Nel, Flo, Maggie and Nicole haven’t been friends for years.

Caught in the limbo summer between college and uni, each of the girls are at a precipice, deciding the direction of the rest of their lives. That’s when the notifications come through. They’d forgotten all about the time-capsule text messages they sent each other two years ago.

Messages full of confessions, feelings and secrets that force them back together again . . .

before they break apart. Shining a spotlight on themes of body image, sexuality, romance, unhealthy relationships and toxic shock syndromeFor readers aged 14+, this is coming-of-age contemporary fiction at its finest.

G. Forsyth Read is one half of the dynamic duo, Ally & G – hosts of the social series Backseat Driver, and the Leave a Message podcast.

Texts We Never Sent – G. Forsyth Read – 9781398553637

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Annie Armani’s life changed with one knockout punch. She’s not a scrappy nobody any longer – she’s the Junior MMA Champion, the star of a new documentary, with a high-profile fight on the horizon and the chance of earning the kind of money her broken family desperately needs. Secretly though, Annie’s terrified.

The punch was a fluke and she’s still reeling from her brother Marc’s recent death. Now Annie has to contend with nosy producers, adoring fans and (worst of all) her feelings for her hot new sparring partner, Jake Duff, who has his own reasons for joining her team. With her future and her heart on the line, can Annie prove she’s got what it takes to be a knockout sports star?

She’s a Knockout – Britney Brouwer – 9781788958370

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A deadly secret sleeps beneath Huntington Academy.

Desperate to escape a viral scandal, Austen-loving Lorena Navarro enrols at a once-condemned manor turned boarding school buried deep in the woods.

Instead of a fresh start, she finds a coffin where William Pride, the world’s last vampire, was sleeping. After hibernating for nearly three centuries, William is desperate to find his family, so he relies on Lorena, not just for blood, but to help him. Soon, he realises he’s the last hope for his kind’s return to power.

Now, torn between protecting the humans he’s grown fond of and fulfilling his dark fate, William must make a choice. Will he sacrifice his species for love or embrace his destiny at last?

Tropes : Dark academia / Enemies to lovers / Forced proximity

By Romina Garber – 9780241809211

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When the most popular girl at Myra’s new school is found frozen to death in a walk-in chiller, wannabe journalist Myra is sure of two things: 1. Scarlett was murdered. 2. One of Scarlett’s friends is to blame.

So she infiltrates the popular clique’s world of envy and backstabbing to prove it. But then a strange boy holds her up at gunpoint in the woods, claiming he’s killed the killer.

Who is he, who did he kill…and who will die next?

Your Murder Next – Ravena Guron – 9781805075714

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Saddle up your dragons, the ladies are going on tour!

Dearest reader… let me catch you up.

Gwen, our lady knight. Isobelle, our knight’s lady. They fight monsters, and they’re in love.

Well, they fought one monster, once. And while they are in love, they haven’t discussed that fact with each other, and neither wants to be the first to bring it up.This is going to be fine. This story includes: Seaside mysteriesBrooding redemption arcsA cursed townA sea monsterMedieval tourist attractionsAn evil sorceressA crumbling dark towerMoonlit magical rituals (Ignore all the tentacles, everything is definitely fine…) ?? More praise for LADY’S KNIGHT ‘A sapphic delight, full of jousts, jaunts and courtly love.

One Knight Stand (Lady’s Knights #2) – Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner – 9780008714215

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What if you felt like you’d cried all the colours away? 

Joining an exclusive high school should be a fresh start for Jihad after her mother’s sudden death. But she’s the only Muslim student there; her hijab and even her name make her new classmates suspicious.

Only one person treats her with kindness but Jihad can’t help questioning his motives. It’s hard to trust anyone when she meets indifference or hostility all around her.

As tension mounts, she finds refuge in an old sketchbook and in the stories her mama used to tell her. She is determined to focus on making it to art school and a brighter future, but as she starts illustrating her mother’s memories, her canvas becomes bigger than she could ever have imagined.

Can Jihad become as resilient as the true meaning of her name, and let the colour back into her life?

The Ocean Would Paint Me Blue – Zoulfa Katouh – 9781526648587

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SIMO AND LUCA ARE IN LOVE Luca has loved Simo for as long as he can remember. But confessing? That could ruin everything. And in their tiny, cosier-than-cosy seaside town, there would be nowhere to hide.

Then an anonymous post on the community noticeboard blows his secret wide open – and suddenly, everyone is shipping them hard. Luca and Simo have no choice but to face the truth. Will they risk it all for love – or lose each other for ever? Get ready for a heart-flipping, swoon-worthy story about friendship, courage and the kind of love that changes everything.

*friends to lovers *found family *the slowest of burns *LGBTQ+ *cosy romance *

Boy Friends – Kai Spellmeier – 9781526693549

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‘An absolutely gripping read, the sort of book it’s impossible to put down.’ – Jan Carson’Moving, funny, cinematic, compelling’ – Bernie McGill’This powerful, immersive story explores difference and belonging with real compassion and thoroughly engaging wit’ – Byddi Lee, author of BarrenEzra is 16. He’s no stranger to crossing the line, but this time it’s really bad – and there’s no going back. His only hope of escape is to cross another line, the Northern Irish border, but that will mean leaving behind the only thing that really matters, his little sister, Evie.

Evie is 9 and sees it differently. Ezra took her into care, into safety, the last time they ran away. Why shouldn’t she go on the run with him now?

Runaway Road – Sue Divin – 9781035087174

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This wasn’t my phone.

This was real. Tom had died today. Literally died, and here I was, picking through the digital carrion like some sort of virtual vulture. What happens to your phone when you die and who has access to your online legacy? When micro-influencer Tom Burne takes his own life, he leaves behind his phone, its password and a cryptic message that needs decoding.

Seventeen-year-old Jamie doesn’t intend to take the phone, but once he does, he knows it was meant for him. Fuelled by his own sense of isolation and the recent passing of his father, Jamie loses himself in uncovering the truth. The more he investigates the digital fragments contained within the phone, the deeper into Tom’s dark world he falls.

As his own grief resurfaces and with his mother pushing for them to move to a different country for a fresh start, Jamie has very little time to find out the harsh reality that led to Tom’s tragic end. Can he clear Tom’s name before it is too late?

Tom Burne Has Left the Chat – Sean Farrelly – 9780571388219

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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.

Showstopper by Tom Ramsay – 9781917718264

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