1. Sword of Waters by Hilari Bell ****/5
Sequel to Shield of Stars. After Regent Pettibone is removed from power, everything returns to peace and prosperity in the kingdom of Deorthas. But when Arisa's mother, the Falcon (the leader of the rebellion and the new commander of Deorthas's army) asks her to find the Sword of Waters, the legendary weapon that goes with the recently-recovered Shield of Stars, in order to solidify her position, Arisa is torn between loyalty to her mother, and loyalty to her country.
2. The Diamond of Drury Lane by Julia Golding *****Cat Royal is an orphan in nineteenth century London, living in the Royal Theatre of Drury Lane. When Cat overhears the theatre owner talking about his 'diamond' being delivered to the theatre, she thinks that things have finally begun to get exciting--until everyone else seems to get involved, including Captain Sparkler (the treasonous cartoonist with a price on his head), Billy "Boyle" Shepheard (a local gang leader and Cat's long-time nemesis), Johnny (the mysterious new prompter), Pedro (a freed slave with an incredible talent for playing the violin), and Syd (the local butcher, a boxer, and Cat's friend, almost like a brother). And everyone seems to want a piece of it.
3. The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor ***Alyss of Wonderland is a princess; at least, that's what she keeps telling herself when she is forced from her kingdom after an attempt to assassinate the entire royal family, instigated by Alyss's evil aunt Redd. Alone and abandoned on the streets of London, Alyss has to get back to Wonderland, save the kingdom, defeat Redd, and reclaim the throne.
4. Gideon the Cutpurse by Linda Buckley-Archer *****When Peter and Kate, two modern-day London kids, are accidentaly transported back in time--London, 1793, to be exact--due to a backfire with an anti-gravity experiment, they have to team up with Gideon, a mysterious reformed cutpurse, in order to have any hope of getting back home. While Peter and Kate wage a battle against the Tar Man, the henchman preventing them from returning home, Peter and Kate's parents have to wage a battle against all possible odds in order to find them and get them back home.
5. Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson ****"So, there I was, tied to an altar made from outdated encyclopedias, about to get sacrificed to the dark powers by a cult of evil Librarians." So begins the tale of Alcatraz Smedry, a not-very-nice-boy (or so he constantly insists) with an uncanny and incredible talent for breaking things. After the librarians steal the Sands of Rashid from him (a birthday gift from his long-dead parents that recently arrived in the mail), Alcatraz, his whacky grandpa (who is late for everything, even getting shot), his cousins Sing and Quentin (who can respectively trip over anything and everything--rather impressively, too--and speak without making a lick of sense), set off to retrieve the sands. And to do that, they have to infiltrate the headquarters of their foes, right into their very lair: the public library.
So, that's all for right now. I've read more, but these are my favorites.
