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This is a supernatural coming-of-age story about Adam’s difficult family life and his collision with a hidden world between life and death.

Auralia’s unusual colour-making gift brings her into contact with rulers, a wizard and a prince with dangerous secrets. Her discovery links a personal mystery to wider upheaval across the Expanse.

Lily’s move between two versions of Salem sets up a fantasy about altered identity and power, alongside romance and danger. Her life-threatening allergies are part of her circumstances in the first world.

This science-fiction adventure centres on time travel, conflict with Eyewall and a choice between protecting loved ones and trying to avert a grim future.

A kidnapping and ransom plan becomes a comic contest of wills: the criminals struggle with their young captive, while his father turns their demand back on them.

This is a science-fiction adventure about young aliens in hiding, developing powers and trying to unite against those pursuing them. Marina’s and John’s situations provide distinct strands of the story, with danger and preparation for battle at its centre.

Apollo’s quest takes him and his allies into danger as he searches for an Oracle and tries to regain his godhood. Humour, humiliating setbacks and mythological adventure sit alongside the threat of a violent antagonist.

This is a school-set murder mystery about the fallout from a violent clash between two students. Its six boy narrators offer different perspectives as friends and enemies face loss, suspicion and racial tensions.

A fast-moving science-fantasy adventure follows Kincar across alternate versions of Gorth, where he must navigate a new threat and the demands of a mysterious relic.

This is a space adventure about leadership under pressure, with a rebellion, royal succession and a romantic thread. Qole and Nev face different choices about power and where their loyalties lie.

Jane’s story combines life in court and noble households with tutoring and the struggle over England’s succession.

A bleak, satirical dystopia about a young person entering retail work as corporate power and consumer culture shape everyday life. Zoe’s search for somewhere to live brings the social costs of this imagined world into focus.

Jake’s move to New Zealand does not bring the better life his father hoped for: he is separated from his sister and faces harsh treatment on a farm.

A fast-moving space adventure follows a captured outlaw forced into service by the power that destroyed her home. Ia’s escape plans become tangled with new friendships and questions of loyalty.

Expect an introduction to hydropower, from moving water and turbines to electricity generation, set alongside examples such as waterfalls, mills and dams.

Edward discovers his Guardian powers and must learn to use them while trying to save his mother and friends from the Jackal. The story involves wings, magic and the afterlife.

This is a multi-voiced Tudor court story: each queen has her own account, interspersed with Henry’s, and the women’s hopes and fears are central. The focus is personal experience rather than a broad account of everything happening at court.

Ben’s paid desert-guiding trip turns into a fight to survive when Madec tries to silence him after a prospector is shot. The suspense centres on exposure, thirst, gunfire and the difficulty of being believed.

Gretchen and Daniel’s murder investigation brings them into danger amid the Nazi consolidation of power. Alongside the romantic relationship, the novel covers political changes and the targeting of Jews as scapegoats.

A quick-thinking mouse fends off animals that want to eat him by telling stories about a fearsome creature. When he meets the Gruffalo, he improvises again to get away.

Follow Paul from the Atreides’ political upheaval to Arrakis, where the Fremen and the planet’s precious spice connect local life to the empire’s wider struggle for control.

Expect a strong shift in mood: early comedy and school antics give way to sustained conflict and tragic drama. The light opening does not represent the tone throughout.

A comic fantasy about an impossible hat problem becomes a story of a boy facing royal authority. Its absurdity and escalating predicament may suit a shared read with room to pause and talk.

Expect a grim, disorientating fairy tale rather than a reassuring adventure: Otto is often frightened and uncertain, while magic offers power without straightforward control.

A fantasy about balancing an extraordinary responsibility with friendship and uncertainty about life after school; humour and Bailey’s grounded teenage voice help connect the supernatural elements to everyday concerns.

This is a story of longing, separation and reunion, told through furniture characters. Its central appeal may be imagining what these objects experience when they cannot move themselves.

Expect a high-action fantasy about survival, loyalty and choosing what sort of person to become, rather than a romance-led story. Aina’s assassin role and the consequences of her choices are prominent.

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 rebellious retelling of Oz, with a Kansas teenager caught up in a struggle against Dorothy’s rule. Familiar characters are recast, and the story explores how power can unsettle the old labels of good and wicked.

This is a high-stakes fantasy finale focused on loyalty, identity and difficult choices, with a continuing cast and world. It is not presented as a standalone story.

This is a brisk, illustrated survey of rulers across history, mixing short factual sections with comparisons of their power and conduct.

Expect a fantasy adventure that mixes family upheaval, secret-society mysteries, powerful relics and threats described as difficult to destroy.

A lively urban fantasy for readers drawn to spirits, unusual allies and New York history; the story balances adventure with a strand about the island’s original inhabitants.

A dark fantasy about a young outcast learning to use her powers, with belonging and loyalty competing against rage, fear and the pull towards harming others.

A puzzle-led fantasy adventure, with riddles readers can try alongside the characters. The appeal is the unfolding quest and imaginative mix of worlds; the story is part of a continuing series.

This is a sweeping fantasy about Zélie’s attempt to restore magic, pursued by the crown and complicated by her feelings for an enemy. Its imagined kingdom also carries themes of racial oppression and resistance.

A fantasy caper built around a criminal boy’s plan to ransom a fairy, with high-tech opponents and a possible clash between species.

This is a fantasy adventure built around a search, a resistance and a mystery about stolen powers. Its appeal may lie in the blend of strange technology and magic.

This is a fast-moving escape-and-reunion adventure, with the Toa split between prison and flight. Its central draw is how they respond to betrayal while trying to confront a new enemy.

A broad historical introduction, linking political change with everyday life, artistic achievements and later influence. It may suit a reader curious about how an ancient society is presented across several aspects of life.

This is a broad historical overview of the Pacific war, including military campaigns and larger changes to Asia and European colonial power.

A friendship-led adventure combines a mythical figure with a sequence of daily challenges and changing superpower choices.

A storm sets off a search for Danny’s missing parents, while a new ability to hear plants and animals draws him into a supernatural struggle.

A supernatural school story turns the Faustian bargain into a tale of power, ambition and consequences. The children use extraordinary abilities and suffer side-effects of their addictions.

The story combines a teenager’s discovery about her identity with fairy lore and a perilous journey. Aoife’s friendship with Shay becomes important as she tries to make sense of what is happening.