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A lively competition story for readers who enjoy solving problems alongside a determined contestant. Its emotional engine is Gil’s wish to alter his family’s circumstances, while the games test knowledge, persistence, judgement and relationships.

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.

This is a fast-moving disaster story centred on children confronting a hurricane’s danger, while also carrying family worries, illness and efforts to reach or help people and animals.

A fast-moving survival adventure places Sam and Delphy in immediate danger from wildfire while their developing friendship becomes central to their effort to reach safety.

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 fantasy adventure centred on three siblings navigating a strange house, shifting time and dangerous or uncertain encounters. It offers a large-scale quest alongside sibling conflict, loyalty and comic touches.

A warm football adventure uses Pickles’s humorous viewpoint to explore a family trying to stay together while money problems and housing insecurity affect everyday life.

A warm, humorous coming-of-age story about Joe Morelli’s attempt to save his family café. Alongside business ideas and community life, Joe explores his Italian heritage and the history of Italian immigrants in Wales.

This is a fast-moving wartime escape story combining orphanhood, sibling loyalty and espionage. Its child characters repeatedly make difficult choices while trying to survive danger, loss and separation.

A football-centred story about pressure, responsibility and learning to co-operate, with Roy juggling his place in the team, college, family duties and coaching. It offers both match-focused excitement and everyday-life concerns.

Expect an ambitious illustrated adventure in which two sibling seeds face separation, danger and uncertainty while learning about Earth’s history and living systems. Its emotional centre is family loyalty, alongside a sustained interest in survival, connection and the natural world.

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 brisk environmental adventure about a reluctant visit becoming a relationship with a grandad, a local stream and its wildlife. Kyle’s growing responsibility gives the story an encouraging focus on courage, care and standing up for a place.

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.

This is a character-led coming-of-age novel about identity, secrecy, family and finding community. Its emotional centre is Amir’s attempt to reconcile his Muslim family life, sexuality, fear and desire for freedom.

A tense, emotionally serious survival story follows Ade through a collapsing city while his mother withdraws and neighbours become an unexpected support network. Its strongest offering is a child-centred exploration of vulnerability, responsibility and collective care.

This is an atmospheric, twist-heavy missing-person mystery about a newcomer whose friendships, family history and reputation come under pressure.

A school mystery about a child under social pressure, with a new friendship helping him investigate an accusation. Humour sits alongside bullying, prejudice, moral choices and family conversations about religion and values.

This is a warm, funny story about a child finding purpose and companionship through an alphabet project with her grandmother and other residents. It balances playful language with the emotional reality of memory loss and a pressured family life.

A mythology-centred thriller about friendship, loss and responsibility, with riddles, physical and mental challenges, a secret sisterhood and competing claims over ancient artefacts. Its appeal may depend on how comfortably a reader follows its sometimes confusing action.

This is historical fiction about a young person confronting racism and the failure of trusted adults. It offers a serious, unsettling exploration of how prejudice affects families, communities and personal judgement.

This is an action-led fantasy about three teenagers drawn into danger, mystery and Greek-mythological ideas. Alongside battles and peril, it explores memory, loyalty, family fears and the importance of trusting companions.

A dark detective adventure centred on a family trying to understand a father’s disturbing death. Secrets, a secretive group and a valuable jewel drive the investigation, while strained partnerships and personal losses deepen the stakes.

A sports-centred family crisis story: Josh hopes exceptional baseball performance will win a house and help his family after his father’s departure and their move to a smaller home.

A festive friendship adventure with serious pressures underneath: Mac hopes a shared holiday can repair her family, while the friends face a failing home, money worries, and danger connected with Shani.

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.

A storm-bound lighthouse adventure about two siblings facing responsibility, a puzzling visitor and a possible route to saving their home. Its central movement is from separate priorities towards cooperation.

This is a high-stakes survival adventure built around six very different young people learning to depend on one another in extreme circumstances.

A supernatural coming-of-age story about inherited responsibility, private secrets and a choice with potentially enormous consequences. Adam’s wish for normality collides with a frightening vision and a demand to act.

This is a high-stakes mystery-adventure about a teenager caught between family secrets, a dangerous organisation and uncertain allies. Its appeal lies in shifting trust, hidden information and three young people undertaking a journey together despite their differences.

This is a character-led story about siblings trying to stay together while temporary housing disrupts ordinary routines. Its strongest concerns are grief, loyalty, education and the pressure of making adult-seeming decisions without stability.