Songs for Ghosts

by Clara Kumagai

There are restless ghosts to be appeased...

When Japanese-American teenager, Adam, discovers a diary in his attic, he is enthralled by its account of a young Japanese woman's life. A hundred years separate them yet she, like Adam, is caught between cultures, relationships and heartbreak.

She also writes of the ghosts that have begun to seek her out, which Adam dismisses as fantasy - until he too, begins to be haunted. It leads him to Nagasaki, trying to solve the mystery of the diary, and his own identity.

ISBN 978-1803288093

• Yoto Carnegie Medal (2026): Longlisted
• Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize (2026): Longlisted celebrates outstanding books by writers of colour in the UK and Ireland.
• White Pine Award (2026): Nominated
• UKLA Book Awards (2026): Longlisted

Showstopper

by Tom Ramsay

Joyous, feel-good, queer romance set in the world of musical theatre.

Larger than life Olly is back at the UK's most prestigious competition for teen performers to prove he has what it takes to be a leading man. After being sabotaged last year, he is determined to stand out ahead of his drama school auditions.

Nervous newbie Tarun was nominated after stepping in from the chorus to a leading role. This is his week to explore if his secret hobby could be something more serious. But imposter-syndrome is real, and his dad's derisive comments threaten to derail him.

When the two boys are paired together, Olly can't comprehend being with someone who doesn't get his niche musical references, whilst Tarun thinks Olly is 'way too much'. But they soon discover they've more in common than the opening number might reveal.

Amidst the drama of rehearsals, could two boys be falling in love?

A life-affirming read for all those searching for their place and their people.

ISBN 978-1917718264

Weimar

by Katja Hoyer

Life on the Edge of Catastrophe 

Weimar looms large in German history: a crucible of democracy and dictatorship. This ancient town nestled in the heart of the country was home to some of Europe's greatest thinkers, Goethe and Schiller, Liszt and Nietzsche among them. It gave its name to the ambitious Weimar Republic crafted in the aftermath of the First World War. But it was also where fascism took hold. Where Bauhaus architects first experimented with new ways of living, Buchenwald was dug out of a beech forest.

Weimar shows us a town and its people on the edge of catastrophe. Drawing on a wealth of new archival research, acclaimed historian Katja Hoyer takes us from 1919 to 1939 as she tells the stories of the men and women who lived through the new republic and Hitler's regime. We encounter a vividly drawn cast of characters, from bookbinder Carl Weirich and hotel owners Rosa and Arthur Schmidt, to Friedrich Nietzsche's sister Elisabeth. Here are fascists and socialists, artists and workers, politicians and citizens, who, as the events of history swept them up, became witnesses, perpetrators, victims and bystanders.An unforgettable picture of lives and choices in extraordinary circumstances, Weimar takes us deep into the heart of the storm – to the town that dreamt of a better world, and woke up to tyranny. 

ISBN 978-0241681244

Normal Women

by Philippa Gregory

900 Years of Women Making History 

The Young Adult edition of Normal Women is a punchy, fast-paced reality check that proves history wasn't just made by "great men" while women sat in the background. Stripping away dense academic filler for bitesize chapters and stunning illustrations, it reveals the wild, true stories of girls who started riots, sailed pirate ships, and lived as "female husbands" centuries ago. It’s an empowering, eye-opening read that doesn't just tell you women were "there"—it shows you they were often the ones driving the biggest changes in the world.

ISBN 978-0008725075

• British Book Awards (2024): Shortlisted for Non-Fiction: Narrative Book of the Year.
• SLA Information Book Award (2026): The teen edition is shortlisted for this award.
• British Audio Awards (The Speakies 2025): 
• Shortlisted for Best Audiobook: Young Adult Books.
• Parliamentary Book Awards (2023): Shortlisted for Best Non-Fiction by a Non-Parliamentarian.
• ARIA Awards (2024): The accompanying Normal Women podcast was nominated for Best New Podcast.

Blackout 

by Dhonielle Clayton (Author), Tiffany D Jackson (Author), Nic Stone (Author), Angie Thomas (Author), Ashley Woodfolk (Author), Nicola Yoon (Author)

When a heatwave plunges New York City into darkness, sparks fly for thirteen teenagers caught up in the blackout.

A first meeting.
Long-time friends.
Bitter exes.
And maybe the beginning of something new…

When the lights go out, people reveal hidden truths, love blossoms, friendship transforms and new possibilities take flight.

ISBN 9780755503063

• Audie Award Winner (2022): It won in the Short Stories or Collections category.
• ALA Best Fiction for Young Adults: It was selected for the Top 10 list in 2022 by the American Library Association.
• ALA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers: It was named a Top 10 selection for this list in 2022.

Ink Knows No Borders

by Patrice Vecchione and Alyssa Raymond

Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience

With authenticity, integrity, and insight, this collection of poems addresses the many issues confronting first and second generation young adult immigrants and refugees, such as cultural and language differences, homesickness, social exclusion, human rights, racism, stereotyping, and questions of identity. Poems by Elizabeth Acevedo, Erika L. Sanchez, Samira Ahmed, Chen Chen, Ocean Vuong, Fatimah Asghar, Carlos Andres Gomez, Bao Phi, Kaveh Akbar, Hala Alyan, and Ada Limon, among others, encourage readers to honour their roots as well as explore new paths, offering empathy and hope for those who are struggling to overcome discrimination. Many of the struggles immigrant and refugee teens face head-on are also experienced by young people everywhere as they contend with isolation, self-doubt, confusion, and emotional dislocation. Ink Knows No Borders is the first book of its kind and features 65 poems and a foreword by poet Javier Zamora, who crossed the border, unaccompanied, at the age of nine, and an afterword by Emtithal Mahmoud, World Poetry Slam Champion and Honorary Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. 

ISBN 978-1609809072

• Skipping Stones Honor Awards, 1994-2025
• Multicultural and International Honor, 2019
• Notable Poetry Books and Verse Novels, 2011-2025 Selection, 2020

Am I Normal Yet?  

by Holly Bourne

Evie just wants to be normal. She wants to stop obsessing over germs, wash her hands just once (instead of a dozen times), and maybe even kiss a boy without mentally calculating how many billions of bacteria must be on his tongue.

But being a normal teenager isn't easy when you've just been sectioned and diagnosed with OCD. And with new friends and cute-but-confusing boys in the mix, will Evie be able to keep it together...or is she about to spiral out of control?

ISBN 978-1409590309 

• Lancashire Book of the Year Award 2016: This award is particularly notable as young people select both the shortlist and the overall winner.
• Peters Book of the Year 2016.
• Ealing Teen Reads Award 2016.
• Amazing Book Awards 2017.
• Redbridge Children's Book Award 2016.
• Sussex Coast Schools' Amazing Book Award 2017.
• Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2016.
• World Book Night Title: The book was chosen as one of the 2016 World Book Night titles, a UK-wide book giveaway initiative to promote reading for pleasure.

In the Foothills of the Himalayas 

by Sarah Hussain

Born in the Raj era under British rule, Vidhya grows up observing her father fight for a free India. She witnesses catastrophic flooding as a result of deforestation by order of a powerful English company, and begins to understand the importance of preserving the forest. When Vidhya uncovers a conspiracy that puts her in great jeopardy, she courageously leads a group of women on a non-violent protest and they embrace the trees. But at what cost?

A debut novel by Huddersfield PhD researcher Dr Sarah Hussain  is confronting traditional narratives and redresses the balance in writing about the Raj era and British colonialism in India.

ISBN ‎ 978-1739394929

Island of Influencers

by Monique Turner

Imagine waking up to find the world’s most famous influencers haven't been kidnapped—they’ve been recruited for the ultimate, high-stakes game of survival where the only currency is "likes." In Island of Influencers, you’re thrust into a tropical paradise that quickly morphs into a digital nightmare, blending the ruthless competition of The Hunger Games with the voyeuristic dread of Black Mirror. As Harper fights to step out of her cousin’s shadow, she discovers that on this island, a "follow" can be a lifeline and a "block" can be fatal. If you’ve ever wondered how far someone would go for a million subscribers, this pulse-pounding thriller will keep you scrolling through the pages until the final, shocking connection is made. 

ISBN 978-1915947697

Woman in a White Coat

by Dr Abby J Waterman

Meet 85-year old Dr Abby Waterman, the unwelcome third daughter of Orthodox Jews who desperately wanted a son. She survives rat-infested cold-water tenements in London's East End, the Great Depression, WW2 and the Blitz. Despite poverty, sexual harassment and discrimination, she becomes in turn a Harley Street dentist, a doctor, an entrepreneur, a consultant pathologist and director of a cancer research laboratory, as well as the mother of four.Behind the scenes in a busy NHS hospital, you witness the tears doctors shed that patients never see. Step into Abby's shoes as an 18-year-old dissecting her first body and later, as a mother of young children, carrying out an autopsy on a four-year-old. Discover why Abby ventures into the business world and why she leaves it. She undergoes surgery and radiotherapy for breast cancer, only to be told her cancer has recurred and spread to her spine. She describes her weird hallucinations while on a ventilator following a heart attack and learns that Do Not Resuscitate is written into her notes. 

ISBN 978-1979834391

• Short-listed for the Tony Lothian Biography Prize
• Short-listed for the Wasafiri Memoir Prize

Twenty-Four Seconds From Now

By Jason Reynolds

Seventeen-year-old Neon is about to have sex with his girlfriend, Aria, for the first time. In 24 seconds to be precise. He’s hiding in the bathroom, nervous, wanting to do everything right . . .

Rewind. To 24 minutes earlier where Neon rushes from work, taking the gift of fried chicken to Aria’s house.

Rewind again. To 24 hours earlier when Neon’s big sister has advice about sex which makes him think he probably shouldn’t be listening to his friends.

To 24 days earlier. To 24 weeks earlier. To 24 months earlier, when he and Aria first met.

This tender, sweet, wholesome piece of fiction discusses how to approach first sex, how to respect women, how to be gentle, how to make it about love. It shows us a refreshingly different side to male sexuality.

ISBN 978-0571390687

• Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing (2026)
• Winner of the Coretta Scott King Author Award (2025)

Beastly Beauty 

by Jennifer Donnelly

What makes a girl "beastly?" Is it having too much ambition? Being too proud? Taking up too much space? Or is it just wanting something, anything, too badly?

That's the problem Arabella faces when she makes her debut in society. Her parents want her to be sweet and compliant so she can marry well, but try as she might, Arabella can't extinguish the fire burning inside her - the source of her deepest wishes, her wildest dreams.

When an attempt to suppress her emotions tragically backfires, a mysterious figure punishes Arabella with a curse, dooming her and everyone she cares about, trapping them in the castle. As the years pass, Arabella abandons hope. The curse is her fault - after all, there's nothing more "beastly" than a girl who expresses her anger - and the only way to break it is to find a boy who loves her for her true self: a cruel task for a girl who's been told she's impossible to love.

When a handsome thief named Beau makes his way into the castle, the captive servants are thrilled, convinced he is the one to break the curse. But Beau - spooked by the castle's strange and forbidding ladies-in-waiting, and by the malevolent presence that stalks its corridors at night - only wants to escape. He learned long ago that love is only an illusion. If Beau and Arabella have any hope of breaking the curse, they must learn to trust their wounded hearts, and realize that the cruelest prisons of all are the ones we build for ourselves.

ISBN 978-1338809442

Skin of the Sea

by Natasha Bowen

An epic love story infused with West African mythology. 

This is the story of a great love - a love that will threaten worlds and anger Gods.

This is a story that will change history.
Simidele is one of the Mami Wata, mermaids duty-bound to collect the souls of those who die at sea and bless their journeys back home to the Supreme Creator.

But when a living boy is thrown overboard a slave ship, Simi saves his life, going against an ancient decree and bringing terrible danger to the mami wata.
Now Simi must journey to the Supreme Creator to make amends - a journey of vengeful gods, treacherous lands and legendary creatures. If she fails, she risks not just the fate of all Mami Wata, but also the world as she knows it.

ISBN-13 978-0241413975

• Winner of the Diverse Book Awards: 2022 for Best Young Adult Book Winner of the Branford Boase Award 2022

The World Between Us

by Sarah Ann Juckes 

A powerful and thought-provoking story about falling in love with someone a whole world apart.
Alice may be bed-bound, but every day Stream Cast brings the world to her. From the streets of Tokyo to a masterclass in video games, she experiences other people's wild and exciting lives all without ever leaving her room.

But everything changes when Alice is introduced to a new streamer.

Rowan encourages Alice to stop watching, and start taking control. But Rowan has a secret he's trying to hide from Alice - and from himself.
As Alice and Rowan build a bigger and more beautiful world together, their secrets threaten to tear them apart. Would you risk everything for love?

ISBN-13 978-0241462072

Girl, Goddess, Queen

by Bea Fitzgerald

To hell with love, this goddess has other plans...

Thousands of years ago, the gods told a lie: how Persephone was a pawn in the politics of other gods. How Hades kidnapped Persephone to be his bride. How her mother, Demeter, was so distraught she caused the Earth to start dying.

The real story is much more interesting.

Persephone wasn't taken to hell: she jumped. There was no way she was going to be married off to some smug god more in love with himself than her.

Now all she has to do is convince the Underworld's annoyingly sexy, arrogant and frankly rude ruler, Hades, to fall in line with her plan. A plan that will shake Mount Olympus to its very core.

But consequences can be deadly, especially when you're already in hell . . .

ISBN-13 978-0241624289

• Romantic Novelists' Association Fantasy Romance of the Year Winner 2024 
• Shortlisted for the Waterstones Children's Book Prize 2024
• Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize 2024

One

by Sarah Crossan

Grace and Tippi don't like being stared and sneered at, but they're used to it. They're conjoined twins - united in blood and bone.

What they want is to be looked at in turn, like they truly are two people. They want real friends. And what about love?

But a heart-wrenching decision lies ahead for Tippi and Grace. One that could change their lives more than they ever asked for...

This moving and beautifully crafted novel about identity, sisterhood and love ultimately asks one question: what does it mean to want and have a soulmate?

ISBN-13 978-1526614858

• WINNER OF THE YA BOOK PRIZE 2016
• WINNER OF THE CILIP CARNEGIE MEDAL 2016
• WINNER OF THE CBI BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2016
• WINNER OF THE CLIPPA POETRY AWARD 2016

The Things We Leave Behind

by Clare Furniss

"A furious book about an-all-too-possible future Britain, 

that demands to be read."

A startling YA dystopia that imagines London as the epicentre of the refugee crisis.

Civil unrest in London has reached an all-time high after years of a growing authoritarian regime, and it’s no longer safe for Clem and her half-sister Billie in the city. Clem tells of their treacherous journey to Scotland, by road and then by sea, fleeing with nothing but a notebook filled with stories and memories of home. But is there something Clem's not saying? And how will this journey – and the sisters’ story – end? With the start of a new life? Or a mirror held up to the past?

ISBN-13 978-1471169816

• Shortlisted for The UKLA Book Awards 2025
• Shortlisted for The Carnegies Medal for Writing 2025

Seed

by Lisa Heathfield 

A thrilling story of life in a cult.

Fifteen-year-old Pearl has lived her whole life protected within the small community at Seed, where they worship Nature and idolise their leader, Papa S. When some outsiders arrive, everything changes. Pearl experiences feelings that she never knew existed and begins to realise that there is darkness at the heart of Seed. A darkness from which she must escape, before it's too late.

A chilling and heartbreaking coming-of-age story of life within a cult.

ISBN-13 978-1405275385

• Seed was shortlisted for the Waterstones' Children's Book Prize in 2016

The Blue Book of Nebo

by Manon Steffan Ros 

Dylan was six when The End came, back in 2018: when the electricity went off for good, and the normal 21st-century world he knew disappeared. Now 14, he and his mam have survived in their isolated hilltop house above the village of Nebo in north-west Wales by learning new skills and returning to old ways of living. However, despite their close understanding, the relationship between mother and son changes subtly as Dylan has to take on adult responsibilities. And they each have their own secrets - which emerge as they take it in turns to jot down their thoughts and memories in a found notebook – the Blue Book of Nebo.

ISBN-13 978-1913102784

• WINNER of the Yoto Carnegie 2023 Medal for Writing.
• A multi-award winner when published in Welsh, this is a YA novel from an exceptionally talented author, which explores the human capacity to find new strengths when faced with the need to survive.

Cane Warriors

by Alex Wheatle

Nobody free till everybody free.
Moa is fourteen. The only life he has ever known is toiling on the Frontier sugar cane plantation for endless hot days, fearing the vicious whips of the overseers. Then one night he learns of an uprising, led by the charismatic Tacky. Moa is to be a cane warrior, and fight for the freedom of all the enslaved people in the nearby plantations. But before they can escape, Moa and his friend Keverton must face their first great task: to kill their overseer, Misser Donaldson. Time is ticking, and the day of the uprising approaches . . .
Irresistible, gripping and unforgettable, Cane Warriors follows the true story of Tacky’s War in Jamaica, 1760.

ISBN-13 978-1839131127

• Shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal and the UKLA Book Award
• Winner of the Young Quills Historical Fiction Award
• Shortlisted for the YA Book Prize, Diverse Book Award and Iris Award
• Longlisted for the YA Jhalak Prize

Sunrise on the Reaping

By Suzanne Collins

This book is a prequel to "The Hunger Games" 

When you’ve been set up to lose everything you love, what is there left to fight for?

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes.

Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves.

When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight . . . and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.

ISBN-13 978-0702340581

• Selected for the Amazon Editors' Top 20 for the Best Books or the Year So Far 2025 list. 
•  It is also a #1 bestseller on multiple platforms, including USA Today, New York Times, Indie, and Publishers Weekly, and was named a New York Times Editors' Choice. 

A Colourful View From the Top:

Twenty-One Extraordinary Stories of Leaders of Colour Achieving Excellence in Business

You might not think, right now, that you have what it takes to succeed. But incredible things do happen when you believe. We hope this book will stoke your sense of belief in what it is you can achieve and the gifts you have the potential to give to the world.

Relentless in its inspiration, candour and warmth, A Colourful View From the Top is a vital anthology of twenty-one voices who are at the top of their game in business and beyond. Whether their specialism be advertising, tech, law or art, each luminary offers a unique and deeply meaningful collection of lessons and affirmations to draw upon time and time again.

Discover how they became influential figures in culture and corporate life; how their achievements haven't been defined or limited by their race, gender or age; how sometimes the most fulfilling careers involve twists, turns and side hustles; how corporate success need not preclude social awareness.

ISBN-13 978-1408715819

These Are the Words:

Fearless Verse to Find Your Voice

by Nikita Gill

Taking you on a journey through the seasons of the soul, in this collection Nikita gives you the words to help heal from your first breakup, to celebrate finding your family, to understand first love, to express your anger and your joy, to fight for what you believe in and to help you break some rules to be your truest self.

REMINDER FOR HEALING

You do not owe anyone your forgiveness.

The trees do not apologize to the wind that uproots them.

The rocks do not apologize to the erosion by the sea.

The stars do not apologize to the universe

when they are writhing and dying out.

And you are not obligated to forgive anyone

but yourself.

ISBN-13 978-1529083606

• Shortlisted for the CLiPPA 2023 
•  Longlisted for the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult Prize 2023