The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler

The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler

When Alice's father disappears in a shipwreck, she is sent to live with her uncle Geryon--an uncle she's never heard of and knows nothing about. He lives in an enormous manor with a massive library that is off-limits to Alice. But then she meets a talking cat. And, even for a rule-follower, when a talking cat sneaks you into a forbidden library and introduces you to an arrogant boy who dares you to open a book, it's hard to resist. Especially if you're a reader to begin with. Soon Alice finds herself INSIDE the book, and the only way out is to defeat the creature imprisoned within.

It seems Uncle Geryon is more than he says he is. But then, so is Alice.

The Guns of Empire, The Price of Valor, The Shadow Throne, and The Thousand Names are among Django Wexler's Shadow Campaigns novels. He earned degrees in creative writing and computer science from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, and worked in artificial intelligence research for the institution. He wrangles computers, paints miniature soldiers, and plays a variety of games when he's not creating Shadow Campaigns. He's also the author of The Forbidden Library, The Mad Apprentice, and The Palace of Glass, three middle-grade fantasy stories.