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Will is reluctant to spend a school-assignment day at his father’s office, doubting his father will make time for him. The novel is set around the September 11 attacks and follows changes in Will’s life and relationships.

The story follows Solomon’s efforts to find his own path while his family works towards independence. A cattle drive brings adventure and new sights, alongside tensions at home and the question of how Black settlers will be received.

This is an angsty first-love story about two teenagers seeking more freedom while facing difficult family circumstances. Their connection matters, but the ending is bittersweet rather than a straightforward romantic resolution.

A football story about a young player questioning whether he wants the future others expect for him. James’s wish to choose another path—and his worry about his father’s disappointment—sit alongside tournament action.

This is a contemporary family-and-romance story about Frank negotiating his parents’ expectations, his relationships and his Korean American identity. A serious illness and bereavement also shape the family story.

This is a comic adventure built around Fintan's wish to prove himself and his pursuit of a rare prize, with rivals and kidnappers complicating the journey.

A historical coming-of-age story about Donata’s attempt to claim more freedom and learning within a noble family’s strict expectations. Her excursions bring her into contact with Venice’s Jewish community and poorer residents, as well as questions about her family’s future.

This is a high-stakes story about sisters, secrecy and political power, centred on Frey’s struggle to protect Rafi while confronting a life shaped by someone else’s identity.

A warm, everyday school-and-family story follows Ramona through friendship, spelling struggles and the adjustment to a baby sister, with both awkward moments and small successes.

Louis is a bookish, sensitive boy in a world where physical toughness is prized. The novel examines how family and neighbourhood expectations shape his sense of himself, alongside his growing feelings for Ray Anthony.

Expect darkly comic family fiction with a grisly premise, a teenage relationship and a private-detective thread. The story also includes a fatal consequence linked to a prank.

This is a teen romantic comedy about trying to repair a relationship after a mistake, set in a school where gender and sexuality norms are unusually playful.

At its centre is an unlikely friendship that brings together two teenagers facing loneliness and change. Their lives involve family troubles, romantic relationships and the effort to imagine a future on their own terms.

This is a character-led romance about two teenagers challenging family expectations, with Carly’s efforts to reunite her family and Arden’s grief shaping their paths.

A playful magical mishap drives the story, with Lili’s dislike of bad spells setting her apart from what her aunt wants her to become.

A linked fantasy collection with different heroines and challenges: a rescue journey, a princess finding her own magical abilities, and a girl learning to manage dragon transformations.

This is a horse-centred story about bereavement, caring for a vulnerable foal and Joelle's changing feelings. Her hoped-for show success also matters to her, alongside her attachment to Dance Away.

A determined girl searches for her missing father in a forest associated with a deadly beast, in a magical Beauty and the Beast retelling.

This is a family story about waiting and trying to meet expectations while a parent is away on military duty, told from a child’s point of view.

A coming-of-age story about trying to build genuine friendships after relying on an invented social life, with college offering Caroline a chance to start over.

Secret spellcasting gives Eliza and her housemates a taste of freedom and power, but a spell’s deadly consequence changes the stakes. The book pairs boarding-school life and sisterhood with supernatural danger.

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.

This is a family-centred ghost story about three sisters trying to make sense of loss while imagining lives beyond their home and neighbourhood.

This instalment combines comic family friction with mysteries and a perilous-sounding effort to guard a valuable diamond.

The story centres on Hortense's studies, interests and uncertain prospects amid her family's changed circumstances after the French Revolution.

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.

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.

A spirited family adventure combines inherited magic, sisters’ relationships and the social expectations placed on girls in Regency England.

This is a story of friendship under strain, told through three girls’ distinct summer challenges: family expectations, an aspiration tied to thinness, and a family coping with bereavement and divorce.

A character-led summer-camp story about friendship, family expectations and weight control, with first-kiss feelings alongside Cam’s adjustment to camp.

This is a school friendship story in which a reluctant candidate faces an election shaped by loyalty to friends and pressure not to disappoint them.

This is a growing-up story centred on Sophie’s mixed feelings about adolescence: she resists change but also wants to avoid seeming immature to classmates.

This is a coming-of-age story about Nick's emerging romance with Bobby and the gap between his private self and a public image shaped by others.

This is a story about a young woman pushing back against the future her parents want for her. June's own ambitions include travel, university and writing.

This is a multi-character story about young people in a Brooklyn neighbourhood. Gingerbread’s claim that “life is funny” sits beside the difficulties described in the outline.

This story brings together survival, friendship and family change as Sky adjusts to life in California after growing up on an island.

A sports-and-family story built around Gabby’s attempt to pursue baseball while navigating a pageant she does not want and her mother’s hopes.

A multi-character story about four girls navigating a week of personal complications, with comic disasters alongside family disagreement, disappointment and attempts to help.

This is a wartime friendship story in which childhood play sits alongside an attempt to track down Nazi spies. Cory’s desire to be brave is tested by mistakes and hurtful choices.

A Snow White retelling, the story centres on Sophie’s attempt to get away from a jealous stepmother and Gabe’s effort to bring her to his family’s castle. Escape brings new complications as their feelings grow despite existing betrothals.

At its heart, this is a story about a young adventurer reconsidering solitude and facing a test of courage while travelling with two horses.

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 school-year coming-of-age story links Holling’s classroom life and Shakespeare reading with wider historical events and family expectations.

This is a historical romance set against storms and social inequality, with Madelaine’s search for freedom at its heart. The relationship crosses a sharp difference in wealth and status.

This dystopian story sets personal choice against a government policy that treats love as illness. Lena’s initial trust in the Cure is complicated when she meets Alex; the book’s final outcome is unclear.