What Are You Looking For?

The guide describes possible changes after divorce: a teenager may be asked to work or help at home, while spending on shopping or activities may be reduced.

This is a horse-centred adventure combining film-horse training with Issie’s effort to protect a group of wild ponies. Her friends and the farm manager become potential allies in that effort.

Expect a speculative adventure combining a search for a missing brother with demon-hunting work and interdimensional intrigue. Ehrich must also conceal his origins and work out whom to trust.

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.

A young diarist’s family duties and fear at home are set against the turmoil of witchcraft accusations and trials in her village.

Glorieta wants her mother remembered and buried with the family. Her efforts bring her into conflict with an aunt over faith and the possibility that her mother is in Hell.

Shabanu’s betrothal and her sister’s impending marriage sit alongside her own dreams of freedom, making personal choice and family obligation central to the story.

Tina sees the Ohio River as peaceful and worries about railway safety; Charles values the railway’s power and speed. Their family’s views on slavery and a possible move to Kansas bring the period’s conflicts into family life.

Nora investigates a family mystery while trying to work out whether she can rely on Patch.

A family under financial pressure is at the heart of this story. Jackson’s imaginary cat brings humour and companionship as he faces the possibility that his family’s housing troubles may return.

A little girl offers tips for keeping her grandmother entertained, spending time together at the park and getting settled for an overnight visit. The tone is light and affectionate.

Expect a character-led ghost story, with the supernatural mystery intertwined with bereavement, loneliness and the effort to belong in a new family.

Claire’s arrival in Paris brings new sights, people and language, alongside the pleasure of exploring with Camille. Her curiosity about why she was sent there drives the mystery.

Expect supernatural mystery alongside questions of loyalty: Zoey and Stevie Rae share a secret, while friendships and enmities shift around them.

A collection of true childhood stories, written by children and adults recalling their own childhoods. They touch on friendship, choices and qualities including honesty, kindness, forgiveness and perseverance, with cartoon strips featuring the Souper Kids.

Cassie the cat and Moses the crow are presented as unlikely friends. Alongside their story, the book offers photographs of them at play and fun facts about both kinds of animal.

A teenage heroine’s strange inheritance draws her into a perilous struggle involving monsters, assassins and a family appeal to join the “family business”.

A fantasy adventure combines monster battles and a perilous rescue with Cameron’s struggle against anxiety. Friendship, danger and the consequences of loss drive the journey.

This is a family-and-rodeo story about a boy drawn towards his father’s ambition while afraid of the danger involved. Jana and Layne’s younger sister help him confront that conflict.

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.

The story centres on a family’s displacement and Chris’s growing awareness of poverty, cultural identity and belonging. His pull towards the landscape of his Wiradjuri ancestors gives the novel a strong focus on connection across generations.

Mia’s pregnancy shapes a story about feeling cornered, leaving home and reconsidering where help might be found, while family relationships and responsibility also come into focus.

A family’s fortunes change when a company launches a free rival to Ray’s anti-hacker programme. Heather and Ray then face escalating trouble, including a journalist’s kidnapping, a flight from the company and Ray’s capture.

A suspense-led story about Scarlett piecing together an obscured childhood while facing the people who want her returned to their group. Romance is part of the premise, alongside danger and questions of trust.

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.

A family’s beach day is presented as a fun adventure.

A contemporary story about unreturned love, keeping secrets and Tretch’s effort to be more open about who he is. His bond with Matt and his supportive older brother sit alongside his difficulty talking with his parents.

This historical romance centres on Anna’s uncertain engagement, family inheritance and growing attraction to Ewan. Her interest in poetry and doubts about love unfold alongside a plot against Ewan.

This supernatural story centres on a young werewolf trying to manage dangerous urges while hunters close in. It also brings a love-versus-duty dilemma into the conflict.

This is a story of grief, adjustment and friendship, set against risky bike stunts and activism. Grey and his friends use online attention to challenge prejudice and police pressure, while their choices raise questions about the costs of becoming more visible.

A warm-spirited fantasy about a young bruja negotiating family rules and friendship, with returned spirits bringing a magical mystery. Leo’s grief over her mother’s death and her friend Caroline’s bereavement sit alongside the bakery, spellwork and community celebrations.

This is a story of upheaval and endurance, with Sara’s inventive inner life and kindness at its centre. Her changed circumstances bring loneliness, hunger and cold, alongside friendships and the possibility of renewed happiness.

At its heart, this is a friendship story shaped by a child’s encounter with another boy’s terminal illness. Their shared kite-making day sits alongside questions of suffering, memory and connection.

This is a richly situated fairy-tale retelling centred on Charlotte’s determined efforts to keep the mill. It combines family relationships, village lore and a supernatural mystery.

Expect a war story centred on Joseph’s bond with Adonis, rather than a battle narrative alone: the struggling zoo and its animals are also central to the plot.

Sam’s attachment to print clashes with a proposed online school newspaper, and she learns her best friend supports the change. The story also follows Sam’s school-paper interests and her budding crush.

A magpie takes Splodge along with a shiny object, prompting Bug Belly and the other froglets to attempt a rescue. Their route brings dangers from owls and snakes; Bug Belly relies on an inventive plan and gadgets.

Photographs and poetic words explore friendship, imaginative play and belonging, with an afterword about the stories behind the images.

A wish-granting magical book sets off the central adventure, with Tiga and her friends trying to rescue Fran. Witches, Silver City and glittery magic shape the story.

This is a family-and-horses story about a child adjusting to a new home and wanting her abilities to be recognised. It also follows a filly’s journey towards a new home.

Poems and paintings show a child observing his father’s prayers and reflecting on their relationship. Prayer is presented as a recurring part of family life, and the collection centres on Christian faith.

This illustrated story centres on a child adjusting to a move between countries. Christmas and family traditions shape Eduardo’s gradual experience of finding home in his new surroundings.

Family ties and identity sit at the centre of Janie's story, alongside an unexpected responsibility for supporting her mother and handling family finances.

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.

Will is reluctant to spend a school-assignment day at his father’s office, doubting his father will make time for him. The novel is set around the September 11 attacks and follows changes in Will’s life and relationships.

This is a Moon-colony mystery about a boy seeking answers after his father fails to return from a mission officials deny ever happened.

This is a gentle, participatory read-aloud built around rhyme, repetition and counting. Its central pleasure is noticing both the individuality of babies and the shared features that connect them.

This is a gentle story about staying emotionally connected when physical contact is not possible. It offers several concrete, non-touching ways to show affection, while keeping the reason and duration of separation unexplained.