense, twists and science-fiction menace, and who may also appreciate friendship, teamwork and witty dialogue. It is designed to be creepy and exciting rather than calm.

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.

A focused, verse-written story about how a young person can be groomed into criminal exploitation, with an emphasis on the damage county lines causes to children and families.

A lively Thames-set fantasy about three friends whose mudlarking leads to an underwater adventure. Expect imaginative world-building, comic eccentricity and an active quest rather than a quiet, realistic story.

A seasonal collection follows Beti through birthday events, a journey to a waterfall, berry picking with Mam, a storm, and winter responsibilities. Friendship, family reassurance, practical problem-solving and living alongside nature shape the book’s gentle world.

A tense boarding-school mystery about disappearance, grief and alliance-building. Its international, multi-ethnic and multi-religious cast includes positively portrayed queer characters, while Gothic atmosphere and several intertwined storylines create a more demanding emotional and structural experience.

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 socially focused YA novel about racism, Muslim identity and belonging, balancing painful conflict with family, friendship, faith and Somali community. Its central movement is from enforced quietness towards speaking up.

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 contemporary family story that brings mystery, romance and social pressures together. Its emotional centre is the siblings’ struggle with grief, secrecy, anxiety, poverty and the possibility of finding joy and support.

A gentle verse story about a child living through separation, relocation and a changed family life, while finding companionship in relatives, new friends and the community around a diner.

A thoughtful story about a child whose precautions cannot protect her from grief. Its emotional movement comes through relationships, humour and community support rather than adventure or danger-solving.

Choose this for a young reader who enjoys brisk adventure, teamwork and high-stakes missions. Its central appeal is action: a television project becomes a dangerous situation involving a terrorist, hostages and a bushfire.

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.

A sports-centred family crisis story: Josh hopes exceptional baseball performance will win a house and help his family after his father’s departure and their move to a smaller home.