The Knight Thieves — Jenn Bennett

Puss in Boots: The Last Wish meets Gail Carson Levine in this “cleverly crafted” (Kirkus Reviews) middle grade fractured fairy tale about an outlaw who teams up with a cursed prince to save the kingdom.

Former fair maiden Rosebud is dread bandit Ruthless Rose, leader of the small but mighty Blackhearts outlaw gang. Ever since the evil Firebrand army torched half their village, the thirteen-year-old daughter of a fallen knight has been living by her own code, picking off evil Firebrand caravans to avenge her village -- and her father.

But Rosebud's honor is put to the test when the Blackhearts mistakenly ambush a carriage smuggling a mysterious passenger: young Prince Timo. The prince is on the run from the Firebrands…and wearing a hexed wolf mask that can only be removed along with his head. Even worse, the magical object that can free the prince is hidden inside the darkly enchanted Nowhere Wood, where people go in, but they don't come back out.

Helping people isn't easy. Can a “bad” girl put aside her own need for revenge to save a good prince…and the entire kingdom?