What Are You Looking For?

A school-and-friendship story centred on Lucy’s place in her group, with her friends’ public exploits providing a contrast to her private fear.

A horse-and-school story about a child who cares deeply about art and wants to support her grandmother's effort to benefit the school's arts programme.

A fast-moving horror mystery places two newcomers inside a cheerleading squad beset by danger. Its central appeal is suspense: the sisters must work out what is happening while the threat to the team escalates.

This is a relationship-focused coming-of-age story about a student balancing boarding-school tensions, romantic uncertainty, writing ambitions and possible work in New York. It may suit readers interested in emotional decisions and changing friendships, though the conclusion is not fully established here.

This is a family-and-friendship story about adapting to relocation, comparing yourself with a successful sibling, and rebuilding trust when sisters begin keeping things from one another.

This is a school-centred story about a boy discovering that writing can attract attention and create change. It connects personal effort with homelessness, employment barriers and the limits of a well-intended community proposal.

This is a school-and-community adventure about a child trying to behave, campaign for student council and manage attention-grabbing mistakes during a Capitol trip. Its appeal centres on Keena’s lively perspective and determined efforts.

A warm, humorous portrait of childhood unfolds through linked episodes rather than one tightly described plot. Family, school, neighbours and memorable mishaps give the book an affectionate, community-centred feel.

A lively story about a child whose entrepreneurial idea grows rapidly, testing friendships and responsibilities. It offers an engaging way to think about ambition, persistence and the consequences of taking risks.

This offers a school-start story about friendship and belonging, with a particular focus on how Pelly’s difference affects her relationships with Tangle and Eno.

A lively, first-person school story combines farcical problem-solving and slow-burn romance with serious family instability. Its emotional centre is Aideen’s habit of helping others while struggling to address her own circumstances.

A comic adventure about an underestimated child confronting a frightening threat, while the adults and children around him face the consequences of past choices. Its imaginative monster story also explores belonging, courage and changing relationships.

This is a gentle, realistic story about a child negotiating identity and belonging after moving countries. It offers a clear starting point for discussing names, pronunciation, welcome and cultural pride.

A gentle, direct introduction to anxiety, depression and loneliness, centred on the beginning of a supportive friendship. It makes talking, seeking help and finding suitable support networks part of the story.

A clue-driven mystery set among gifted students, pairing investigation with questions about grief, friendship and the human cost of treating crime as an intellectual puzzle.

A poetic picture book follows a girl whose ordinary school day is shattered by war. Alone, she travels through dangerous displacement before encountering a school that initially excludes her. The story presents destruction, bereavement and possible drowning indirectly, then turns towards welcome, solidarity and hope through children’s practical kindness.

A contemporary YA romance about two former friends reconnecting under very public circumstances. Alongside the prom storyline, Elena's campaign to protect the community centre and Robbie's experience of being watched create a coming-of-age story about belonging and self-definition.

A lively school story about rebuilding friendships while organising to save a much-loved library. It offers humour, urgency and a strong sense of libraries as welcoming places for different interests and activities.

A coming-of-age story about identity, belonging and disclosure, balancing painful social pressures with friendship, family love and romantic possibility. It offers a queer Mexican American protagonist whose choices are shaped by school, faith and immigration-related family separation.

A warm story about a child whose busy family weekend becomes an unexpected learning experience. It offers a lively picture of shared work, celebration and community, while making room for a child’s worry about disappointing school expectations.

This is a gentle family story about adapting to hearing loss without losing closeness. Jacki and her mother use sign language, while Jacki discovers that music can also be shared through vibration, movement and visual communication.

A tense boarding-school mystery about disappearance, grief and alliance-building. Its international, multi-ethnic and multi-religious cast includes positively portrayed queer characters, while Gothic atmosphere and several intertwined storylines create a more demanding emotional and structural experience.

A vividly remembered village childhood, told through family routines, school, work, local characters and changing rural life. Its interest lies in crafted atmosphere and perspective rather than a complete factual account of Lee’s life.

This is a lively but grief-heavy coming-of-age story: boarding-school camaraderie, pranks and desire give way to questions about guilt, responsibility, idealisation and how little one person may know about another.

A culturally rooted historical story about a boy finding confidence through football while negotiating family expectations and hostility at school. It offers a child’s perspective on belonging, tradition and personal freedom.

A gentle verse story about a child living through separation, relocation and a changed family life, while finding companionship in relatives, new friends and the community around a diner.

A magical school adventure about Twink’s enthusiasm for Fledge and the demands of becoming Games Fairy. It may suit readers interested in friendship, school life, sport and learning what leadership involves.

This is a school-community story about pupils who respond to a fundraising challenge by sharing personal heritage through a jointly made book. Its central interest is how a collaborative project may help students understand themselves and each other.

This is a school-and-belonging story about Jordan moving between a prestigious school and his Washington Heights neighbourhood, while drawing cartoons and questioning how to remain himself across different worlds.

A school-set story about a reluctant student encountering boxing, a new community and a threat to her school. Tessa’s changing relationship with New Directions appears to drive the book.

This is a school-set continuation centred on changing friendships, missing someone who has left, and the possibility of finding a satisfying life of one’s own. It also promises lively disruption through mischievous children and a practical new maid.

This is a teenage coming-of-age story shaped by mourning, secrecy, attraction and social pressure. Its focus is Skim’s emotional confusion as school events and personal relationships unsettle her.

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.