What Are You Looking For?

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 queer summer romance uses familiar rom-com patterns to explore commitment, vulnerability and family change. Saoirse’s lively voice sits alongside more serious material involving her mother’s dementia, her father’s remarriage and complicated feelings between the girls.

This is a dual-perspective queer romance about learning to resist pressure from friends and family. It combines warmth and humour with uncomfortable moments involving identity, belonging, prejudice and competing expectations.

This is a relationship-led YA story where secrecy places friendship under pressure. Its central situation brings authority, loyalty and protection into conflict, while Eden’s family experiences and academic expectations add emotional and social layers.

A contemporary coming-of-age romance about Simon’s identity, friendships and first relationship, told alongside anonymous email exchanges. It offers LGBTQ+ representation, humour and emotional growth, while placing personal discovery alongside school conflict and online communication.

This is a sharply voiced YA novel about a teenager navigating the fallout of intimate images being shared, with humour used alongside serious attention to shame, harassment and unequal sexual expectations.

This is a gritty coming-of-age story that challenges fashion’s glamorous surface. Jana’s rapid rise brings money and opportunity, but also pressures that affect her independence, wellbeing and connections with people she loves.

This is a tense, gritty coming-of-age crime thriller, but its world also includes warmth, humour, teenage banter and nuanced relationships. Expect mystery and danger alongside questions about loyalty, identity and belonging.

This is a socially engaged Manchester story about three Black teenagers whose lives become connected after a stabbing. Its central interest lies in contrasting viewpoints, unequal experiences and the friendships formed in the aftermath.

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.

A reflective story of two girls connected through dreams, grief and a Welsh poem. Its interest lies in the developing bond between contemporary school life and an imagined medieval world.

This is a serious, emotionally intense YA novel about three girls whose connection begins in a suicide pact and develops into mutual support. Its hopeful direction is accompanied by continuing struggle rather than an easy cure.

This is a serious relationship-abuse novel that builds understanding gradually rather than presenting events straightforwardly. Its emotional centre is Amelie's attempt to recognise manipulation, recover perspective and regain control.

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 concentrated, voice-led story in verse follows Xiomara as she negotiates identity, faith, family expectations and unwanted attention. Writing and spoken-word poetry give her a way to express experience and pursue greater agency.

This is an emotionally intense verse novel about a young person seeking freedom within a controlling family situation. Its rhythmic, varied presentation foregrounds Amber’s inner life, while running, friendship and resistance provide movement and moments of agency.

A serious, emotionally intense story about finding a voice after witnessing fatal police violence. Its family bonds, friendship and activism sit alongside grief, racial injustice, threats, strong language, sexual references, substance use and disturbing violence.

A socially engaged coming-of-age story about disability, access and self-determination, with Sam’s campaign creating opportunities for friendship while exposing barriers in school and daily life.

This is a contemporary YA thriller about online fame, human creativity and AI’s expanding influence. It combines humour and drama with a dark turn, while following Mikah’s increasingly consequential mukbang success.

This is a refugee journey told through Sami’s changing circumstances: a familiar life in Damascus gives way to displacement, danger and attempts to rebuild in England. Family bonds, guilt, anxiety, kindness and discrimination shape the experience.

This is a story about displacement, responsibility and belonging, with ballet providing a meaningful connection between Aya’s past and her emerging life in England. Friendship and practical kindness sit alongside worry about family, paperwork and whether home can be rebuilt.