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A supernatural mystery combines ballet, friendship and a music box that appears to influence Emma’s dancing. The suspense builds as the box behaves strangely and Emma becomes increasingly reluctant to give up its musical effect.

A long-held dream draws Lazlo towards a lost city, where the journey brings him into contact with a legendary warrior band and questions about gods, history and the blue-skinned goddess in his dreams.

Jasmine's story brings together music, academic talent and a wish to pursue what gives her joy, despite her parents' reservations.

Four stepsisters bring competing ambitions into a newly joined family: school popularity, modelling and a hoped-for romance all create friction. The book centres on how the girls navigate these rivalries and their changing relationships.

A friendship between a boy and an unconventional pet drives this farm-set story, alongside Renzo’s ambitions and interest in the father he never knew.

This is a baseball-centred school story about ambition meeting competing responsibilities. Roy wants to impress a future high-school coach, while his academic difficulties, tutoring and strained relations with teammates complicate that goal.

The book follows Charley’s determination to ride and care for horses, then to build a life as a stagecoach driver. Her disguise and pursuit of her ambitions sit within a story of restricted opportunities for girls and women.

A first-person life story follows Aldrin from childhood towards astronaut training and the Apollo 11 Moon landing, connecting personal ambition with the achievement of a team.

Hannah faces disappointment over basketball selection alongside a friendship that is becoming more distant. Her effort to improve her game and confidence gives the story a sporting goal as well as a relationship question.

A child’s ambition develops into a life in art: Hopper studies, works as an illustrator and pursues paintings shaped by light, shadow and scenes he observes. The book also shows how he combined real details with imagination.

Ari wants a different future from the family bakery; meeting Hector brings baking and a developing romance into that conflict. The story also foregrounds decisions and the support loved ones may offer.

A biography of a determined athlete, the book traces Babe Didrikson Zaharias’s rise in basketball, Olympic competition and golf, alongside personal challenges including poverty, prejudice and cancer.

A fashion-minded teenager pursues a school show-director role while juggling creative ambition, peer competition and a crush. A paid offer to influence the contest brings a difficult choice into her story.

A concise life story links Sotomayor’s New York childhood and education with her legal career and rise to the Supreme Court, while bringing in others’ perspectives and women’s ambitions.

This is a romance shaped by a bid for stardom: Roxanne’s Hollywood prospects and her feelings pull in different directions. The book’s ending and the eventual outcome of her choices are unclear.

This is a coming-of-age fantasy about belonging and ambition, shaped by a martial-arts contest, a prophecy and a web of linked destinies.

A brisk period adventure combines pursuit and mystery with questions about identity and who gets to claim knowledge or power. London’s streets and scientific showmanship give the story a grubby, unsettling edge.

This is a high-stakes ballet competition story, with the dancers’ ambitions entangled with accusations, bullying and personal loyalties.

A magical music-festival adventure brings together friendship, fairies, singing and fashion through Rachel, Kirsty and Miley.

This is historical fiction in verse, giving three young women distinct perspectives on the Salem witch trials and the choices made as accusations spread.

This blends an unusual skating-and-martial-arts ambition with school competition and a mystery about damage at the academy. Peasprout’s effort to prove herself sits alongside the need to address an accusation.

A sports story in which a promising hockey opportunity is complicated by unexplained physical symptoms, while a brother’s wish to pursue drama creates a separate family disagreement.

This is a fantasy about a young woman’s search for her talent and place, set against a contested crown and a brewing conflict between kingdoms.

A supernatural school story turns the Faustian bargain into a tale of power, ambition and consequences. The children use extraordinary abilities and suffer side-effects of their addictions.

A concise historical life story links Roosevelt’s personal ambitions and illness with his rise to the presidency and response to the Great Depression.

A tale of a small kingdom facing an ambitious ruler, with the little king’s resourcefulness set against Normous’s desire for worldwide power.

Lucy is trying to focus on exams and her future, and considers ending her relationship with Carl. After Carl crashes his car, his best friend is left with a broken neck and Carl is in a coma. Lucy also discovers she is pregnant. The story follows these intertwined crises; how they resolve is unclear.

A young band’s story is paired with advice about the principles its members say have guided them. This may suit readers interested in music, friendship or pursuing a personal ambition.

Expect a school-centred story about young performers, ambition and social standing. Its focus appears to be the pupils’ personal drama as well as their artistic aspirations; the balance between those strands is unclear.

This combines a police investigation with a personal story about Maddie adapting after a devastating attack. Her first case involves a diamond heist and brings the investigation into contact with her family’s loss.

A space adventure centres on Rex’s grand ambition, which draws his friends into a conquest and leads to trouble with the Galactic Alliance.

A story about ambition, friendship and being seen as more than a pretty face, set around Destiny’s secret beauty-contest entry and the challenges that follow.

A biographical account of Ellen Prentiss’s life at sea, centred on her navigation of the clipper Flying Cloud and its race to San Francisco.

At its heart, this is a friendship story about two young people pursuing different ambitions while confronting pressures in their lives and community.

A fashion-and-school story about Emma’s invented persona, Allegra Biscotti, and the pressure of keeping it up.

This is an archaeology-themed adventure and missing-treasure mystery, led by a girl eager to pursue her ambitions. A local ghostly legend adds an eerie element to the expedition.

This is a romance shaped by Rose’s wish to prove herself and the limits placed on her choices. Her work as an apprentice and her uncertain feelings both contribute to the story.

A fantastical adventure pits three friends against a cereal company’s world-taking scheme, with goblin impersonators, faeries and a journey through a space-time rift. The friends aim to rescue the Queen and halt an invasion.

A true aviation emergency is presented as a comic account, with the pilots’ actions and Piché’s early dream of flying both included.

This combines a young woman’s magical calling with court intrigue and a family connection to the Tudor monarchy. Mary’s distrust of love is tested by her attraction to an opponent.

A family upheaval and a determined musical ambition set the story in motion; the journey also gives Maya room to reconsider what makes a place feel like home.

Expect supernatural rivalry, fashion ambitions and a romance complicated by opposing loyalties, with a grand ball looming over both sisters’ plans.

This is a historical adventure about two sisters pursuing samurai training and revenge after a family betrayal. Its central appeal is the sisters' determination to challenge the roles expected of them.

The set offers a continuing animal-fantasy adventure: Rusty pursues becoming a warrior, while friendships and the forest clans form part of the story world.

This is a fantasy adventure shaped by the gap between Berren’s hoped-for life of daring and his present lessons. A prince’s bodyguard request and the Dragon Monks’ visit may bring swordplay closer.