FABULOUS FINISH: Serafina and the Black Cloak

Serafina and the Black Cloak
By Robert Beatty
Disney-Hyperion, 2016. Fiction. 304p.

Serafina and her pa live secretly in the basement of the Biltmore Estate. Her father does maintenance during the day, but Serafina, with her strange yellow eyes and only eight toes, is forbidden to talk to anyone and spends her nights sneaking silently through the mansion and catching rats. None of the rich people upstairs even know that she exists.

But when children at the estate start disappearing, only Serafina knows the reason: a terrifying man in a black cloak takes them in the night. Following the clues to discover the man’s identity will lead her into a sinister forest, bring her first chance at friendship, and help her uncover her own mysterious past.

A deliciously creepy tale with a unique heroine and plenty of mystery, magic, and adventure. The fact that the Biltmore Estate, built by George Vanderbilt in the late 1800s, is a real place adds to the appeal. This title is available from the library in print, as an ebook, and as an audio download. Coming soon: Serafina and the Twisted Staff.

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