Deltora Quest is a series of 9 books written by Emily Rodda. They are published by Scholastic. These books are mainly aimed towards young teenagers. There is now also a sequel series of books entitled The Shadowlands.
They focus around a young boy called Lief and his companions as they search for the 9 magic gems which go into the belt of Deltora.
The gems are Emerald, Ruby, Lapis Lapuzli, Opal, Amethyst, Turquoise and Diamond.
The books are all set in a different location. These are: The Shifting Sands, Forest of Silence, City of Rats, Lake of Tears, Maze of the Beast, The Valley of The Lost and Dread Mountain. Each different gem resides in one of these places, and is guarded by a ferocious and intimidating monster.
Lief's companions include the wild forest girl Jasmine and the palace guard Barda. Another large character in the story is Doom. Doom at first appears to be an enemy, but it's later revealed that he is fact a freedom fighter.
The person whom Doom is fighting for freedom against is The Shadow Lord. The Shadow Lord rules over the whole of the land of Deltora with a cruel iron fist from his palace in the dreaded Shadowlands.
Deltora Quest is Rodda's first foray into children's fantasy but she has already gathered a large fan following.
Information gathered from www.scholastic.com/Deltora