Larklight, Starcross, Mothstorm, Phillip Reeve
I am including this short trilogy as one entry since they are a relatively easy read for younger kids. However the books themselves are interesting enough to warrant a read for older audiences. Set in a Victorian era Steampunk Solar System where humans have been exploring for about a hundred years, the Larklight books are about young Art and his sister Myrtle as they adventure through the solar system. Early in the first book they are aided by a young human pirate Jack Havok and his rag-tag team of aliens as they fight off a race of white spiders. In the second book they visit an asteroid spa that has a sinister secret hiding in its hatboxes. In the third they fight off an army of lizard-like people who ride moths (through space!). The world these books create is fun and fantastical, interlaced with Victorian era technology and values. Please give these books a try, they’re an amazingly entertaining ride!
