This is one of the series I read in the unaccounted for time during the summer. I discovered it quite by accident when I picked up an omnibus sampler containing the first book of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole Series. Irritatingly, the Deltora book included was the first book of the third series, Deltora Dragons. I made it all the way through the Deltora Dragons series before I realized that there were earlier books. I hate reading things like that out of order.
In any case, this is a decent little series that follows the trials of Lief on his journey to restore the jewels to the powerful Belt of Deltora for the true heir and thus save the kingdom from the Shadow Lord. All young Lief has to go on is a hand-drawn map of likely locations and his parent's friend Barda. Barda, of course being an adult, really would prefer going on his own to retrieve the magic jewels but soon sees the value of his young companion. Soon they are joined by Jasmine, a wild and tough girl from the wilderness, and their little band is complete.
The series features a rich fantasy setting with multiple sentient races and richly described magical features. Rodda seems to favor word puzzles in her writing as their are quite a few. Story follows the standard quest pattern across eight books that could probably stand to be three as they are very short. While the protagonist leans the series appeal toward males, Jasmine means there is plenty for young female readers too. This is probably good for most middle school readers. Because each book is short and has short chapters it's a good series for high school struggling readers.
The eight books are:
1. The Forests of Silence
2. The Lake of Tears
3. City of the Rats
4. The Shifting Sands
5. Dread Mountain
6. The Maze of the Beast
7. The Valley of the Lost
8. Return to Del
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