What Are You Looking For?

An upbeat, personal introduction to farming that follows a working year and explains sheep care alongside stories, humour and reflections on the realities of farm life.

A sombre, imaginative story about sisters, a sleeping princess and a dreamworld shaped by inner struggles. Expect more emotional and psychological exploration than fast-moving adventure, with fairy-tale wonder alongside painful material.

A humorous, emotionally serious story about a boy facing bullying, family disruption and caring responsibilities, with a fantastical wish premise. It may offer reassurance while still presenting difficult circumstances that merit thoughtful discussion.

This is a high-stakes school thriller centred on a student’s planned revenge with an explosive device. Its central appeal is likely suspense, while its subject matter invites reflection on bullying and changed identity.

Ben’s OCD is represented through counting, tapping, blinking, colour rules and fears that dreadful things will happen. The story also follows friendship, school transition and family strain, with support beginning to help him regain control.

This is an emotionally focused verse novel about a teenager balancing school, friendships, violin performance and a changing home life. Its short, varied pieces concentrate on feelings and key moments rather than extended conventional narration.

This is character-led contemporary fiction centred on two care-experienced young men. It explores how they manage trauma, vulnerability and change without necessarily resolving their past, while keeping a strong sense of place and emotional warmth.

This is a dark, plot-driven psychological thriller about emotional numbness, memory and simulated traumatic experiences. Its central mystery follows Eli’s growing suspicion that Traumaland conceals something more dangerous.

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.

Seed combines family difficulty and bullying with magical gardening, an unlikely adventure, friendship and dreams of escape. Its emotional material is presented alongside humour, wonder and suspense rather than as a purely realistic story.

This is a thoughtful story about a child carrying adult responsibilities who finds friendship, creativity and adventure while visiting Italy. An injured otter and the people Jakub meets help broaden his sense of who he is.

A warm, imaginative school mystery combining animal shapeshifting with friendship, sensory overwhelm and family pressures. Alice’s investigation offers adventure while bringing several pupils’ struggles with belonging into the story.

This is a character-centred story about a bereaved young person trying to manage ordinary responsibilities while carrying several earlier losses and a turbulent inner life.

This is a verse novel about two young people whose friendship develops amid homelessness, mental-health difficulties, family strain, disappearance and guilt. Molly’s wish to help Red also prompts her to face her own unresolved pain.

This is a thoughtful, emotionally intense coming-of-age story in which the mystery and romance frame Aza’s experience of intrusive thoughts. Friendship, empathy and the effort to keep living with ongoing difficulty matter more than solving the case.