Serafina Shines

Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert  Beatty

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



"None of the rich folk upstairs know that Serafina exists; she and her pa, the estate's maintenance man, have lived in the basement for as long as Serafina can remember. She has learned to prowl through the darkened corridors at night, to sneak and hide, using the mansion's hidden doors and secret passageways.

But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows the clues to follow. A terrifying man in a black cloak stalks Biltmore's corridors at night."--Flap copy


Loved it, characters, writing, atmosphere...hard to categorize! It's wonderful, but it's also definitely a bit scary. The book falls between YA and Middle Grade, to my mind; some teens don't want to read about younger kids, and some younger kids really would be frightened. There's a strong coming-of-age trope, as well, for the major themes of the book are right-and-wrong, good-and-evil.

More, Mr. Beatty, more adventures, please!
(I received an EARC of the book from the publisher and Netgalley.)



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