Age Group: KS4 (Ages 14-16)

Under the London Sky

Chapter book

A Telegraph best new children’s book

A Daily Mail book of the year

London, September 1940. Deep in the Underground, taking shelter from the bombs, four teenagers meet.

Without the Blitz, they never would have met.

Fourteen-year-old Ella walks with a limp. Some days, she feels like a laughing stock. Other days, like no one sees her at all. Quinn is fifteen, fancy and fearless. She’s run away from home with a bag of family jewels and big ideas about changing the world. Jack is sixteen and doesn’t care about anything anymore – he’s already lost it all. And then there’s Sebastian, Quinn’s older brother. He used to be her hero. Until he became a traitor

A coming-of-age historical novel for teens from internationally bestselling children’s author, Anna Woltz.

Like a Brother

Nathanael Lessore

Chapter book

From the multi-award-winning and Sunday Times bestselling author of Steady For This, King of Nothing, What Happens Online and Against All Odds comes a laugh-out-loud new teen comedy about a summer turned upside down!

THEY’RE TOTALLY DIFFERENT. EXCEPT IN ALL THE WAYS THAT MATTER.

Owais lives a chill life. He’s well-liked, funny and everything’s a breeze – until his estranged cousin shows up.

Loud, unpredictable and one bad decision away from serious trouble, Abass crashes into Owais’ laidback world like a hurricane: picking fights, ruining parties, disappearing without explanation and clogging toilets in places he absolutely shouldn’t.

But as the boys get to know each other and their bond deepens, Owais starts to see there’s more to Abass than the chaos – and more to himself than just being the popular guy who coasts through life. Because sometimes, the person who turns your world upside down is also the person who helps you figure out where you’re really meant to be…

Tart

Becki Jayne Crossley

Chapter book

When your world is crumbling around you, how do you make life sweet again?

Libby’s life is turned upside down when a video of her ‘cheating’ on her boyfriend, Dan, goes viral the night he has a serious bike accident. Now the whole school has turned on her and her only friend is Neha, the new girl everyone else ignores.

If Dan doesn’t wake up from his coma soon, the secret he’s been carrying around might disappear along with him. A secret that will change everything. And he’s not the only one hiding things – Neha’s been crushing on Libby for months …

But when Libby finds herself falling for Neha she worries that if she follows her heart she will betray the people she cares about most. Can she discover who she really is before she loses everyone?

A heartwarming friends-to-lovers queer romance about coming out and finding yourself along the way. Perfect for fans of She Gets the Girl and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

Love on Sight

Asli Jensen

Chapter book

A universal story that will resonate far and wide, Love on Sight captures the heat and hope of the city, and the magic of falling in love for the first time…

Sabrina has her life planned out – she’s going to pass her A levels and go to university. But then she meets Jalaal, a boy trapped on the wrong path, desperate for a way out.

An English Jamaican girl and a Somali Muslim boy being together isn’t straightforward, with cultural expectations, disapproving family and religious differences to overcome.

But is that the struggle you face when you fall in love on sight?

The outstanding debut novel from the Lime New Storyteller 2023 award winner, Asli Jensen.
An uplifting contemporary YA romance, which draws on the author’s experience of growing up in inner-city London.
A modern dual narrative Romeo-and-Juliet story, perfect for fans of Danielle Jawando and Candice Carty-Williams.
Explores themes of family, culture, friendship, redemption, class, faith and different forms of love in a fresh and authentic style, which will resonate universally.

The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King

Harry Trevaldwyn

Chapter book

The Romantic Tragedies of a Drama King is the hilarious YA rom-com debut from actor and comedian Harry Trevaldwyn, perfect for fans of Heartstopper.

First there was Bridget Jones. Then there was Georgia Nicolson. Now get ready to meet Patch Simmons . . .

Patch has decided that this is the year he will get a boyfriend. Fate finally intervenes when two new mysterious boys join drama club: Peter, who’s just moved from New York (very chic) and his best friend, Sam.

Patch is confident that one of them will be his first boyfriend. So, armed with his over-supportive best friend Jean and an alarming level of self-confidence, Patch sets out to make his mission a success. Whether or not they actually like boys or him is a problem for later.

Augmented

Kenechi Udogu

Chapter book

In a future where humans are enhanced to ensure the survival of society Akaego fights to prevent her power to grow plants from being weaponised by a corrupt regime.

I was going to be a Mechsim. I was going to use my powers to make a difference.

In a near future London, where extreme weather has depleted plant life, sixteen-year-olds must surgically augment an ability to contribute to the new utopian society. Akaego moves to a prestigious academy after the late discovery of her rare ability – she can project a vocal frequency that accelerates plant growth.

As Akaego learns to use her new skill and is chosen for an internship with the mayor she begins to feel like she can change society for the better . . . and it doesn’t hurt that the mayor’s gorgeous son, Joon, seems to be flirting with her. But then the Freestakers, an anti-enhancement group, warn Akaego not to get Augmented.

Can she discover the truth of her ability, find the courage to rebel and keep her power out of the hands of those wishing to control it?

Noughts and Crosses

Malorie Blackman

Chapter book

Sephy is a Cross: she lives a life of privilege and power. But she’s lonely, and burns with injustice at the world she sees around her.

Callum is a nought: he’s considered to be less than nothing – a blanker, there to serve Crosses – but he dreams of a better life.

They’ve 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.

But this is love story that will lead both of them into terrible danger . . . and which will have shocking repercussions for generations to come.

Divergent

Veronica Roth

Chapter book

She turns to the future in a world that’s falling apart.

The No. 1 New York Times bestseller Divergent – also a major motion picture.

For sixteen-year-old Tris, the world changes in a heartbeat when she is forced to make a terrible choice. Turning her back on her family, Tris ventures out, alone, determined to find out where she truly belongs.

Shocked by the brutality of her new life, Tris can trust no one. And yet she is drawn to a boy who seems to both threaten and protect her. The hardest choices may yet lie ahead….

The first book in the Divergent series that has swept the globe – selling millions of copies world-wide.

The Carnegies

Judged by librarians, the 2026 Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people in two categories: the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. This year’s shortlists were announced on Tuesday 10th March.

The Medal for Illustration shorlist features six picturebooks and two graphic novels. The theme of connection through journeys features strongly in this list, including a journey to a nearby town in The Paper Bridge, and a journey through memories in The Sleeper Train. Two debut illustrators are also highlighted in this list: Kengo Kurimoto for Wildful and Oboh Moses for Freedom Braids.

The Medal for Writing shortlist includes BooksForTopics favourites J. P. Rose’s Birdie and Katya Balen’s Ghostlines, which both feature in our Year Group Recommended Reads. Teen relationships are the focus for two of the other nominations in this category: Jason Reynolds’s Twenty-Four Seconds from Now and Tia Fisher’s Not Going to Plan.

You can check out the full shortlist for the 2026 Carnegie Awards below.