NEWT'S EMERALD, by Garth Nix

The story: When Truthful's family emerald, complete with magical powers, is stolen, the proper young lady goes into disguise to go on the hunt for it. Imagine her surprise to find not just adventure--Attacks! Tsunamis! Being stuffed in a barrel with an insufferable major!--but romance as she figures out what's REALLY proper for a young lady to do, and what's not. (Hint: being stuffed in that barrel with the handsome but aggravating Major Harnett is definitely NOT.)

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG-13; Sexual content G; Nudity G; substance abuse PG; magic & the occult PG-13; GLBT content G; adult themes G; overall rating PG-13 (this is more for the Dickensian language than anything else--way above the heads of most 6th graders, although there's nothing exceptionable about the content itself).

Liz's comments: Garth Nix takes a turn in an unexpectedly charming direction with this one, which should be promptly handed to fans of Gail Carriger's "Finishing School" series (no steampunk here, but plenty of magic, manners, and romance). Give Jane Austen's Eliza Bennett a healthy dose of magical ability and you'll get an idea of where this is headed!