What Are You Looking For?

This is a war novel that places personal memories, family bonds and village life alongside the First World War. Its account of military justice gives the story a strong moral and emotional focus.

This is a child-centred mystery with suspense and emotional depth. Matthew’s restricted life, observations and growing involvement in the search create a story about connection, courage and how others respond to mental-health difficulties.

A football-centred adventure that places Budi’s ambitions beside poverty, exploitative work and criminal pressure. Friendship and family support offer warmth, but the story also asks readers to confront limited choices and difficult social conditions.

This is a comic, art-centred adventure in which a boy’s curiosity opens up a struggling Welsh community. It offers family relationships, local change and many real paintings.

A humorous coming-of-age story about two cousins moving from conflict towards a brotherly bond. It combines lively teen dialogue with grief, family disruption, gang culture, misogyny, homophobia and questions about masculinity.

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.

This is a migration and coming-of-age story about Leonard, who leaves Jamaica for Britain and learns to live with separation, racism and questions of belonging. It also brings the Windrush generation’s history and later injustice into a personal story.

A school story about August’s first experience of mainstream education, Wonder explores friendship, prejudice, family relationships and self-acceptance. Its difficult incidents are set alongside reconciliation, supportive adults and acts of kindness.

This is a character-led school story about a young person who is often judged by her behaviour but wants to belong, make friends and change direction. Its central appeal is the possibility of second chances.

This is a relationship-led school story about two girls discovering that friendship, family and identity may be more complicated than they expected. Choir gives them a shared space while contrasting homes and difficult news test how they support one another.

This is an emotionally serious, discussion-rich story about a child facing a serious heart problem and a radical, risky proposed treatment. Its strongest offering is access to Cameron’s viewpoint while he weighs personal, family and social pressures.

This is an adventure about recovering honour without simply restoring the past. Marcus’s journey gives space to consider loyalty, friendship across unequal status, physical limitation, and whether belonging can be rebuilt after defeat.

A lively historical adventure follows Lily as she travels unexpectedly through time while managing friendship drama, a feud, a first crush and the challenge of being separated from home.

This is a family-centred journey through Harlem and African American heritage, with Amara trying to understand her roots while adults confront an old estrangement. Expect warmth and humour alongside grief, family tension and moments of uncertainty.

This is a focused story about autonomy, belonging and the pressure to appear “inspirational”. It gives particular weight to how adults, peers and public attention can misunderstand an autistic child’s needs.

This is an empathetic school story about an autistic girl navigating sensory overload, anxiety, bullying and friendship while deciding how openly to present herself. It offers recognition without promising an uncomplicated transformation.

This is a tense contemporary story about a Muslim teenager responding to terror, Islamophobia and school bullying. Its central interest is how identity, friendship and collective action can challenge prejudice without making the surrounding hostility feel trivial.

This is a lively diary-style coming-of-age story about crushes, friendship and self-image. Lara’s attempt to change herself for attention creates pressure, while football, humour and her relationships help shape her journey.

This is an emotionally serious historical story that helps readers encounter Partition through three children’s friendships and families. Expect cultural and religious detail, danger and loss, alongside courage, human connection and an unresolved sense of what may happen next.

A suspenseful fantasy about discovering identity and belonging, with a resourceful protagonist, dragon lore and a friendship shaped by loneliness. It offers emotional themes alongside danger, loss and a history of conflict between humans and dragons.