What Are You Looking For?

A school popularity story that centres a well-liked girl rather than an outsider, and follows her as she takes on a leadership role.

Sticky notes spread around the school, carrying both friendly and cutting messages.

A young protagonist is pulled between loyalty, friendship and her own judgement, while Cold War fears shape the world around her. The story centres on working out who counts as an enemy.

A school story about teasing, worries about keeping up in class and the search for friendship, with Jeff and Nick's homemade comic as a creative outlet.

This is a friendship story set against coercion and injury, with a fantasy of flying and wartime flying stories in the mix.

This is a relationship-centred story framed by domestic violence and alcoholism, rather than a light romance.

Kieran wants to fit in at school, but his cousin Bon becomes a target for teasing. Kieran must choose between acceptance by the other children and standing up for Bon. The story also involves jealousy, family secrets and unexpected kindness; how these strands develop or end is unclear.

This is a family drama about belonging, resentment and difficult choices. Keysha’s move to her previously unknown father’s household and her involvement with a rough crowd place her past and present circumstances in tension.

This is a serious verse novel about friendship under pressure. It offers a close view of BJ’s insecurity, the pull of social acceptance, and how rumours and prejudice can intensify a painful situation.

This is a paranormal school adventure about discovering an extraordinary identity, navigating exclusion and questioning rules. It combines dragon lore, friendship, attraction, danger and a determined protagonist who resists simply going along with authority.

This is a teen romance centred on attraction, friendship and the possibility of heartbreak, with a dramatic relationship at its core and social pressures around dating.

This is a light-hearted boarding-school story about a scholarship student navigating wealth, ambition and popularity. Lucy’s attempt to impress a prince creates social consequences, offering a brisk setup for drama about belonging and status.

This is a character-led story about trying on a new identity, seeking acceptance and discovering that gossip can involve people close to home. Its central tensions combine workplace belonging with changing family relationships.

This is an emotionally charged teen novel about being seen beyond labels. Its central relationship brings together romance, loneliness, grief, bullying, disability-related experience and efforts to reclaim confidence and possibility.

A fast-moving supernatural thriller about friendship, belonging and resisting pressure, with a frightening bodily transformation at its centre. The plot combines school conflict, investigation and action.

Expect a comic school adventure about friendship and fitting in, with a new pupil whose influence leads Zombie into trouble. The book also includes Minecraft-style monster humour, social embarrassment and references to school trouble.

A relationship-centred coming-of-age story about loyalty, reputation and self-trust, with romance and mystery around a past assault. It may suit discussion of how social approval can shape difficult personal choices.

A tense school story about belonging and the cost of acceptance. Jericho’s growing unease gives readers a close view of how group loyalty can compete with judgement, while the initiation exposes humiliation, coercion and danger.

This is a tense school-set story about coercion, belonging and escalating knife-related danger. Its focus is less on glamour than on how fear, loyalty and pressure can narrow a teenager’s choices.

This is a character-led story about a teenager’s self-image and changing relationships, set alongside Cassie’s disability and her family’s circumstances. Its several viewpoints invite readers to consider how people’s inner lives may differ from what others can see.

A character-led coming-of-age novel about seeing beyond glamour, managing peer influence and becoming more independent. Humour, romance and suspense sit alongside family difficulties, social uncertainty and a serious later turn.

This is an imaginative rescue adventure about two brothers whose shared dreams become dangerous. It follows Malky’s efforts to understand what has happened to Seb and to act despite fear, while family change and friendship shape his choices.

A tense friendship story about pressure, risky bravado and the consequences of hiding the truth. Its central movement is towards honesty, vulnerability and more considered ideas of strength.

A contemporary teen story about a party that brings friendship, romance, family expectations and risky behaviour into collision. Its interest lies in showing how ordinary pressures can lead to impulsive choices, and how those choices affect relationships and public reputation.

This is a school-set novel about how a group experiment changes relationships, authority and public debate. Its central interest is the tension between belonging and independent judgement, with the school newspaper representing a challenge to growing conformity.

This is a fast, emotionally charged story about risk-taking and its aftermath. Rory’s experience opens space to think about peer pressure, friendship, blame, accountability and whether people can rebuild trust after serious harm.

A humorous adventure about a reluctant child facing unfamiliar activities, social pressure and team expectations. Tim’s practical idea in a challenge suggests that contribution need not depend on sporting ability.

A school story about August’s first experience of mainstream education, Wonder explores friendship, prejudice, family relationships and self-acceptance. Its difficult incidents are set alongside reconciliation, supportive adults and acts of kindness.

This is a contemporary friendship drama about the excitement and pressure surrounding viral fame. It offers a tense route into questions about risk, loyalty, honesty and whether online attention is worth personal costs.

A lively, voice-driven story about friendship, family pressure and a risky plan. Its humour and invented slang sit alongside shouting at home, money worries and the tension of deciding whether to join in.

A school mystery gives Alex and David a route into an uneasy friendship. The story looks closely at how fear, peer pressure and self-protection shape choices, while using the Icarus idea to frame risk, hope and possible escape.

This is a socially focused school story about resisting pressure, finding connection and retaining self-respect when cruelty becomes public and difficult to escape.

This is a politically charged coming-of-age story about how fear, belonging and resentment can draw someone into racist violence. Its force comes with disturbing material rather than a reassuring or uncomplicated journey.

This is a character-led dystopian thriller in which an apparently helpful happiness project becomes increasingly strange. Its strongest material concerns pressure, identity and the meaning of wellbeing; its ending is abrupt and leaves the story hanging.

This offers a contemporary child’s perspective on poverty and family difficulty, deliberately read beside Oliver Twist. Its strongest feature is the connection between classroom literature and problems affecting Shona’s life.

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.

This is a lively diary-style coming-of-age story about crushes, friendship and self-image. Lara’s attempt to change herself for attention creates pressure, while football, humour and her relationships help shape her journey.

This is a historical family story about fitting in, responding to school teasing and deciding whether to challenge unfair blame directed at Japanese-American friends. Its central interest lies in personal choices made amid wider wartime uncertainty.

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 school drama about the attraction and fragility of popularity. Its central mystery gives the story suspense while Rick’s changing response to Jake provides a route into questions about trust and identity.

This is a relationship-focused story about friendship under strain, blame spreading through a school group, family awkwardness and feelings that may or may not become romantic. Its focus is on tangled social choices and competing relationships.

A relationship-focused Christian YA novel about friendship, changing plans and the uncertainty of leaving school. Lissa’s final term brings social pressures, family strain, romance and questions about how faith should guide difficult choices.

This is a character-led YA romance about grief, outsider identity and a transformative friendship. Its emotional centre is Maggie and Dahlia’s growing love, alongside music, unconventional behaviour and difficult social responses.

This is a relationship-focused story about identity, secrecy, belonging and pressure. It places Evan between a secret boyfriend and a friendship drawn towards a group promising protection and status.

This is a relationship-focused story about a child facing bereavement, family change, shifting friendships and early adolescent feelings, with an overgrown mansion providing mystery and a private place to withdraw.