Lads by Alan Bissett

This toolkit will help you call out bad behaviour among your peers and understand the serious issues facing girls today. It will make you feel confident navigating relationships, so that everyone feels happy, heard and respected, while being the best version of yourself.

Themes: non-fiction, advice, toxic masculinity, consent, respect

Boy Like Me by Simon James Green

It's 1994 and thanks to Section 28, there can be no mention of gay relationships in UK schools. When a kind librarian leads Jamie to a disguised novel in the library that reflects his own confused feelings towards boys, Jamie sees that he's not the only one who has checked the book out.

Themes: 1990s UK, LGBTQ+, relationships, coming of age

Finding Phoebe by Gavin Extence

Phoebe is autistic. She prefers to stay in her comfort zone: walking her dog, writing fantasy fiction, surviving school with as few incidents as possible. When her best friend gets a secret boyfriend, Phoebe reluctantly agrees to cover for her. Before long, Phoebe’s dealing with all sorts of things she’d rather not.

Themes: friendship, autism, family, coming of age

Phoebe is autistic. She prefers to stay in her comfort zone: walking her dog, writing fantasy fiction, surviving school with as few incidents as possible. When her best friend gets a secret boyfriend, Phoebe reluctantly agrees to cover for her. Before long, Phoebe’s dealing with all sorts of things she’d rather not.

Themes: friendship, autism, family, coming of age

Needle by Patrice Lawrence

Charlene is a demon knitter. It's the only thing she enjoys and the only thing she believes she's really good at. So when her foster mum's son destroys her latest creation, Charlene loses it and stabs him in the hand with her knitting needle. Can she swallow her pride and say sorry, even if she doesn’t mean it?

Themes: social issues, personal development, family

Smart by Kim Slater

There's been a murder, but the police don't care. It was only a homeless old man after all. Kieran cares. He's made a promise, and when you say something out loud, that means you're going to do it, for real. He's going to find out what really happened to Colin.

Themes: homelessness, mystery, family

Fight Back by A. M. Dassu

Aaliyah is an ordinary thirteen-year-old living in the Midlands - she's into her books, shoes, K-pop and she is a Muslim. She has always felt at home where she lives... until a terrorist attack in her area changes everything. Suddenly, Aaliyah’s life becomes a lot more challenging.

Themes: empathy, stereotypes, racism, friendship

Boy 87 by Ele Fountain

Shif is just an ordinary boy who likes chess, maths and racing his best friend home from school. But one day, soldiers with guns come to his door - and he knows that he is no longer safe. Shif is forced to leave his mother and little sister, and embark on a dangerous journey.

Themes: refugees, family, survival, empathy

Noughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

Callum and Sephy been friends since they were children, and they both know that's as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies - love is out of the question. Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other.

Themes: friendship, relationships, prejudice, coming of age

Callum and Sephy been friends since they were children, and they both know that's as far as it can ever go. Noughts and Crosses are fated to be bitter enemies - love is out of the question. Then - in spite of a world that is fiercely against them - these star-crossed lovers choose each other.

Themes: friendship, relationships, prejudice, coming of age

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

Welcome to Nowhere by Elizabeth Laird

Omar and his siblings were born and raised in the beautiful and bustling city of Bosra, Syria. Omar doesn't care about politics - all he wants is to grow up to become a successful businessman.. But when his clever older brother, Musa, gets mixed up with some young political activists, everything changes...

Themes: family, social issues, refugees, war, empathy

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Twelve-year-old Jerome doesn't get into trouble. He goes to school. He does his homework. He takes care of his little sister. Then Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, watching his family trying to cope with his death, Jerome begins to notice other ghost boys...

Themes: racism, family, empathy, police brutality

Twelve-year-old Jerome doesn't get into trouble. He goes to school. He does his homework. He takes care of his little sister. Then Jerome is shot by a police officer who mistakes his toy gun for a real threat. As a ghost, watching his family trying to cope with his death, Jerome begins to notice other ghost boys...

Themes: racism, family, empathy, police brutality

The Boy With the Butterfly Mind by Victoria Williamson

Jamie Lee wants to be normal. But his ADHD makes him feel like his brain is full of butterflies. Elin Watts wants to be perfect. If she can be, surely her dad will come home. When Jamie and Elin's families blend, the polar opposites of chaotic Jamie and ordered Elin collide.

Themes: ADHD, family, blended families, friendship

Splinters of Sunshine by Patrice Lawrence

After a fun Christmas Eve decorating the tree and singing along with his mum to Queen, fifteen-year-old Spey wakes up on Christmas morning to find the ex-prisoner father he's never met asleep on the sofa. Then he receives a package from his old friend Dee, who has been in and out of trouble for years...

Themes: friendship, crime, family, social issues

The Light in Everything by Katya Balen

Tom is still quiet and timid, even though his dad has been gone for nearly two years now. Zofia has a raging storm that makes her want to fight the whole world. And what she wants is for scaredy-cat Tom to get out of her life. But Tom’s mum and Zofia's dad are in love... and they're having a baby.

Themes: friendship, family, blended family

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

After Will's brother is shot in a gang crime, he knows the next steps. Don't cry. Don't snitch. Get revenge. So he gets in the lift with Shawn's gun, determined to follow The Rules. Only when the lift door opens, Buck walks in, Will's friend who died years ago. And Dani, who was shot years before that...

Themes: social issues, gang crime, verse