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A richly imagined mystery combines Ghanaian mythology with advanced technology and a Black diaspora community in future San Francisco. Akoma’s investigation centres on family loyalty, ancestral power and trust, while the story also includes tense magical danger and morally difficult decisions.

This is a colour-rich magical quest about a child seeking companionship, forming a close bond with a dog, and responding when that relationship no longer fits her home. It offers a gentle framework for discussing change and belonging.

A thoughtful migration story combines everyday hardship with magical realism. Leelu’s loneliness, her brother’s difficulties and the family’s uncertainty make belonging feel complicated rather than instantly solved.

This is a creepy, atmospheric adventure for readers who enjoy forests, folklore, faerie magic and monsters. Its central appeal appears to be suspenseful discovery, with Pippa investigating what is watching from the trees.

A magical historical-fantasy adventure about identity, family and friendship, with mysteries uncovered through flashbacks. Expect spells, Fairyland, talking animals, shapeshifting and a curse rather than a realistic everyday setting.

This is a character-led fantasy romance about two girls navigating attraction, family expectations and a threat to connected worlds. It offers cosy magical adventure, contrasting realities and a focus on personal growth over action.

This is a fantasy adventure about a young witch who loves robots, enters the City seeking robotics education, and confronts a secret threatening the balance between magic and technology.

A folklore-rich quest about a girl protecting her home and family. Its imaginative setting, magical companions and nature imagery sit alongside questions about self-belief, inherited responsibility and whether the past can be repaired.

A humorous, emotionally serious story about a boy facing bullying, family disruption and caring responsibilities, with a fantastical wish premise. It may offer reassurance while still presenting difficult circumstances that merit thoughtful discussion.

This offers immersive folklore, a slow-building relationship and a heroine confronting shame about her magic. It may suit readers who enjoy gothic atmosphere, complex myth-making and emotionally difficult fantasy rather than a light fairy-tale retelling.

This is primarily a visual, hands-on activity book: readers colour Sogumi and Soso in fanciful settings, using coloured reference pages for inspiration. Its appeal lies in gentle imaginative play and making pictures, while the role and extent of any written storyline are unclear.

A grieving teenager travels through Zimbabwe with her family and an elusive companion only she can see. The story combines family conflict, cultural discovery and emotional reflection, with a deliberately mysterious ending that may reward close attention.

This is a grief-centred magical-realism novel about a bereaved boy drawn into visions, folklore and a possible encounter with his dead father. Its strongest appeal may be the blend of emotional recovery, mystery and ancient legend.

This is a humorous, emotionally serious story about a guarded young person whose magic, friendship and care for her grandmother bring questions about love, loss and opening up.

This offers a lively introduction to Welsh folklore through brief, retold stories with magical, humorous and emotionally resonant elements. It may particularly suit shared reading or readers curious about Wales, names and traditional tales.

A thoughtful school-transition story about the pull of popularity and the cost of trying to meet everyone’s expectations. Its strongest interest lies in Sabina’s changing friendships, family pressures and uncertainty about whether unusual abilities genuinely improve her life.

A fairytale-flavoured queer romance centres on Em helping Carla find a prince to break a curse, while Em would rather kiss Carla herself. Friendship, identity and first love are foregrounded.

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.

A portal-like magical shop gives Daniel a route from hardship into wonder, responsibility and danger. The story combines bullying, orphanhood, inventive fantasy and a clear save-the-Emporium quest, with creative possibilities beyond the plot.

A lively fantasy quest with a determined heroine, comic creatures and a school setting. Bronte’s pursuit of knighthood challenges traditional expectations while the story explores courage, responsibility and standing by others.

An imaginative journey transforms how three children see both nature and their tower-block home. The story offers a strong visual contrast between built surroundings and greenery, then turns towards community, belonging and renewed appreciation.

A richly imagined adventure about mapmaking, friendship and courage under authoritarian rule. Isabella must act when murder, imprisonment and a friend’s disappearance unsettle her island, leading her towards magic and danger in the Forbidden Territories.

Expect children’s fantasy involving the named protagonists. Its appeal lies in lively family exchanges, problem-solving and events shaped by the children’s decisions.

A richly imagined magical-school adventure that places friendship and belonging alongside prejudice, family reputation and mystery. Ella’s determination and growing relationships drive the story, while the fantasy world draws on varied cultures and customs.

Expect a playful fantasy adventure centred on an unusual hotel, magical visitors and comic world-building. The story appears designed for momentum and imaginative enjoyment, with short chapters, action and humour rather than a complex plot.

A lively, twist-filled family adventure built around magic shows, vanished landmarks and a journey to Las Vegas. Middy’s practice contrasts with Nathan’s showmanship, giving the cousins different ways to face trouble and uncertainty.

A child navigating a new life, missing family and friendship encounters a magical garden whose promises lead towards adventure and a darker fairy-tale atmosphere.

This is a dark, fast-moving fairy-tale fantasy in which two sisters resist a powerful ruler. Stories, songs, journeys through strange realms and talismans drive the action, with danger continually pressing on the characters.

This is an imaginative coming-of-age story about a friendship that crosses from invention into reality. Its strongest appeal is the playful magical premise alongside Laurie’s efforts to become more confident and understand what friendship means.

A richly imagined fantasy adventure built around pursuit, magic and peril. Its strongest features are atmospheric landscapes, caves, folklore-like creatures and energetic action; ideas matter less than the unfolding adventure.

This is a dark, atmospheric fantasy about rival thieves and assassins, inherited conflict and a forbidden attraction. Its strongest features appear to be the city, magic system and emotionally charged relationship, though the later narrative is described as uneven.

This is an ambitious family saga that combines extraordinary events with recognisable political and emotional realities. It may suit a reader who enjoys layered storytelling and is willing to tolerate uncertainty, repetition and sustained darkness.

Expect a fast-moving fantasy adventure built around a race, inventive magical creatures and a quest to help family. Its emotional centre is a quiet child learning to recognise his own capabilities.

This is a quest fantasy about siblings facing separation, magical danger and inherited family trouble. Its appeal lies in Fairyland, nature-linked magic, riddles, storytelling and a movement from grief and hardship towards courage and hope.

This is an intricate fantasy adventure combining magic, legends, secret societies and peril with a bereaved boy’s search for identity. Its quick movement is balanced by layered clues, relationships and questions about loyalty.

This is a mysterious, emotionally serious novel about a child helping a strange being while his family faces a baby’s dangerous illness. Its imaginative uncertainty and lyrical language may appeal to readers who enjoy stories that leave some questions open.

Expect imaginative, episodic fantasy: children explore changing magical lands, meet memorable inhabitants and encounter both treats and danger. The story’s cosy, conversational narration sits alongside distinctly old-fashioned social assumptions.

An atmospheric fantasy about a child settling into an ancient house and discovering links with children from an earlier time. Family, place, animals and stories are central.

This is an immersive fantasy adventure in which a rejected boy is drawn into unicorn riding, dangerous magic and a threat to the wider community. Alongside suspense, it explores grief, disappointment, friendship, loyalty and the search for belonging.

This is an atmospheric circus fantasy about curiosity, belief and stepping into the unknown. Its strongest features are theatrical build-up, magical transformations and artwork that makes the mysterious Place Between feel vivid and slightly uncanny.

A magical friendship story follows Lewis after he discovers an angel on the roof. The angel’s presence appears to alter relationships around him, while Lewis is drawn towards seeing difference and other people differently.