Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

The drought – or the Tap-Out, as everyone calls it – has been going on for a while now. Everyone’s lives have become an endless list of don’ts: don’t water the lawn, don’t fill up your pool, don’t take long showers. Until the taps run dry. Suddenly, the quiet suburbs become a warzone of desperation.

Themes: climate change, drought, survival, dystopia

The Bone Sparrow by Zana Fraillon

Born in a refugee camp, the ocean is something Subhi has never seen and the sky is only as wide as the he can see. Then, one day, Jimmie arrives, wearing a bone sparrow around her neck and carrying a notebook that she’s unable to read, which tells the story of her family’s past...

Themes: urban places, refugees, friendship

FloodWorld by Tom Huddleston

Kara and Joe spend their days navigating the perilous waterways of a sunken city, scratching out a living in the ruins. But when they come into possession of a mysterious map, they find themselves in a world of trouble. Suddenly everyone's after them: gangsters, cops and ruthless Mariner pirates.

Themes: floods, friendship, dystopia, peril, thriller

Kara and Joe spend their days navigating the perilous waterways of a sunken city, scratching out a living in the ruins. But when they come into possession of a mysterious map, they find themselves in a world of trouble. Suddenly everyone's after them: gangsters, cops and ruthless Mariner pirates.

Themes: floods, friendship, dystopia, peril, thriller

Trash by Andy Mulligan

Raphael lives on a dumpsite, eking out a living sifting through rubbish. One unlucky-lucky day, he makes an extraordinary and deadly discovery. Now he and his two friends, Gardo and Rat, are wanted by the corrupt forces that run the city and will stop at nothing to get back what they've lost.

Themes: urban places, environment, friendship, survival

The Secrets of Vesuvius by Caroline Lawrence

It's the summer of AD 79 and Flavia Gemina and her friends, Jonathan, Nubia and Lupus, set sail for the Bay of Naples. Once they arrive, they are soon absorbed in a quest to solve a riddle that may lead to treasure. But then tragedy strikes: Mount Vesuvius erupts and the friends must flee for their lives!

Themes: volcanoes, tectonic plates, history, friendship

The Survival Game by Nicky Singer

Mhairi owns only two things: a gun with no bullets and her identity papers. The world is a shell of what it once was. Now, you must prove yourself worthy of existence at every turn, at every border checkpoint. When she meets a young boy with no voice at all, she risks everything to keep him safe.

Themes: dystopia, survival, walking, friendship, climate change

Where the World Ends by Geraldine McCaughrean

In the summer of 1727, a group of men and boys are put ashore on a remote sea stack to harvest birds for food. No one returns to collect them. They have been abandoned to endure storms, starvation and terror. How can they survive, housed in stone and imprisoned on every side by the ocean?

Themes: extreme weather, survival, history

Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson

Tarka is born in Owlery Holt, near Canal Bridge on the River Torridge, where he grows up with his mother and sisters, learning to swim and catch fish, and to beware the hunters' cry. His life is one of adventure and play, but soon he must fend for himself, travelling along streams and rivers to the open sea.

Themes: rivers, otters, family, friendship, peril

Tarka is born in Owlery Holt, near Canal Bridge on the River Torridge, where he grows up with his mother and sisters, learning to swim and catch fish, and to beware the hunters' cry. His life is one of adventure and play, but soon he must fend for himself, travelling along streams and rivers to the open sea.

Themes: rivers, otters, family, friendship, peril

River Boy by Tim Bowler

Grandpa is dying. He can barely move his hands any more but, stubborn as ever, refuses to stay in hospital. He's determined to finish his last painting, River Boy, before he goes. At first Jess can't understand his refusal to let go, but then she too becomes involved in the mysterious painting.

Themes: rivers, family, painting, bereavement

Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick

15-year-old Yuki Hara finds herself caught up in the March 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake and Tsunami. Somewhere in the tsunami and radiation exclusion zone lies a path between worlds for Yuki to follow, through the darkest of times and back towards the light.

Themes: tsunamis, Japan, friendship, survival, manga

Running on the Roof of the World by Jess Butterworth

Tash has to follow many rules to survive in Tibet, a country occupied by Chinese soldiers. But when a man sets himself on fire in protest and soldiers seize Tash's parents, she and her best friend Sam must break the rules. They are determined to escape Tibet - and seek the help of the Dalai Lama himself in India.

Themes: Tibet, mountains, landscapes, exploration

Tash has to follow many rules to survive in Tibet, a country occupied by Chinese soldiers. But when a man sets himself on fire in protest and soldiers seize Tash's parents, she and her best friend Sam must break the rules. They are determined to escape Tibet - and seek the help of the Dalai Lama himself in India.

Themes: Tibet, mountains, landscapes, exploration

Floodland by Marcus Sedgwick

A few years from now, England is covered by water, and Norwich is an island. Zoe, left behind in the confusion when her parents escaped, survives there as best she can. She begins the perilous journey by boat to Eels Island in search of her parents - but there, too, is full of danger...

Themes: floods, climate change, islands, survival

Boy in the Tower by Polly Ho-Yen

Ade loves living at the top of a tower block, where he and his mum feel safe. Except it isn't any more. Strange plants have started to take over and tower blocks are falling down around them. Now Ade and his mum are trapped, and there's no way out.

Themes: urban places, plants, peril

Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson

Maia, an orphan, can't wait to reach her distant relatives a thousand miles up the Amazon - instead, she finds two spiteful cousins. But the wonders of the rainforest more than make up for the hideous twins and their parents. And then she meets a mysterious boy, who lives alone on the river shores...

Themes: rivers, Amazon, Brazil, found family, history

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Iris was born deaf, but she's never let that define her; after all, it's the only life she's ever known. During a science lesson about sound waves, Iris finds out about a whale who is unable to communicate with other whales. She's determined to show him that someone in the world knows he's there.

Themes: coasts, whales, deafness, loneliness, friendship