Standalone Books
Find out more about Mere’s standalone MG and YA novels here!
Things That Fall
Separated for years due to a secret squabble among their parents, a group of cousins reunite following the death of an uncle. Their mission is to help close up the family cottage for good, but in doing so, they uncover old family photos that include a woman in a wheelchair.
None know who the woman was, but the older cousins have a vague memory of her presence, and of the loud scream they heard the last time they saw her.
As the teens sort through the family’s past and learn its secrets, each learns truths about themselves.
Cormorant/Dancing Cat Books
Jelly Roll
When Jenny and Austin end up at a March Break leadership camp together, Jenny thinks her week will be miserable.
At school, Jenny Royce is bullied by Grade A Jerk Austin Parks. And now, not only is her tormentor spending March Break at the same retreat, she and Austin are grouped together for the camp’s main assignment! They have to run a stall at a local farmer’s market. The market could be a lot of fun. But when Jenny learns that Austin wants their group’s project to fail, she has to decide if she can risk standing up to him.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!
Orca Book Publishers
Shadow
Fourteen-year-old Preston Craft is organizing a film festival for his school’s film club when a crime occurs.
One of the films goes missing two days before the festival begins, Preston is convinced it was stolen and is determined to get it back. The only indication of the theft is a suspicious shadow that Preston noticed right before he discovered the film was gone—but Preston is legally blind and no one quite believes him. However, not unlike the gritty private eyes in the classic black-and-white films he adores, Preston refuses to give up. Can he solve the mystery based on such a shady clue?
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!
Orca Book Publishers
Getting the Brush Off
Two years ago, sixteen-year-old Sydney Hart was kicked out of the prestigious Burke Academy when her mother could no longer afford the tuition.
Sydney lost a promising future in the arts, as well as her best friend, who didn’t want to be seen with an art academy reject. But now, without Burke’s rigid structure, Sydney has found her true passion in performance painting and is busking on Halifax’s boardwalk to earn enough money to go to art camp. After the police shut her down, Sydney learns her old school is hosting a “brush-off” speed-painting contest with a cash prize. Entering would mean facing her painful past, not to mention her former friend, who’s also competing.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!
Orca Book Publishers
Blank Canvas
Three years ago, sixteen-year-old Maddie Deacon was abducted on her way home from her school’s Art Showcase. Five months ago, she escaped the madman she calls The Painter. Before being taken, painting was Maddie’s life. Now, it’s her nightmare.
Maddie wants to forget her years in captivity. She’d rather spend her time getting reacquainted with her parents and her sister, not to mention her cello-playing, beautiful boy next door and childhood best friend Wesley. But paint is everywhere, and tormenting shadows linger in every portrait she encounters.
When the yearly Art Showcase once again approaches, Maddie has the chance to win a scholarship and start planning a future far away from the horrors of her past. She knows she has to make a choice–confront her memories of The Painter and overcome her fear of the canvas, or give up painting forever.
Evernight Teen