Clean Reads

Cinder / Marissa Meyer

As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with handsome Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.

Song for a whale / Lynne Kelly

Twelve-year-old Iris and her grandmother, both deaf, drive from Texas to Alaska armed with Iris's plan to help Blue-55, a whale unable to communicate with other whales.

Enhanced / Candace Kade

In a society where DNA determines one’s destiny, being a Natural means automatic relegation to the dangerous Outskirts. Lee Urban, born a Natural, was adopted into the Enhanced high society and must conceal her genetic roots. When Urban is targeted by a hacker trying to expose her identity, she begins to play a dangerous game in order to maintain her façade.

On thin ice / Michael Northrop

Targeted by the school bully because of his spinal abnormality, twelve-year-old social outcast Ked Eakins, the son of a gambler, organizes an innovative but risky venture to save his home while finding a creative place to belong.

Hiding out at the pancake palace / Nan Marino ; illustrations by John Hendrix

When musical prodigy, Elvis Ruby, completely freezes up on television, he is forced to hide out in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, where he spends the summer working with his aunt and cousin at Piney Pete's Pancake Palace, the perfect place to remain anonymous until he meets Cecilia, a girl who can't seem to help blurting out whatever's on her mind.

Across the pond / Joy McCullough

Hoping to reinvent herself in the wake of a friendship breakup and a relocation to Scotland, Callie struggles to feel at home in a drafty, run-down historic castle before the discovery of a hidden journal inspires her to join a birding club.

Candidly Cline / Kathryn Ormsbee

Signing up for a young musicians’ workshop as she learns to make music of her own, Cline Alden realizes how much of herself she’s been holding back when she falls for talented singer Sylvie.

Stand up, Yumi Chung! / Jessica Kim

On the outside, Yumi is incredibly shy, but on the inside, she is ready to host her own comedy special. Yumi is supposed to spend her summer in test-prep tutoring, but she stumbles upon a comedy camp that will change her life.

Midsummer's mayhem / Rajani LaRocca

Mimi Mackson struggles with feeling invisible in her family full of talented people, but when a new bakery in town holds a contest, Mimi sees an opportunity to prove herself. As Mimi’s dad returns from a business trip with a new attitude and her siblings begin fighting more, Mimi begins to wonder if the ingredients from the new bakery are the cause of all this chaos.

A wrinkle in time / Madeleine L'Engle

It’s a dark and stormy night when a stranger visits the Murry household, beckoning Meg, her brother Charles Wallace, and her friend Calvin O’Keefe, into a dangerous and fantastical journey.

Howl's moving castle / Diana Wynne Jones

When Sophie, the eldest of three daughters, unintentionally attracts the ire of the Witch of the Waste, Sophie is put under a spell that turns her into an old lady. The only chance she has to break the curse is to strike an agreement with the heartless Howl and his fire demon. As she attempts to break the spell, Sophie learns more about Howl, and about herself, than she expected.

The false prince / Jennifer A. Nielsen

In order to avoid civil war within the kingdom, a nobleman of the court devises a scheme to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as the next prince. Among the four orphans recruited to compete for the role, there is Sage, a defiant boy that knows he must be chosen to play the prince, or he will be killed.

Dear student / Elly Swartz

When Autumn becomes the secret voice of the advice column in her middle school newspaper she is faced with a dilemma--can she give fair advice to everyone, including her friends, while keeping her identity a secret?

Three times lucky / Sheila Turnage

Making a home in a small North Carolina town where she washed up as a baby during a hurricane eleven years earlier, sixth-grader Mo taps into the power of her strong will and tough attitude when a lawman arrives in town to investigate a murder case that threatens to destabilize Mo's adopted family.

The first rule of punk / Celia C. Pérez

Twelve-year old Malú has a rough first day at her new school – she upsets the school’s queen bee, violates the dress code, and disappoints her college-professor mom. Her dad, who lives a thousand miles away, tells her it’ll get better with time. When Malú assembles a group of like-minded misfits and starts a band, she begins to feel at home.

Look both ways : a tale told in ten blocks / Jason Reynolds

In a collection of ten stories, readers can explore the unique stories of neighborhood kids heading home from their school day. Follow lifelong friends, a female skateboarder, two devoted gamers, and more as they recount their experiences in school.

The apothecary / Maile Meloy

Follows a fourteen-year-old American girl whose life unexpectedly transforms when she moves to London in 1952 and gets swept up in a race to save the world from nuclear war.

Daughter of the deep / Rick Riordan

Ana Dakkar is a freshman at Harding-Pencroft Academy, a five-year high school that graduates the best marine scientists, naval warriors, navigators, and underwater explorers in the world. Ana’s freshman year culminates with a weekend trial at sea, but on the bus ride to the ship, Ana and her classmates witness a terrible tragedy that changes the trajectory of their lives.

Beyond the bright sea / Lauren Wolk

Crow has lived her entire life on an isolated piece of the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Crow’s only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their affectionate neighbor from across the sandbar. But, Crow is curious about the outside world, and this desire to know more could lead her down a dangerous path of discovery.

A song called home / Sara Zarr

Receiving a mysterious guitar the night before she leaves the city to live with her mom and new stepdad, Lou believes that if she learns how to play it, she can bring a piece of her old life home.

Alone / Megan E. Freeman

After a secret sleepover with her two best friends, Maddie wakes up alone - the town has been mysteriously evacuated and abandoned. With no one to rely on other than a Rottweiler named George, Maddie learns to survive on her own.

Sidetracked / Diana Harmon Asher

Joseph Friedman spends most of his time avoiding the class bully until a teacher encourages him to join the school cross country team, and he meets Heather, a new student who's tough and athletic and refuses to be pushed around by anybody.

The crossover / by Kwame Alexander

Josh and JB, identical twins, are basketball stars at their school. As the brothers begin preparing for one of the most important basketball games of their lives, tension grows between them. Stress from basketball and problems at home cause the brothers to start to feel the pressure.

Sweep : the story of a girl and her monster / Jonathan Auxier

When eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow gets stuck in a deadly chimney fire, she fears it’s the end for her. However, Nan wakes up in an abandoned attic that contains a mysterious creature made of ash and coal. This book follows Nan and her monster, and the life they carve out together.

Princess Academy / Shannon Hale

While attending a strict academy for potential princesses with the other girls from her mountain village, fourteen-year-old Miri discovers unexpected talents and connections to her homeland.

Book scavenger / Jennifer Chambliss Bertman ; with illustrations by Sarah Watts

After Emily and her family move to San Francisco, she teams up with new friend James to figure out the secrets of an odd book they find before the men who attacked Emily's hero solve the mystery or come after them.

Etiquette & espionage / Gail Carriger

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners, so her mother enrolls her in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. But, this school is not quite what Sophronia’s mother had in mind.

Summerlost / Ally Condie

After the sudden deaths of her father and autistic younger brother, Cedar Lee spends the summer working at a Shakespearean theater festival, making a new friend, and coming to terms with her grief.

Marcus Vega doesn't speak Spanish / Pablo Cartaya

At six feet tall and 180 pounds, Marcus looks a lot more intimidating than he actually is. After Marcus gets into a fight at school, his family takes a week to regroup in Puerto Rico, but Marcus is more interested in finding his long-lost father. Through a series of misadventures, Marcus travels all over Puerto Rico, meeting a cast of colorful characters.

Starfish / Lisa Fipps

Ellie is tired of being bullied about her weight, so she tries to follow the Fat Girl Rules, like “avoid eating in public,” to stop her mom from criticizing her. But, Ellie also has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina. With this support, Ellie can learn to be her unapologetic self.

Pippa Park raises her game / Erin Yun

Pippa, who is subject to a variety of expectations, is ready to reinvent herself when she receives a basketball scholarship to Lakeview Private. But, when Pippa begins to receive hateful, anonymous messages online, she worries her past and life situation will be revealed to the fellow students at Lakeview.

Dead end in Norvelt / Jack Gantos

Jack’s summer seems to be ruined by his parents grounding him for life and a strange affliction that makes his nose bleed every time he’s shocked or surprised. But, when his mom signs him up to help an elderly neighbor write obituaries, Jack is in for plenty of excitement – and more nosebleeds.

Belly up / Stuart Gibbs

Twelve-year-old Teddy investigates when a popular Texas zoo's star attraction--Henry the hippopotamus--is murdered.

Princess of the Midnight Ball / Jessica Day George

Galen, a young soldier, and Rose, one of twelve princesses forced to dance every night for the King Under Stone, team up to find a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance every night at the midnight balls.

Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's library / Chris Grabenstein

Twelve-year-old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello), but finds that come morning he must work with friends to solve puzzles in order to escape.

Theodore Boone : The abduction / John Grisham

When his best friend disappears from her bedroom in the middle of the night, thirteen-year-old Theo uses his legal knowledge and investigative skills to chase down the truth and save April.

Winterhouse / Ben Guterson ; with illustrations by Chloe Bristol

Orphan Elizabeth locates a magical book of puzzles that will unlock a mystery involving Winterhouse. As fate would have it, Elizabeth is the only person who can break the hotel's curse and solve the mystery. But will it be at the cost of losing the people she has come to care for, and even Winterhouse itself?

Refugee / Alan Gratz

Three different young refugees go on harrowing journeys decades apart on different continents to find safety. Despite the unimaginable dangers, Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud never give up hope, holding on to the belief that there is a better tomorrow waiting for them.

The detective's assistant / Kate Hannigan

In 1859, eleven-year-old Nell goes to live with her aunt, Kate Warne, the first female detective for Pinkerton's National Detective Agency. Nell helps her aunt solve cases, including a mystery surrounding Abraham Lincoln, and the mystery of what happened to Nell's own father.

The Goose girl / Shannon Hale

Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee, the Crown Princess of Kildenree, spent years of her life listening to her aunt’s stories and learning the language of birds. Anidori-Kiladra must discover her own unusual talents before she can lead the people in her kingdom.

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Book List: Clean Reads

Sachem Public Library