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Expect interwoven royal, military and espionage plots, set against war, political manoeuvring and a destructive blight. The story also explores identity and includes queer characters and relationships.

Zoe must make sense of a changed life, including new technology and a social position unlike the one she remembers. Her efforts to revive her friendship with Jonah sit alongside questions about popularity and returning home.

A fact-led, illustrated look at remarkable cars and speed records, combining vehicle profiles with details of design features and technologies.

Readers encounter several high-speed aircraft and their records, with cockpit illustrations and short explanations of how the planes work. The book also addresses the risks pilots take and the thrill of supersonic flight.

This is a speculative adventure about two people affected by a technology-linked pandemic, a search for Kestrella’s mother and the Gene Police’s interest in Johnny.

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

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.

A broad introduction to the role of machines in daily life, the rise of factories and the shift towards computer-directed production.

This is a career-focused introduction to ways science and technology can be used in fashion and beauty, rather than simply a guide to choosing clothes or cosmetics.

A cultural-history exploration of mirrors, bringing together mythology, science, art and technology. It may suit a young reader curious about how an everyday object has featured in different areas of human thought.

This is a high-stakes group adventure about trying to prevent war. The focus shifts from protecting the friends’ own people to a wider effort, while their plan is complicated by divided loyalties.

This is an illustrated guide to how technology works, spanning everyday gadgets and larger systems. Its focus is on showing inner workings and explaining the science and invention behind them.

A structured history resource, it mixes factual accounts with enquiries and activities rather than offering narrative alone. Its stated scope is England from 1901 to the present.

This is an adventure shaped by clashing inventions and an uneasy partnership. The central contrast is between engineered living creatures and steam-powered machines, with Alek and Deryn caught on opposing sides.

This is fast-moving science fiction built around immersive technology, friendship and a fight against a powerful corporation, with danger spanning virtual and real worlds.

A structured introduction to how inventions have shaped modern life, moving across everyday communication, homes, transport and microtechnology.

This is both a Hardy brothers detective book and an introduction to police investigative methods, with case-based examples followed by explanations of techniques.

This is a high-stakes adventure built around a fantastical transport device, a pursuit and a friendship tested when the two protagonists are separated.

This is an invention-led adventure, combining jungle hazards with a mystery about ancient carvings and possible contact from space.

A technology explainer with a hands-on design prompt, joining an account of wireless communication with the challenge of solving a communication problem.

A short illustrated life of Mary Anderson, focused on her contribution to windshield wipers and automotive technology.

This instalment centres on two characters caught in separate forms of captivity, with a shared struggle against political control and dangerous technology.

A topic-led introduction to the hidden networks and processes that keep everyday life moving, from household services to traffic and shopping.

This is a fast-paced investigation with twins Troy and Macy, clues to follow and high-stakes threats. Its central appeal is suspense and problem-solving rather than a clearly described real-world explanation of computer viruses.

A high-concept adventure about teenagers adapting to machine bodies while facing a threat to humanity. It pairs action with questions about what makes a person the same person over time.

A compact historical overview pairs photographs with a timeline, introducing both Qin Shi Huang and the ongoing effort to investigate his tomb without damaging its contents.

A topic-led introduction to robotics, moving from its development over time to applications in industry, space, medicine and the military.

Expect a gadget-led spy adventure in which young members of a secret organisation use science and technology to pursue a dangerous plot across several countries.

Expect a fast-moving adventure built around invention, exploration and competing deadlines, with a second challenge involving an aquarium and rare deep-sea species.

This offers a regional, technology-focused introduction to Native American history and culture, showing how people used local resources to develop practical and cultural life. Its strongest feature is connecting tools with environment and ingenuity.

Expect invention-led space adventure, with a striking premise involving matter being broken apart, transported and reassembled.

A truck adventure about an older worker facing replacement by technology, then potentially proving valuable when a newer vehicle is stranded. Its central appeal is machinery, action and a question of purpose.

Expect a science-fiction sequel centred on teleportation’s aftermath, duplicated identities and a search for Q. It offers fast-moving danger and moral puzzles, but the early plot may be difficult to follow.

A high-energy monster adventure with an unusual science-fiction premise. Expect multiple plot strands, London under threat, a genetically altered dinosaur, nanobots and fantastical elements, rather than a restrained or technically rigorous science-fiction story.

A lively fantasy adventure combines school settings, friendship, humour, magic and imaginative creatures. Felix and Betony must use their wits across conflicts involving Rhino, a djinn and the Japegrins, while the story builds towards a threat affecting two worlds.

A compact survey of how Maya, Aztec and Inca peoples developed and applied knowledge in construction, textiles, calendars, writing, crafts, weapons and bodily understanding.

A tense science-fiction quest follows three boys from a free community towards the Tripods’ city, amid remnants of an earlier civilisation, snowbound landscapes and a society shaped by conquest.

A useful introduction to video games as an industry rather than simply a pastime, showing the many specialised workers, skills and educational routes involved in making them.

This is a high-stakes coming-of-age adventure about a teenager negotiating parental pressure, cultural belonging and online dependence. Its journey through Guatemala, Calgary and northern wilderness connects personal recovery with wider questions about exploitation and responsibility.

This is a period mystery adventure built around collaborative problem-solving. Expect several cases, historical technology and questions about honesty, responsibility and justice, with community-minded values prominent in the characters’ world.

This is a high-stakes adventure about belonging, trust and inherited beliefs. Petrel’s rescue of a mysterious boy brings her out of hiding and into conflicts involving shipboard factions, lost history and hostility towards technology.

A broad, image-led reference book about cars, trains, ships, planes and many other vehicles. It combines visual discovery with factual entries, transport timelines, record breakers, notable developments and a glossary-index structure.

This is idea-driven science fiction about an observer caught between official rules and compassion. Its central tension comes from deciding whether intervention is morally responsible or dangerously presumptuous.

This is a structured introduction to how popular music changes: genres are placed alongside social and cultural events, technology, artists and industry developments. Its broad sweep and case studies may help readers see music as part of wider history rather than as isolated songs or performers.