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A group of exiled teenagers face a survival choice in an undead-infested setting, while secrets among them complicate their search for safety and other survivors.

This dystopian survival story centres on Melody’s resourcefulness: she tries to turn a tale about an imagined refuge into a way out of captivity.

Sola’s tightly monitored society uses public battles in which Demonstrators kill criminals. After a kiss draws her into the role, she faces more fights and a romance with a killer while hoping to return to her father.

A Holocaust novel centred on a teenager confronting camp life and her father’s involvement in Nazi propaganda. It also follows her thoughts about friendship, romance, family and religion.

The central pressure is practical: Pierre takes on a long voyageur journey to earn money for his family after his father is injured. The trip is physically demanding and places him among older, teasing brigade members.

This instalment combines a survival situation with an island mystery: the family is short of food, rescue has not appeared, and unsettling discoveries complicate their efforts to understand where they are.

A fast-moving survival predicament sits alongside camp friendships and uncertainty about whether Will can be trusted. The group’s escape attempt keeps danger close as they try to make sense of the animal attacks.

A comic animal adventure driven by clever schemes and escalating trouble. Mr Fox’s efforts to feed his family widen into a rescue for other hungry animals.

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.

A prehistoric survival adventure follows Dusk, an unusual bat-like creature rejected by his colony. When predators attack, he helps lead survivors towards a new home, while facing questions of belonging and difference.

Victor’s search for work becomes a struggle to survive, shaped by his responsibility to his family and his friendship with Rico. The journey brings him into contact with smugglers and the risks of crossing the border.

An eerie survival adventure built around reader choices, with a shipwreck, a haunted island and a quest for a legendary bird. Its branching decisions invite readers to steer the expedition rather than follow one fixed route.

A science expedition becomes an adventure when the team loses half its equipment down a crevasse. The book also brings in ice-core research and the history of South Pole exploration.

Jocelyn and Alex are stranded and lost in the Northwoods after a rafting mishap, facing threats from the elements with only wet bags’ contents. As they try to get home, the former best friends must also confront the strain between them.

Expect an old-fashioned aviation adventure centred on Jack and Tom, with wartime flying, attacks and a dangerous long-distance journey. The chapter headings also signal encounters with a submarine, ice and a polar bear.

This is a survival story centred on five teenagers from different circumstances, brought together by a risky trip at sea. Their changing situation gives the book a strong focus on what they may need from one another.

A dystopian survival adventure about Jen and Father, an AI who has cared for her since she was a baby. Their search for a new home brings danger, new connections and a difficult secret.

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.

Expect a perilous escape through a bleak fantasy setting, with two alternating viewpoints, action and a romance threaded through the danger.

A historical romance turns into a survival story when the Titanic sinks. The immediate tension is whether Nicole can reach safety and whether she can find the two men before then.

This is a family-centred story about migration, bereavement and belonging, with Sophie’s own growth alongside Pedro’s uncertain future. A refugee’s experience is also part of the family’s story.

A wilderness survival story about a young mountain lion, with hunting and animal danger central to the conflict. It may suit a reader drawn to stories focused on wildlife rather than human characters.

This combines zombie attacks and an evolving undead threat with school, work, college plans and friendships. Courtney’s attempt to fund her future by selling a zombie-derived drug gives the survival plot a morally complicated starting point.

This is a captivity-and-escape story, with a frightening abduction at its centre. Consider whether your reader is comfortable with suspense built around a character being held against her will.

A narrative account of a real spaceflight emergency, following the astronauts’ effort to return and events at Mission Control.

Expect a historical novel that shifts between ancient, wartime and present-day settings, with an emotional thread linking experiences across time.

The reader chooses paths through a journey west, making decisions about how the separated narrator will survive and try to reunite with family. A Shoshone girl becomes a companion on the way.

A family-and-adventure story follows twins in a Swiss mountain setting, with geography and history woven into their experiences.

This is a story of survival and a divided sense of self, set against Victorian London's criminal underworld. Cora's attempt to distance herself from her actions drives the central tension.

This is a fantasy adventure built around a perilous flight and a family under pressure. Its appeal may lie in the combination of strange threats, a legendary inheritance and the siblings’ relationships.

Three separate dog-centred adventures offer distinct starting points: Alpha’s life before leadership, Sweet’s search for a Pack, and Moon’s transition after disaster. The collection’s emphasis is on survival and life among Packs.

This combines a turtle’s life-cycle journey with nature information, pairing a story-like account with an afterword about survival threats and ways people can help.

A reference-style companion for readers interested in going beyond the story, combining series background with information about Collins and discussion of broad themes.

The siblings’ journey is framed around hardship and the hope of a new life, with survival left uncertain. It may suit readers drawn to historical adventure and difficult journeys.

A new leader inherits a weakened Clan, with strained relations among the four Clans and an approaching threat. The story’s central pressures are leadership, survival and rebuilding after a major battle.

This is a story of a vulnerable cat and two people she meets, with fear and hardship set against the possibility of trust and belonging.

A quest to find others of her kind combines fantasy adventure with reflections on love, loss and the joys and sorrows of life.

A wilderness adventure about Matt’s wish for solitude, his new acquaintance with Forrest, and the choices that arise as their relationship develops.

A linked collection of love stories, it ranges across family ties, relationships and community life, rather than following one central plot. Its situations include both comic passion and serious family and wartime pressures.

This offers a real-life survival narrative alongside an account of a plane accident. Juliane’s knowledge of the rainforest, taught by her parents, is part of how the story frames her effort to reach safety.

This is a speculative story about survival under strict social rules, centred on a young protagonist whose unexpected choices bring serious stakes.

This is a survival-focused fantasy about mountain cats facing a deadly disease after a battle. It also follows characters dealing with bereavement, uncertain belonging and leadership pressure.

A history-focused collection of personal accounts, centred on children’s experiences of hiding and the people who sheltered them.

This is an animal-survival adventure told through a young wolf’s journey, with family and the natural world among its stated themes.

A science-fiction story of mutation and dangerous powers, set in a world threatened by a virus and conflict. It begins a trilogy and continues the world of Gone.

Readers get a varied set of true survival accounts, from exploration and shipwreck to accidents and medical crises, with illustrations highlighting pivotal moments. The emphasis is on extraordinary ordeals rather than one continuous narrative.