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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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 about musical magic, a school audition setback and the pressure Amelia puts on herself to become the “perfect musician”.

A lively-sounding fantasy premise combines Greek-mythology influences, magic, an immortal princess and an unlikely quest. Ana’s own wish to choose her future sits alongside the threat posed by her tutor’s search for power.

A prehistoric coming-of-age story about exclusion, belonging and Tao's ambition to paint in caves.

This is a high-stakes fantasy adventure built around a group of morally complicated outsiders, a dangerous magical object and uneasy cooperation.

This is a coming-of-age story about a young person pursuing creative and educational ambitions amid family expectations, changing relationships and uncertainty about her future.

Four linked adventures follow the Cheetah Girls through an unexpected fashion trend, music-industry opportunities and preparations for a major concert. One storyline introduces Dorinda's newly discovered sister, who is white and coming to town.

This is a fantasy adventure centred on a young thief navigating a city where words mislead and trust is difficult. The plot also brings together loyalty to family, friendship and a dangerous rescue.

This is a school story about trying to find your own style. Babymouse responds to social pressure by making a creative project of her own, rather than simply aiming to fit in.

This is a contemporary relationship story shaped by differences in family circumstances and by immigration enforcement. Alma and Evan each have ambitions to leave their town, but their relationship confronts them with difficult choices.

This is a mystery shaped by Gwen’s music-school ambitions and her effort to find out what has happened to her grandfather. Robert joins her as a fellow auditioning student.

The book sets Russell’s wish to escape school against Tansy’s effort to keep it open, using comic classroom mishaps along the way.

This is a teen relationship story set against the prospect of a band’s success. Its focus is on friends balancing music ambitions with romantic uncertainty.

A school-and-horses story about ambition, belonging and building trust with a guarded pony. Malory’s hopes for her future at Chestnut Hill are tied to whether she can bring out Tybalt’s potential.

A quest for stories becomes a search connected to Trinket’s missing father. The book combines bardic ambition and companionship with a sequence of folklore-inspired adventures.

This is a lively summer story about friendship and competing interests, with a rumoured hidden fortune adding a mystery thread.

This is a story of dance, friendship and a girl’s search for family origins, set amid the social world of Belle Époque Paris.

This is a friendship story set alongside Zoey’s interest in fashion and sewing. Its central appeal may be watching her manage creative ambitions while trying to keep two friendships on track.

The central dilemma is whether Caitlin can pursue acting while facing the consequences of lying about her age and hiding her choices from people close to her.

A story of three sisters pursuing different ambitions through stage training and show business, with family circumstances and the effort of practice shaping their paths.

This is a family-and-baseball story in which a father’s return from prison unsettles Xavier. His anger on the field puts his ambition under pressure, while the possibility of repeating his father’s path hangs over him.

This is a cadet adventure built around a real training mission, with competition and self-doubt alongside a high-stakes decision about responding to danger.

The story pairs Flora’s ambition to become a ranger with fantastical dangers and a threatened city. Her efforts to help a friend and uncover family revelations add personal stakes.

A fast-moving contest story combines a hacker pursuit with Marisa’s hope of helping her family and the pressure of a tournament where winning may mean survival.

This is a family-centred street-fiction premise, with twin brothers pulled in different directions by ambition, trouble and urgent family needs. Deion’s decision is posed, but its outcome is not given.

A fashion-focused high-school senior has a London design-school ambition and a difficult conversation ahead: her parents think she applied to college, but she did not.

A friendship-and-theatre story built around performance opportunities, with Jack and Louisa facing different choices after camp. Its appeal may lie in musical theatre enthusiasm and the question of how friends handle shared creative plans.