Serafina, born different from the other girls, living with her Pa in basement of Biltmore estate. She and her Pa living strictly secret life. Not to show herself to other people of the House. And visiting forest is forbidden. Only allowed to roam through the large house at night. One day she witnessed a mysterious man wearing black cloak devoured a girl who happens to visit estate with her folks. From her newly become friend Breaden, she comes to know that few more children are missing mysteriously.
She tries to figure out why she is different from others? Who this mysterious Black cloak person is? What happened to the missing children?
There is spooky feeling from starting till end. Stunning description of Biltmore and forest scenes. Can picture everything very clearly. Mystery about the Black cloak man is gripping. Story of Serafina, of black cloak and of all important characters was well explained. I like the happy ending of the story. It's thrilling. I enjoyed it. ( )

Magic, Mystery, and a Touch of History

Young Serafina is the daughter of the Chief Mechanic at the Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate in North Carolina. While he works throughout the estate, she is the "Chief Rat Catcher" (a job lovingly given to her by her Pa) and stays out of sight. No one living in the great house knows she exists. Pa and Serafina secretly make their home in the basement.

While working in the basement one day, Serafina witnesses a terrifying scene. Soon, children at the Estate begin visiting one by one. Although Serafina's Pa has forbid her from wandering around the Estate, and especially from going into the forest surrounding the mansion, Serafina believes she is the only one who can find the missing children and put a stop to the terror.

This middle grade book combines many different genres and good character and plot development to interest adult readers. While there are elements of magic and fantasy, this book is much more grounded in reality than something like the Harry Potter series (which may make it more or less appealing, depending on reader preferences). The author is a fan of the Biltmore Estate, and nicely weaves historical detail about its construction, architecture, and the Vanderbilt family into the plot. There's even a touch of North Carolina folklore.

Like many good middle grade books, the main characters grapple with age-relevant issues of friendship, trust, questioning their parents/guardians, acceptance, etc.

A solid 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for a galley of this book in exchange for an honest review. ( )

I ended up liking it more than when I started it. It was slow going at first, but got better and picked up and got a little more interesting. ( )

With darker images and historical details, this is a thrilling read, which will have kids hiding under their blankets long after bedtime.

Serafina has spent much of her twelve-years, living in the basement of a manor with her father. She's not allowed to let anyone know she exists or her father would lose his job. But she's found her own usefulness and serves the house as the unknown rat catcher...something she's amazingly talented at. When she hears screams in another section of the basement, she rushes to save whoever is in danger despite what it means to her own existence. But when she sees a creature in a dark cloak absorb a little girl, she barely escapes with her life. Still, she can't let the horror be ignored and tries to figure out a way to stop whatever evil is at large before more children disappear.

The graphics in these pages take on a darker tone, sticking mostly to the drearier atmosphere...and this works very well. Serafina's world is a darker place as she's spent most of it in the basement and out only at night. The scenes are well placed and keep the tension high, while still allowing the time period and characters to come across nicely. There was a time or two, where the frame order threw me for a moment, but the rest is an easy read. It was easy to get lost into the tale and hard to put the book down until the very last page.

To make sure this hangs closely to the original tale, there seems to be an fairly even divide between dialogue (speech bubbles) and explained plot and thoughts (presented in when text in black rectangles). This mix keeps the events clear and allows the reader to dive deeper into Serafina's head. It's well suited for the middle grade level and will pull even slightly older readers in.

It's a grabbing story with surprising twists and turns. Not only does Serafina find herself up against a dangerous creature, but learns more about herself. So, there is quite a bit of character depth going on as well. It also hits upon friendship and learning to step past the comfort zone. More sensitive readers might be bothered by the creepiness of the creature and a couple more aggressive scenes. Those, who enjoy a touch of fear and shadows, will enjoy this one quite a bit. ( )

This is for younger adults. ( )