Unfadeable by Maurice Broaddus

Bella “Unfadeable” Fades is determined to stay out of trouble. A wiser-than-her-years graffiti artist known for tagging walls and bridges in her Indianapolis neighborhood, the Land, Bella plans to spend her summer break lying low and steering clear of anyone who might tip off to social services that she’s living on her own.  But keeping a low profile is all but impossible when Bella discovers people in high places are trying to defund the Land. She has to find a way to fight back. Getting involved will mean putting herself out there—making connections with unlikely friends and attracting potential enemies. But if Bella doesn’t put her trust in her neighbors and learn how to bring her community together, her home—and her future—will never be the same.

Dream, Annie, Dream by Waka T. Brown

As the daughter of immigrants who came to America for a better life, Annie Inoue was raised to dream big. And at the start of seventh grade, she’s channeling that irrepressible hope into becoming the lead in her school play.  So when Annie lands an impressive role in the production of The King and I, she’s thrilled . . . until she starts to hear grumbles from her mostly white classmates that she only got the part because it’s an Asian play with Asian characters. Is this all people see when they see her? Is this the only kind of success they’ll let her have–one that they can tear down or use race to belittle?  Disheartened but determined, Annie channels her hurt into a new dream: showing everyone what she’s made of.

Karthik Delivers by Sheela Chari

A middle-grade novel set during the financial crisis, following a boy who makes deliveries for his family’s struggling grocery store while secretly acting in a play about Leonard Bernstein.

Daughter Of The Deep by 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 parents died while on a scientific expedition two years ago, and the only family she’s got left is her older brother, Dev, also a student at HP. Ana’s freshman year culminates with the class’s weekend trial at sea, the details of which have been kept secret. She only hopes she has what it’ll take to succeed. All her worries are blown out of the water when, on the bus ride to the ship, Ana and her schoolmates witness a terrible tragedy that will change the trajectory of their lives.  But wait, there’s more. The professor accompanying them informs Ana that their rival school, Land Institute, and Harding-Pencroft have been fighting a cold war for a hundred and fifty years. Now that cold war has been turned up to a full broil, and the freshmen are in danger of becoming fish food. In a race against deadly enemies, Ana will make amazing friends and astounding discoveries about her heritage as she puts her leadership skills to the test for the first time.

A Baker’s Guide To Robber Pie by Caitlin Sangster

Evie Baker is a great story-teller, an avid prankster, and a fantastic baker. And while she loves her parent’s bakery, she has no plans to stay in their small town and become stuffy or static. Evie wants to go on adventures and she knows just what she needs to do it!  With her best friend, Cecily, by her side, Evie sets off into the Old Forest to find one of the Fel, a group of crow-like magical creatures who can’t lie. She is sure her family’s irresistible raspberry tart and a carefully crafted deal will get them to take her on a magical adventure—without getting her eaten or worse. But the forest hides many dangers and when they finally find their Fel, they also discover a nest of robbers!  Having seen the Robber Lord’s face, Evie is whisked away into hiding for her own protection. But even in the queen’s own city, trouble has a way of finding her…

Scout Is Not A Band Kid by Jade Armstrong

When Scout learns that her favorite author is doing an exclusive autograph session at the end of the year, she’s determined to be there! She officially needs a plan…and when she finds out that her school’s band is heading to the same location for their annual trip, an idea takes shape. Being a band kid can’t be that hard, right?  As it turns out, learning how to play an instrument when you can’t even read music is much, much, MUCH tougher than expected. And it’s even harder for Scout when her friends aren’t on board with her new hobby. Will she be able to master the trombone, make new band friends, and get to her favorite author’s book signing? Tackling everything seems like a challenge for a supergenius superfriend supermusician–and she’s just Scout.

Fearbook Club by Richard Hamilton

The new kid in middle school is tossed in with the misfits of the Yearbook Club only to uncover a mystery going back decades: One student from each class goes missing every year, and no one seems to care. Now, the “club” will be pulled into supernatural peril as they attempt to solve these mysteries, all while being harangued by their drama-inclined advisor, their creepy principal and, oh yeah, the ghosts of those kids who have disappeared.

Space Boy Volume 12 by Stephen McCranie

In the aftermath of the Homecoming dance, the students of South Pine are left reeling from the disappearance of one of their friends. As Zeph, Cassie, and David struggle to make sense of the tragedy, Amy begins to adjust to her new life in the FCP, finding unexpected allies as she tries to uncover more about the shadowy organization, and what its goals are for Oliver and herself.

Dragon Kingdom Of Wrenly: Cinder’s Flame by Jordan Quinn

Cinder has always carried a small spark of envy when it comes to Ruskin. He is, after all, known as the legendary scarlet dragon. And it’s hard to be friends with a legend, as the Witch-Dragon, Villinelle, knows all too well. When Villinelle unleashes the dreaded Soul Blazer spell on Cinder, her small spark of envy grows into an uncontrollable flame. Can Ruskin help his friend, or will Cinder’s fire burn too bright?

Anne Of West Philly by Ivy Noelle Weir

When Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert decide to foster a teenage girl for the first time, their lives are changed forever. Their redheaded foster daughter, Anne Shirley, is in search of an exciting life and has decided that West Philly is where she’s going to find it. Armed with a big personality and unstoppable creativity, Anne takes her new home by storm as she joins the robotics club, makes new friends in Diana and Gilbert, experiences first love, and turns the ordinary into the extraordinary. But as Anne starts to get comfortable, she discovers one thing she wasn’t looking for: a family.

#MeToo And You: Everything You Need To Know About Consent, Boundaries, And More by Halley Bondy

The #MeToo movement has changed the way many people view the world, but how well do tweens understand it? Middle-grade readers are ready to learn about consent, harassment, and abuse, as well as healthy boundaries in all their relationships.  #MeToo and You includes essential terminology, from consent to assault, from just plain yes to just plain no. Author Halley Bondy explores the nuances of emotions, comfort, and discomfort in sexually charged and emotionally abusive situations. Detailed scenarios, both real and hypothetical, provide valuable examples of what’s acceptable and what is not, along with tools to help everyone treat others appropriately and to stand up for themselves and their peers.

Surviving Middle School: Navigating The Halls, Riding The Social Roller Coasters, And Unmasking The Real You by Luke Reynolds

Middle grade series like The Diary of a Wimpy Kid and Dork Diaries bring an authentic voice and vision to fiction about middle schoolers. Now, for the first time a nonfiction guide to middle school offers that same funny and relatable voice, while skillfully teaching life lessons to not just help kids find their footing during the tough years between elementary and high school, but to find the joy in their new adventures and challenges.  Author and teacher Luke Reynolds uses irreverent humor, genuine affection for middle schoolers, and authenticity that bubbles over as he ties real-life experiences from his own time in middle school to the experiences he has from his many years as a teacher.  Covering topics like bullying, peer pressure, grades, dealing with difficult parents, and love and romance, this rare book reaches kids at a deeper level during an age when they are often considered too young to appreciate it. Readers will learn to find their own voice, begin to explore their genuine identity, and definitely laugh out loud along the way.

How They Choked: Failures, Flops, and Flaws of the Awfully Famous by Georgia Bragg

Over the course of history, famous people made mistakes that were so monumental they could never escape them, no matter how brilliant their successes! Ferdinand Magellan is credited as the first man to sail around the world . . . but he only actually made it halfway. His terrible treatment of everyone he met cut his life journey short. Queen Isabella of Spain is remembered for financing Columbus’s expeditions—and for creating the Spanish Inquisition. J. Bruce Ismay commissioned the unsinkable marvel of the sea, the Titanic—and then jumped the line of women and children to escape death on a lifeboat. Readers will be fascinated well past the final curtain and will empathize with the flawed humanity of these achievers.

World War I: The Great War To End All Wars by Julie Knutson

The basic human losses of World War I can be made plain with these staggering casualties: 9 million dead soldiers, 7 million civilian lives lost, millions more wounded. But those numbers only hint at the devastation, both political and personal, that lies at the heart of the Great War. World War I: The Great War to End All Wars for ages 12 to 15 brings to light the key details of this critical point in history, which marked the transition to a modern era in which mass destruction became not only a possibility but a reality through military technologies a century in the making. By focusing not only on military life on the battlefields and in the trenches but also on anti-war protest movements, art and popular culture, home front efforts across the globe, and experiences in British and French colonies, this book offers a sense of how this war penetrated all corners of the world and impacted all of its peoples. Graphic novel-style illustrations, amazing historical photography, and primary sources bring the past to life and illustrate how far World War I reached around the globe. Through an interdisciplinary approach, themes of “Time, Continuity, and Change,” “Science, Technology, and Society,” and global interconnectedness are key concepts that drive the narrative.

Days Of Infamy: How A Century Of Bigotry Led To Japanese-American Internment by Lawrence Goldstone

In another unrelenting look at the iniquities of the American justice system, Lawrence Goldstone, acclaimed author of Unpunished Murder, Stolen Justice, and Separate No More, examines the history of racism against Japanese Americans, exploring the territory of citizenship and touching on fears of non-white immigration to the US — with hauntingly contemporary echoes.

My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero

Before landing a spot on the megahit Netflix show Orange is the New Black; before wowing audiences as Lina on Jane the Virgin; and before her incredible activism and work on immigration reform, Diane Guerrero was a young girl living in Boston. One day, while Guerrero was at school, her undocumented immigrant parents were taken from their home, detained, and deported. Guerrero’s life, which had been full of the support of a loving family, was turned upside down.

A Face For Picasso: A Memoir by Ariel Henley

I am ugly. There’s a mathematical equation to prove it.  At only eight months old, identical twin sisters Ariel and Zan were diagnosed with Crouzon syndrome — a rare condition where the bones in the head fuse prematurely. They were the first twins known to survive the disease.  Growing up, Ariel and her sister endured numerous appearance-altering procedures. Surgeons would break the bones in their heads and faces to make room for their growing organs. While the physical aspect of their condition was painful, it was nothing compared to the emotional toll of navigating life with a facial disfigurement.  Ariel explores beauty and identity in her young-adult memoir about resilience, sisterhood, and the strength it takes to put your life, and yourself, back together time and time again.

The Rebellious Life Of Mrs. Rosa Parks: A Young Readers Edition by Jeanne Theoharis

This definitive biography of Rosa Parks accessibly examines her six decades of activism, challenging young readers perceptions of her as an accidental actor in the civil rights movement.  Presenting a corrective to the popular notion of Rosa Parks as the quiet seamstress performed a single act that sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott and birthed the modern civil rights movement, Jeanne Theoharis provides a revealing window into Parks’ politics and decades of activism. She shows readers how the movement radically sought–for more than a half a century–to expose and eradicate the American racial-caste system in jobs, schools, public services, and criminal justice and how Rosa Parks was a key player throughout. The original text is fully adapted by the award-winning young adult author Brandy Colbert, for middle-grade and young adult readers to include archival images and personal papers of Rosa Parks, and to provide the necessary historical context to bring the multi-faceted, decades long civil rights movement to life. Colbert creates an engaging and comprehensive narrative centered on Parks’ life of activism, to encourage readers not only to question where and who their history comes, but to search for histories beyond the dominant narratives.

Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me by Martin Duberman

Paul Robeson was destined for greatness. The son of an ex-slave who upon his college graduation ranked first in his class, Robeson was proclaimed the future “leader of the colored race in America.” Although a graduate of Columbia Law School, he abandoned his law career (and the racism he encountered there) and began a hugely successful career as an internationally celebrated actor and singer. The predictions seemed to have been correct—Paul Robeson’s triumphs on the stage earned him esteem among white and Black Americans across the country, although his daring and principled activism eventually made him an outcast from the entertainment industry, and his radical views made many consider him a public enemy.  With the original biography lavishly praised, this will be a thrilling new addition to the young adult canon. Featuring contextualizing sidebars, explanations of key terms, and photographs from Paul Robeson’s life and times, Paul Robeson: No One Can Silence Me will introduce readers in middle and high school to the inspiring and complicated life of one of America’s most fascinating figures, whose story of artistry, heroism, conviction, and conflict is newly relevant today.

Victoria: Portrait Of A Queen by Catherine Reef

Catherine Reef brings history vividly to life in this sumptuously illustrated account of a confident, strong-minded, and influential woman.  Victoria woke one morning at the age of eighteen to discover that her uncle had died and she was now queen.  She went on to rule for sixty-three years, with an influence so far-reaching that the decades of her reign now bear her name—the Victorian period.  Victoria is filled with the exciting comings and goings of royal life: intrigue and innuendo, scheming advisors, and assassination attempts, not to mention plenty of passion and discord. Includes bibliography, notes, British royal family tree, index.

Live-brary.com links you to FREE on demand online homework assistance program for all students in grades K-12, ESL, and GED in Suffolk County. It is easy to use. Log in with your East Hampton Library card and then enter your grade level and the subject you need help in.  You will be connected to a qualified tutor who will provide general or specific homework help.  Homework Help is available 7 days a week from 2-10pm.

Live-brary.com links you to research subject topic guides where librarians have done some of the research for you. Log in with your East Hampton Library card.

HippoCampus.org is a free, core academic web site that delivers rich multimedia content–videos, animations, and simulations–on general education subjects to middle-school and high-school teachers and college professors, and their students, free of charge. Teachers project HippoCampus content during classroom learning and assign it for computer labs and homework. Students use the site in the evenings for study and exam prep. Users do not need to register or log in to use the site.