What Are You Looking For?

This looks best suited to a child who enjoys drawing and wants to build a personal collection of celebrated artworks.

A comic family-and-school story about a child navigating ambitious parents, a new school and competing ideas about attention. Its main appeal is the child’s perspective on adult expectations and the awkward question of whether independence can become neglect.

A warm school-start story about friendship, self-expression and the pressure to seem interesting. Its central contrast is between Monty’s unwanted performance and Dot’s gradual willingness to be more open.

A sharply relevant story about a young person whose private life has been turned into public content, offering humour and cringe alongside serious questions about consent, dignity and parental responsibility online.

A lively school-election story about finding allies, challenging unfairness and turning strong feelings into action. Its campaign plot combines humour, friendship and political participation with a developing lesson about listening and working constructively with opponents.

A fast-moving fantasy adventure combines fairy-tale reworking, coding, futuristic inventions and family emotion. Amber’s ordered life is disrupted by a rescue mission, while her father’s past adds a more serious strand.

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.

A football-focused school story about friends responding to a playground ban by creating a secret club.

A romance about two teenagers navigating disability, belonging and pressure: Ellie confronts ableism after leaving her Deaf school, while Jackson faces frightening bodily changes and demanding expectations. Their connection is presented alongside anger, uncertainty, compassion and questions of self-determination.

A character-led YA novel about Deaf identity, changing schools and deciding how far to trust new people. It offers a perspective on agency, communication and inclusion, alongside friendship and romance.

This is a school and family drama about a quiet teenager confronting public lies, persistent bullying and a frightening home atmosphere. It also follows her growing connections with Elijah, Aunt Polly and the mysterious ‘red pen’ correspondent.

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.

This is a school story about belonging, family pressure and finding confidence through drama. Daniel’s acting gives him a valued interest and supportive relationships, while his fear of ridicule creates secrecy and mounting complications.

A coming-of-age story about identity, belonging and disclosure, balancing painful social pressures with friendship, family love and romantic possibility. It offers a queer Mexican American protagonist whose choices are shaped by school, faith and immigration-related family separation.

This is a dark, psychologically charged supernatural horror story about a teenager whose ability to see the dead brings him into contact with a powerful, vengeful ghost. Identity and control appear central alongside fear.

This offers a lively, personal story about cultural and family pressures, school belonging and wanting independence. Humour sits alongside increasingly serious material, so the emotional experience may change notably as Jo grows older.

This is an illness-and-school story that gives Ross's anger a central role rather than presenting cancer only through hope or life lessons. Friendship, embarrassment, creativity and humour shape his efforts to retain an ordinary identity.

A choice-driven story about finding a voice when other people control the decisions. Fred’s move to a new school brings pressure, friendships and opportunities to pursue his art, while each reader’s choices shape a different route.

This is a comic coming-of-age diary in which Adrian interprets family upheaval, school problems and first love while presenting himself as unusually sensible and mature.

A warm, mystery-shaped family story in which Xanthe investigates Nani’s past with friends, alongside magical visions, archaeological clues and a rooftop garden. It links family care with history, migration, friendship and belonging.