The Capture by Karen Lasky

The Capture, first of the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, is the story of a young owl named Soren who is captured and taken to a horrible place where young owls from all over the kingdom are basically brainwashed into forgetting who they are and made to work mining "fleck". The story if filled with adventure and suspense and quite a lot of mystery. How did Soren fall from his nest? Did his sister and nest-maid survive? Will Soren and Gylfie escape or will they, too, succumb to the mind-numbing effects of moon-blanking? What is the purpose of the flecks and what is housed in the mysterious "orphanage" library. Don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to learn more about these amazing creatures.

Recommended for Grades 4-8, this series will appeal to readers who like adventure and suspense with animals as the main characters, such as the Redwall series by Jacques and the NIMH series by O'Brien.