Text Only Version | Sachem Public Library

Books that are 255 pages or less

Fiction

Outta here by Lea Beddia

Elise’s best friend and teachers offer what help they can, but there’s only so much they can do. Elise’s situation suddenly turns dangerous when her mother invites a fellow addict into their lives. Elise has to find a better path for herself–to get to college, pay for her education, and deal with her mother’s lifestyle.

Ace and the Misfits by Eddie Kawooya

Fifteen-year-old Patrick “Ace” Katumba’s life is changed drastically when he, his mother, and his sister are forced to flee Uganda. Arriving in Canada, Ace finds himself living with his uncle and having to integrate into a new community where he is the “African.” He meets ignorance and bullying at school until he finds a crew of international misfits who understand what he’s going through.

Dropped! by Alice Kuipers

In this high-interest accessible novel for teen readers, Dex is dropped onto a deserted tropical island to compete in a high-stakes internet reality show. He takes it to the extreme to gain the most likes and social media followers needed to win.

Tiger Daughter by Rebecca Lim

Wen Zhou is the daughter of Chinese migrant parents. Her parents have high expectations, and their strict rules leave her feeling trapped. Henry is also a first generation immigrant. They plan to take an entrance exam for a school far from home. But when tragedy strikes, it is up to Wen to get herself and Henry through the storm that follows.

My especially weird week with Tess by Anna Woltz

It’s the first day of the holidays and Sam is roaming the island of Texel, imagining what it’d feel like to be the last person on earth. Then, twelve-year-old islander Tess swoops into his life. Soon he’s dancing the waltz, burying a pet canary and coming up with a weird plan to help Tess find her father. Along the way, Sam discovers the true meaning of family and what it is to be alive.

Remember us by Jacqueline Woodson

The summer before seventh grade, as the constant threat of housefires looms over her Brooklyn neighborhood, basketball-loving Sage is trying to figure out her place in her circle of friends, when a new kid named Freddy moves in.

Fantasy

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi

In a near-future society that claims to have gotten rid of all monstrous people, a creature emerges from a painting seventeen-year-old Jam’s mother created, a hunter from another world seeking a real-life monster.

Zevi takes the spotlight by Carol Matas

In this high-interest accessible novel for middle-grade readers, thirteen-year-old Zevi uses his psychic abilities to save a famous actor’s life on a movie set.

Kaleidoscope by Brian Selznick

A ship. A garden. A library. A key. In Kaleidoscope, the story of two people bound to each other through time and space, memory and dreams. At the center of their relationship is a mystery about the nature of grief and love which will look different to each reader.

Mystery

Cosplay crime by Marty Chan

Bree Wong cosplays as the anime character Red Squirrel for a convention. She can’t wait to meet Midori, Red Squirrel’s Japanese voice actor. Suddenly, it’s announced that Midori’s signing event has been cancelled. When Bree overhears that Midori’s valuable original print of Red Squirrel has been stolen, she decides to investigate and catch the thief.

This foul murder by Chloe Gong

Benedikt and Marshall have been summoned to find the elusive scientist, Lourens, and must board the week-long Trans-Siberian Express. When someone is murdered on board, they convince the officer in charge not to stop the train. Instead, they pretend to be investigators and promise to solve the murder. As they dig deeper, they realize the murder might have ties to their own mission.

Enola Holmes and the elegant escapade by Nancy Springer

Enola Holmes, Sherlock Holmes’s younger sister and self-declared finder of lost persons and things, is determined to find her friend, Lacy Cecily, a confused young Baronet’s daughter on the run from her father’s devious schemes.

Sci-Fi

The maze cutter by James Dashner

Sadina, Isaac, and Jackie all learned about the history of the Gladers from The Book of Newt and tall tales from Old Man Frypan. When they cross paths with an orphan named Minho, the dangers become real and they don’t know who they can trust.

Switch by A.S. King

Set in a parallel version of America where time has stopped, one teenage girl tries to untangle her toxic family’s secrets, and maybe restart the world’s clocks in the process.

The Ooze by Tash McAdam

Something is oozing all over the city. Bran realizes that something is very wrong. His own mother can’t remember his name, there is black slime dripping out of her ears and then she attacks their cat. Outside, the city is full of people acting strangely, and they are all covered in the same black slime. What is going on and can Bran stop it?

Romance

The life and crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum

Moving to the quiet, mostly non-Jewish town of Tregaron, Hoodie Rosen falls for the daughter of the mayor who is trying to keep Hoodie’s Orthodox Jewish community out of town. When antisemitic crimes turn deadly, he must choose between his first love and the only world he’s ever known.

Wings in the wild by Margarita Engle

When a hurricane exposes Soleida’s family’s secret sculpture garden, the Cuban government arrests her parents, forcing her to escape alone to Central America where she meets Dariel, a Cuban American boy. They work together to protect the environment and bring attention to imprisoned artists in Cuba.

Kiss me in New York by Catherine Rider

Stranded at the airport after being dumped, British student Charlotte and New Yorker Anthony team up for a tour of the snowy, holiday-decorated city before they are accidentally separated just as they discover that they are falling for each other.

LGBTQ+

Stuck with you by Nathan Burgoine

Ben is on a train back to Ottawa after a visit with his dad in Toronto when he runs into the last person he wanted to see: Caleb, the boy who recently broke Ben’s phone. Ben has little time for Caleb’s jibes. But when the two start talking, Ben finds himself won over by Caleb’s roguish charm.

Skating on Mars by Caroline Huntoon

Twelve-year-old Mars is grappling with the recent death of their father and a realization they never got to share with him: they’re nonbinary. Mars is soon dared by a high school hot shot to skate as a boy so the two can compete head-to-head. But the struggles of life off the rink start to complicate their performance in the rink, and Mars wonders if there’s a place for them on the ice at all.

Orpheus girl by Brynne Rebele-Henry

When sixteen-year-old, mythology-obsessed Raya and her true love, Sarah, are sent from their conservative Texas town to a re-education camp, Raya assumes the role of Orpheus to save them.

Horror/Thriller

Clever creatures of the night by Samantha Mabry

When Case arrives at her best friend Drea’s isolated West Texas home and finds her missing, she embarks on a search for clues about Drea’s disappearance while facing the unsettling, cult-like and possibly murderous behavior of Drea’s roommates.

The woods are always watching by Stephanie Perkins

When two girls go backpacking deep in the woods of the Pisgah National Forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains, things go very wrong when they cross paths with a serial killer.

Runaway by R.L. Stine

Hoping to start her life over at Shadyside, where nobody knows about her secret dark powers, runaway Felicia becomes terrified that she will lose control of herself again when someone discovers the truth about her.

Historical

The silent stars go by by Sally Nicholls

It’s Christmas time, 1919. Margot Allan, a vicar’s daughter, lost her fiancé, Harry, to the Great War. In turn, she gained a desperate secret, one with the power to ruin her life and her family’s reputation. Now Margot’s family is gathering at the vicarage for the first time since the War ended. It turns out, Harry isn’t dead. He’s alive, and looking for answers.

The cricket war by Tho Pham and Sandra McTavish

Escaping from Communist Vietnam by boat in 1980, eleven-year-old Tho Phạm tries to be brave as he sets out into the unknown without his family, in this gripping survival story drawn from real-life experiences.

Kent State by Deborah Wiles

Told from different points of view of the protesters, students, National Guardsmen, and “townies” who were there that day, this recounts the story of what happened at Kent State in May 1970, when four college students were killed by National Guardsmen, and a student protest turned into a bloody battlefield.

Poetry

The road to after by Rebekah Lowell

Eleven-year-old Lacey rediscovers life and the soothing power of nature and art after she, her little sister, and mom escape from their controlling and abusive father.

Lady Sunflower: stories, songs, and poems from the desk of Kill.gertrude by Sierra Shuck-Sparer

A collection written by Sierra Shuck-Sparer when she found herself grappling with medulloblastoma at the age of fifteen. She chronicled her journey using a blend of poetry, essays and songs, zines, and playlists. This collection is a call to raise awareness about pediatric cancer and a glimpse into Sierra’s view of the world around her.