What Are You Looking For?

This is a science-fiction adventure about a would-be pilot investigating her father’s wartime actions while confronting unsettling discoveries about her world.

This is an imaginative fairy-tale adventure about family, friendship and finding missing people, combining modern Virginia with an older magical world. Its shifting settings, time structure and recognisable story figures may appeal to readers who enjoy elaborate retellings.

Expect a tense wartime adventure centred on a boy whose loyalty is unsettled by family revelations and encounters with Nazi brutality. Its main appeal is the combination of suspense, historical setting and moral awakening rather than light-hearted adventure.

A lively family adventure pairs a serious kidnapping situation with comic sibling behaviour and improvised plans. The children’s contrasting personalities drive much of the story, especially during their confinement and attempts to influence or outwit their captors.

Expect a historical adventure centred on Sally and Roger, their mother’s efforts to protect gold, and the threat posed by approaching British forces. The book also foregrounds family loyalty, courage and a woman taking charge.

This is a historical diary about a family trying to remain together amid Gold Rush hardship. It offers domestic perspective as well as danger, grief and ethical choices, with a generally bleak atmosphere and attention to friendship over sudden wealth.

This is a fast-moving fantasy quest about rescuing Gus, uncovering dangerous family secrets and navigating a frightening parallel world. Its emotional centre is Oksa’s determination to protect her friend while facing increasingly perilous trials.

This is a determined sibling-rescue adventure rooted in a little-known historical episode. It combines family loyalty and questions about adoption with travel, danger and prejudice, while inviting readers to notice how institutions and communities treat vulnerable children.

A folklore-infused fantasy about a cursed princess undertaking dangerous trials to save her brothers. Its strongest threads are family loyalty, courage, sacrifice and repairing harm, while its trials include physical danger, death and bereavement.

Choose this for a reader drawn to Greek mythology, modern fantasy and high-stakes competition, provided graphic violence and mature themes are not likely to overwhelm them.

A fast-moving historical adventure about two samurai sisters who leave an unsafe school to find their mother and younger brother, while facing danger and pursuing family honour.

This is a wartime story about a child trying to understand occupation, separation and moral choice. Its strongest thread is Marit’s changing view of courage, loyalty and compassion amid danger.

This is an imaginative, issue-led adventure about environmental collapse, inequality and resistance, balanced by family loyalty and hope. Its vivid language may invite close discussion as much as straightforward plot-following.

This is a war novel centred on a young woman’s divided loyalties: caring for the wounded, protecting family and considering escape. It offers an emotionally intense perspective on civilian danger, responsibility and hope.

This is a spooky rescue adventure centred on a frightened boy trying to protect his brother. Expect cemetery and crypt imagery, supernatural games, riddles and sustained suspense, alongside friendship and compassion.

A lively historical-fantasy mystery follows two young detectives through Parisian streets and sewers. Its strongest appeal is the blend of family questions, magical folklore, riddles, danger and a richly used city setting, with Zélie and Jules sharing the adventure.

This is a clue-led historical adventure about a young protagonist acting under pressure to help her imprisoned father. It offers travel, ancient objects, a companionable magpie and a mystery that links art and evidence.

This is a high-pressure family and sports story about twins whose ambitions, rivalry and difficult circumstances lead them towards separate dangers. It combines emotional conflict with themes of loyalty, adversity and recovery.

An imaginative rescue adventure that places family devotion and personal difference at the centre of a struggle against mental control. It may particularly suit readers drawn to big moral questions alongside suspense and other-worldly travel.

Choose this for a reader who enjoys classic mysteries, deduction and a slightly spooky atmosphere. Its strongest appeal is the Holmes-and-Watson partnership, carefully constructed investigation and influential detective-fiction pattern.

A lively, voice-led coming-of-age novel combining humour and friendship with family strain, social pressure and gang-related danger. Lemar’s art and relationships offer warmth, but the story also reaches a killing and difficult choices.

Choose this for a reader who enjoys atmospheric mysteries, eccentric characters, supernatural adventure and comic wordplay. Its central appeal is following clues through an unusual seaside world while Herbie and Violet face escalating danger.

Expect a fast-moving, imaginative adventure in which time travel connects family relationships, grief and responsibility. The story also makes room for humour, friendship and emotional growth, with Al facing both practical dangers and difficult choices.

This is comic fantasy adventure about an underestimated boy whose intelligence, courage and loyalty matter more than physical strength. Its lively illustrations, eccentric names and slapstick tone may make the story especially inviting.

Choose this for a child who enjoys immersive fantasy quests, invented creatures, game-like challenges and a determined protagonist whose family and friendships matter as much as the adventure.

A compact, atmospheric fantasy about courage and devotion, with a clear quest structure. Its cold landscapes and threatening folklore create suspense, while Ivan’s determination gives the story emotional purpose.

This is a family-history story in which discovering wartime secrets changes how Liv understands her grandmother, loyalty and courage. It combines contemporary friendship worries with Jewish sisters’ separation, Resistance work, loss and rebuilding a life.

This is a tense superhero story about young people confronting inherited wrongdoing, dangerous adults and complicated friendships. It combines investigations and emotional conflict with perilous confrontations, including threats, coercion and graphic-sounding physical violence.

This is a high-stakes fantasy continuation about Sophie and her allies confronting hidden history, dangerous enemies and choices that may require sacrifice. Friendship, family, courage and romantic uncertainty sit alongside magical peril.

This is an imaginative, quest-shaped fantasy with a dark circus setting, unusual beings and a strong emphasis on loyalty. Its emotional centre is children helping one another through danger and uncertainty.

Expect a quirky, high-energy family adventure combining mystery, humour and possible magic. Its strongest feature is the seven siblings’ unusual individuality alongside their shared determination to tackle problems together.

Choose this for a fantasy adventure rooted in family love, storytelling and legend. Its quest structure offers momentum, while stories within the story invite attention to how tales shape courage and understanding.

A faith-centred historical adventure about rebuilding Jerusalem, political danger and a young person discovering where he belongs. Expect biblical themes, journeys, opposition and an emphasis on courage, loyalty and service.

A historical adventure about loyalty and determined problem-solving, set in the Florida Keys in 1912 as Eddie investigates the accusation against his father.

This is an atmospheric mountain adventure about a child confronting fear while searching for a missing father. Its strongest apparent appeal is the combination of perilous landscapes, family feeling and an unsettling supernatural presence.

A wintry fantasy adventure about a loved child facing separation, danger and responsibility. Its strongest apparent offerings are imaginative world-building, loyalty to family and the possibility of restoring goodwill, though the resolution is not shown.

A richly imagined fantasy of sisterhood, secret worlds and divided loyalties, centred on Jena’s struggle to protect home and family while confronting threats from both human and magical realms.

This is a family-and-belonging story with adventure elements: Thunder’s life is shaped by rejection, care and a divided community, while a forest fire creates a serious test. Its central choice concerns whether long-built loyalty can outweigh blood ties.

This is a historical family-and-identity story about Jane negotiating divided loyalties while seeking independence. War, romance and personal courage place her between competing claims about home, family and who she wants to become.

A wilderness adventure about a boy and a dog whose friendship is built through loyalty, determination and mutual help. It may appeal to readers who enjoy animal companions and stories of resilience.

A magical family adventure with escalating secrets, strange powers and rescue peril. Chase’s world is disrupted by revelations that appear to leave him feeling like one of the worst people in the world as events move towards a dramatic climax.

A supernatural mystery about a teenager confronting deep fears while searching for his missing mother. It combines coastal horror, strange allies and escalating danger, with family loss and courage at its emotional centre.

Choose this for a myth-based adventure centred on friendship, loyalty and a high-stakes rescue. Its interest also lies in Percy’s uncertainty about family identity and whether inherited status feels honourable or painful.

A historical account of Yoshitsune’s difficult upbringing and military rise, combining personal adversity with rebellion, combat and family rivalry.