Behrens, Rebecca. Alone in the Woods"Rising eighth-graders Jocelyn and Alex, former best friends forced together on afamily vacation, must cooperate to survive when they get lost in the WisconsinNorthwoods. Told in two voices."

Bowling, Dusti. Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus"Thirteen-year-old Aven was born without arms and has trouble fitting in at hernew school after her parents take a job at a dying western theme park, but shemakes a new friend in a fellow disabled boy who helps her solve a mystery at thepark."E-book I Audio-book

Alexander, Kwame. The CrossoverTwin brothers and middle school basketball stars, Josh and Jordan, deal with thehigh and lows of life on and off the court.E-book I Audio-book

Anderson, Laurie Halse. ChainsIsabel, a teenage slave, becomes a spy for rebels who promise her freedomduring the Revolutionary War.E-book

Below is a list of selected titles for students starting 6th grade atLawrence Road or Turtle Hook Middle Schools

to help complete their School Summer Reading Assignment.

You can click on the book's title to be directed to the library catalog to check availability.Once there, you can put the book on hold by clicking the "Request It" button

and logging into your account with your library barcode and pin.

You can also place the item on hold by calling Teen Space at 516-489-2220 ex 218If the UPL copy is unavailable, requesting from another library is possible but will take time.

Prefer an e-book or audio?Links are provided if we carry the titles in that format in our digital collection.

6th GradeSuggested Summer Reading List

Florence, Debbi Michiko. Keep It Together, Keiko Carter"Looking forward to tackling the seventh grade with her two best friends by herside, Keiko struggles with an estrangement between her friends and her feelingsfor a crush, who she hopes will agree to a triple date at the Fall Ball."E-book

Colbert, Brandy. The Only Black Girls in Town"In a predominately white California beach town, the only two black seventhgraders, Alberta and Edie, find hidden journals that uncover family secrets andspeak to race relations in the past." E-book I Audio-book

Chase, Paula. Dough Boys"Told in two voices, thirteen-year-old best friends Simp and Rollie play on abasketball team in their housing project, but Rollie dreams of being a drummerand Simp, to impress the gang leader, Coach Tez."

Diaz, Alexandra. Santiago's Road Home“Fleeing abusive relatives and extreme poverty in Mexico, young Santiagoendures being detained by ICE while crossing the border into the United States.”

Connor, Leslie. All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. CookPerry T. Cook feels trapped and out of place when he is placed into foster careafter being raised by his mother in the prison where she is incarcerated.E-book I Audio-book

Faruqi, Saadia and Laura Shovan. A Place at the Table"Sixth-graders Sara, a Pakistani American, and Elizabeth, a Jewish girl, connectin an after school cooking club and bond over food and their mothers' struggles tobecome United States citizens."E-book

Budhos, Marina Tamar. The Long RideBest friends and mixed-race middle schoolers, Jamila, Josie, and Francesca'slives are altered when they are forced to attend 7th grade at a newly integratedschool due to desegregation in 1971 Queens.E-book I Audio-book

Grisham, John. Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer"Thirteen-year-old Theodore Boone has always dreamed of being a great triallawyer someday, but a sensational murder trial forces him into the arena soonerthan expected, and he is determined to see that justice prevails."E-book I Audio-book

Gratz, Alan. GrenadeHideki, a Japanese teen, and Ray, an American teen, are fighting on oppositesides of World War II. The pair come face to face at the battle of Okinawa onApril 1, 1945.E-book I Audio-book

Hood, Susan. Lifeboat 12When a torpedo hits a ship traveling to Canada carrying British children and theadult accompanying them, they are forced into the last remaining lifeboat. Now,with limited supplies, they must survive traveling the Atlantic Ocean.E-book

Hiaasen, Carl. HootNew kid in Coconut Cove, Roy finds himself involved in another boy's mission tosave a colony of burrowing owls from a proposed construction site.E-book I Audio-book

Han, Jenny. Shug"A twelve-year-old girl learns about friendship, first loves, and self-worth in a smalltown in the South."

Gertler, Caroline. Many Points of Me"When Georgia finds a secret sketch her late father, a famed artist, left behind,the discovery leads her down a path that may reshape everything holding herfamily and friends together."

Grabenstein, J.J.and Chris Grabenstein. Shine!At Chumley Prep, everybody seems to excel at something. Piper, who has alwaysbeen in the shadow of her parent's legacy, thinks the announcement of the newExcliser award may be her chance to shine.E-book I Audio-book

Hopkins, Ellen. Closer to Nowhere'Told in two voices, sixth-grade cousins Hannah and Cal learn a lot about familywhen circumstances throw them together under one roof and Hannah's love oforder clashes with Cal's chaotic behavior."

McAnulty, Stacy. Millionaires for the Month"A straitlaced kid and a rule-breaker who have nothing in common becomeunwitting partners when they find a billionaire’s lost wallet and the latter makes aquestionable choice, prompting a challenge by the wallet’s owner that helps themlearn that money cannot fix every problem."E-book I Audio-book

Marks, Janae. From the Desk of Zoe Washington"Avid baker Zoe Washington receives a letter on her twelfth birthday from herbiological father, who is in prison for a terrible crime."E-book I Audio-book

Kim, Jessica. Stand Up, Yumi Chung!"When eleven-year-old Yumi Chung stumbles into a kids' comedy camp she ismistaken for another student, so she decides to play the part."E-book I Audio-book

Mbalia, Kwame. Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the SkyTristan Strong accidentally tears a hole between his grandparent's farm and themyriad lands of Alke after a talking doll, snatches away the notebook of his latefriend.E-book I Audio-book

Kelly, Erin Entrada. Blackbird Fly"Bullied at school, eighth-grader Apple, a Filipino American who loves the musicof the Beatles, decides to change her life by learning how to play the guitar."E-book I Audio-book

Khan, Hena. More to the Story"As features editor of her school newspaper, thirteen-year-old Jameela Mirzawants to impress her father by writing a spectacular story about the new student,but a misunderstanding and family illness complicate matters."E-book I Audio-book

Moon, Sarah. Middletown"Left to fend for themselves in the wake of their father’s abandonment and theirmother’s enforced rehab, 13-year-old Eli and her older sister embark on adesperate effort to stay out of foster care."

Patterson, James, and Chris Tebbetts. Middle School, the Worst Years of My LifeHills Village Middle School Code of Conduct had a lot of rules. Rafe, along with hisfriend Leo the Silent, plans to break them all by the end of the year.E-book I Audio-book

Palacio, R.J. WonderHaving been previously home-schooled, Auggie Pullman is not about to start fifthgrade at Beecher Prep. All he wants is to be a normal kid, but having been bornwith extreme facial abnormalities causes bullying and fear from his classmates.E-book

Parks, Amy Noelle. Summer of Brave"Twelve-year-old Lilla wants to make everyone happy, so when her best friendVivi dares her to start telling the truth as part of their Summer of Brave, Lillahesitates because if she says out loud what she really wants, her whole life mightcrash down around her."

Murphy, Julie. Dear Sweet Pea"Struggling to adjust to her parents’ sudden divorce at the same time she is forcedto sit next to her former best friend in class, a teen finds herself in the unlikely roleof a community advice columnist."E-book I Audio-book

Medina, Meg. Merci Suárez Changes GearsMerci Suarez navigates difficult changes both in school and at home at the start of6th grade.E-book

Prineas, Sarah. Trouble in the Stars "A chase across the galaxy ensues when a troublesome little shape-shifter runsfrom the law, with safety, freedom, and home at stake."

Stone, Nice. Clean GetawayAfter his spring break plans get canceled, William "Scoob" Lamar finds himself onan unexpected road trip with his G'ma. This road trip isn't all fun and games asG'ma shares with "Scoob" her experience with the American Civil Rights E-book I Audio-book

Rhodes, Jewell Parker. Ghost Boys"After seventh-grader Jerome is shot by a white police officer, he observes theaftermath of his death and meets the ghosts of other fallen black boys includinghistorical figure Emmett Till."E-book I Audio-book

Reynolds, Jason. Ghost"Ghost, a naturally talented runner and troublemaker, is recruited for an elitemiddle school track team. He must stay on track, literally and figuratively, to reachhis full potential."E-book I Audio-book

Ramée, Lisa Moore. A Good Kind of TroubleMiddle School can be hard as it is, but things for Shayla get more complicatedwhen she gets involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.E-book I Audio-book

Rivera, Kaela. Cece Rios and the Desert of Souls"Privately questioning her remote community's superstitions about dangerouspowerful spirits in their Devil's Alley home, Cecelia Rios experiments with theforbidden art of brujera to rescue her kidnapped sister."E-book I Audio-book

Simon, Raphael. The Anti-Book"Mickey finds a book that promises to erase whatever is written in it, and afterfilling the page with all the things and people he dislikes, he finds himself in theanti-world where everything familiar is gone."E-book

Strasser, Todd. The Good War"When Ms. Peterson starts a video game club, the students are divided into twoteams and simulate a war they know nothing about, but what starts out as friendlycompetition, takes an unexpected turn for the worst when one player takes thegame too far."E-book I Audio-book

Woodson, Jacqueline. Before the Ever AfterZJ's friends Ollie, Darry and Daniel help him cope when his father, a belovedprofessional football player, suffers severe headaches and memory loss that spellthe end of his career."E-book I Audio-book

Book descriptions in quotes are taken directly fromthe library catalog or the database Novelist.

Those without were written by the compiler of this list.

This list was originally compiled July 2020 updated June 2021 by UPL Teen Services Librarian Amanda Borgia

Zoboi, Ibi. My Life as an Ice Cream SandwichEbony-Grace idolizes her grandfather, and together they fantasize about life inspace. When sent to stay with her father, she wants to retreat into her imaginaryworld, making things complicated in the real world.E-book I Audio-book

Williams, Alicia D. Genesis Begins AgainThirteen-year-old Genesis believes that her dark skin is the root of her family'strouble. She tries to lighten her skin, thinking it will help. However, her ideas beginto change after starting at a new school.E-book I Audio-book

Venkatraman, Padma. The Bridge HomeTo escape their father, 11-year-old Viji and her 12-year-old sister, Rukku, runaway to Chennai, where they befriend two homeless boys. Together they form afamily, make a home for themselves and try to survive.E-book I Audio-book

Williams-Garcia, Rita. One Crazy SummerSet in the summer of 1968, 11-year-old Delphine and her sisters are forced to visita mother she barely remembers. Upon their arrival, the girls discover they aremore of an intrusion than welcomed visitors.E-book I Audio-book

Warga, Jasmine. Other Words for Home"Sent with her mother to the safety of a relative's home in Cincinnati when herSyrian community is overshadowed by violence, Jude worries for the belovedfamily members who were left behind and forges a new sense of identity shapedby friends and changing perspectives."E-book I Audio-book