Cover Story: Family and Relationships

Here are our librarians' picks of the best teen reads in the Family and Relationships genre.

The Door of No Return 

Kwame Alexander

West Africa, 1860. Kofi is an 11 year-old with the same things on his mind as many boys his age- why school is so stupid sometimes and how he can spend more time swimming with his best friend. Then his whole world is turned upside down as he is torn from his happy family life and sent on a terrifying journey into the unknown. Told in accessible verse, this is the first of a trilogy about the experience of many Africans 150 years ago. 

9781839133077 Andersen Press: 2023 ebook available 

My Heart and Other Breakables 

Alex Barclay 

Ellery Brown gives us a hilarious but heartfelt insight into her life in this story told in a diary format. Her mum has recently died, and Ellery uses her journal to express her innermost feelings, like wondering who her dad is and if she will ever meet him. With her best friend’s help, she discovers that all three of her potential dads are celebrity authors scattered across the globe on separate continents! So begins an epic adventure around the world.. 

9780008295202 HarperCollins: 2023 ebook available 

Swimming on the Moon

Brian Conaghan 

Anna is in a panic. Her parents’ marriage seems to be falling apart and she is terrified that if they split up she will be separated from her twin brother Anto, who can’t speak and depends on Anna. When she is invited to take part in a dance contest in Italy she thinks that she may have been thrown a lifeline. Surely a family holiday in a foreign country is just what her family needs to get things back to the way they were. Or is it? Heart-warming and sweet. 

9781526653925 Bloomsbury: 2023 ebook available 

What the World Doesn't See

Mel Darbon

Told from both Maudie and Jake’s perspective, this book tells the story of two siblings grieving the loss of their dad and struggling when their mother disappears. When Jake is put into care, Maudie kidnaps him, hoping to bring their family back together. However caring for a brother with learning disabilities turns out to be much harder than she suspected. This novel is sure to tug at your heartstrings. 

9781474937849 Usborne: 2023 ebook available 

The Tiger Who Sleeps Under My Chair 

Hannah Foley

1887.When Emma’s brother James’ behaviour deteriorates the family flees from London to avoid the scandal and threat of an asylum. In the present day, Rosie and Jude are friends thrown together by similar circumstances who discover a connection to these siblings from the past, and the power of Kersbrook – a little house in the Devonshire countryside. Two stories, over a hundred years apart, weave together in this enchanting novel about mental illness, friendship and connecting with the past.   

9781803289823 Zephyr: 2023 ebook available 

Just Like Everyone Else

Sarah Hagger-Holt

Thirteen year-old Aidan can feel overwhelmed in his busy family home. He has four younger sisters and parents who want to discuss EVERYTHING. Aidan doesn't want to talk, especially about the fact that he thinks he might be gay. When Aidan’s mum tells him that she is going to have another baby, this time as a surrogate for a gay couple, Aidan is mortified by his expanding family, but also worried that his confusion about his own sexuality might be revealed. 

9781801315784 Usborne: 2023 ebook available

The Thing about Lemons

Tasha Harrison 

After kissing her best friend’s boyfriend, Ori’s fun plans for the summer have fallen through. Unsurprisingly, her friends do not want to hang out with her. She must now spend the holidays with her estranged grandfather and his sister Odette, in France. Boring? In fact the holiday turns out to be Ori’s best summer ever. The perfect mix of romance, friendship and family relationships with a little humour mixed in! 

9781915235558 UCLan Publishing: 2023

The Lorikeet Tree

Paul Jennings

When Emily and Alex’s father is diagnosed with a terminal illness they both deal with their grief in different ways. Emily finds solace in the thriving wildlife around their Australian home, but to her frustration Alex seems to be denying the situation and spends his time building his treehouse. Then along comes Ditto, a feral cat, and the simmering tensions in the family explode, threatening to tear the family apart. A moving story from a legendary Australian storyteller. 

9781910646878 Old Barn Books: 2023 ebook available 

Rhubarb Lemonade

Oskar Kroon

Vinga is spending the summer with her Grandpa, playing chess, building boats and exploring the beach on the isolated but beautiful island he calls home.  Then cool, confident Ruth arrives, like a flash of lightning, and everything changes. Vinga learns to embrace the unexpected and make peace with her tumultuous family life. This dreamy, lyrical novel is a beautiful coming-of-age story that explores all the magic and pain of first love, first loss and self-discovery.   

9781471413124 Hot Key: 2023 ebook available 

Secret Sister

Sophie McKenzie

A gripping thriller from a popular author about separated twin sisters and how they find each other. Willow is happily living with her father and stepfamily, thinking that her mother and sister died in an accident when she was a toddler. Meanwhile, Asha has been living in an island commune with her adoptive mother, unaware that her sister is living on the mainland. Will the girls be reunited, or will outside forces keep them apart? 

9781398523265 Simon and Schuster: 2023 ebook available 

Children of the Stone City

Beverley Naidoo 

In the Stone City the Permitted have all the power and Nons like Adam are second-class citizens. Their whole lives are controlled by The Permitted, and one false move can see them plunged into poverty or worse. When Adam is implicated in a friend’s ‘crime’ against the Permitted he quickly discovers that for Nons the justice system is cruel and unfair. Help may be at hand, but will it get to him in time? A powerful allegorical fantasy from a celebrated author. 

9780008471774 HarperCollins: 2023 ebook available 

Friendship Never Ends 

Alexandra Sheppard

Told over the span of one summer, this book is about a group of four friends growing up and trying not to grow apart. Sunita is off to France with her step-family, Gifty is going to Scotland to see her grandparents, Dawn is heading to Musical Theatre school in London and May is staying behind to work in her parents’ Chinese takeaway. But will their friendships last whilst they are all apart? A laugh-out-loud, heartwarming story, told in four relatable perspectives.   

9781913311414 Knights of: 2023 

The Last Whale 

Chris Vick 

In this action-packed novel, we follow generations of the Peterson family as they fight to protect the whales surrounding their home. While on holiday in Norway with her grandmother, Abi used an AI computer to translate whale songs, starting a love for the creatures that spans her lifetime. Thirty years later and her daughter is searching for any signs of the majestic creatures they are desperate to save. But are there any whales left for her to find?  

9781803281629 Zephyr: 2023 ebook available 

The Storm Swimmer

Clare Weze 

When Ginika sees a boy swimming in the sea she knows that there is something strange about him. He swims incredibly fast and speaks a language unlike any that she has ever heard. Is he really one of the sea people her grandad told her about? He seems fascinated with the bright lights and sounds of Ginika’s world, but is will he be able to cope with life on dry land? Two worlds collide in this story of an unlikely friendship. 

9781526622211 Bloomsbury: 2023 ebook available 

The Lies We Tell

Katie Zhao

When Anna starts college she has plans to get great grades but also solve the mystery of her murdered childhood babysitter. While there she meets Chris, a familiar face as his family owns the bakery that is the number one rival to her parents' Chinese bakery, Sweetea. The pair are thrown together when a vandal leaves a clue for Anna’s investigation in the form of a racist tag at Sunny’s. A coming-of-age story with a hint of rivals-to-lovers romance.   

9781526654854 Bloomsbury: 2022