I would recommend the Artemis Fowl series. I only read the first book, but I enjoyed it a lot.
From amazon: Twelve-year-old villain, Artemis Fowl, is the most ingenious criminal mastermind in history. His bold and daring plan is to hold a leprechaun to ransom. But he's taking on more than he bargained for when he kidnaps Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon (Lower Elements Police Reconnaissance Unit). For a start, leprechaun technology is more advanced than our own. Add to that the fact that Holly is a true heroine and that her senior officer Commander Root will stop at nothing to get her back and you've got the mother of all sieges brewing!
This is Artemis Fowl. In the original, the butler is white. And, they are assigned to a Fowl at birth. But in this remake, they made the butler black, for 'equality' or something. Therefore, that makes him a slave that has to defend Artemis at all costs. He literally can't have any friends once he is assigned to a Fowl. And, in the original, the Butlers (in the book thats where the word but comes from) are trained in a facility in Jerusalem as children to adulthood. Also, if there are no Fowls to protect, they get sent to be bodyguards to the royal family in Saudi Arabia. If you wonder where this deal came from? The Fowls were (and still are) an aristocratical family in the U.K. which made a deal with the Butlers while they were conquering England with King William 1. Here's a link to read to godforsaken book: https://www.amazon.com/Artemis-Fowl-Eoin-Colfer/dp/1423124529