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SERAFINA AND THE BLACK CLOAK by Robert Beatty

SERAFINA AND THE BLACK CLOAK

by Robert Beatty

Pub Date: July 14th, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4847-0901-6
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Serafina mostly enjoyed her life at the Biltmore Estate until the other children started disappearing at night.

Motherless Serafina has grown up isolated and in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilts’ Biltmore Estate. It is close to the machines her father repairs and the rats she catches nightly. As the Chief Rat Catcher, Serafina has uncanny physical abilities that match her peculiar looks and allow her to hunt these sneaky vermin. She applies these talents to find out who or what is snatching children staying at Biltmore, a terrifying encounter with the cloaked child thief forcing her out of hiding to save the other children and herself. The Vanderbilts’ orphaned nephew, Braeden, proves to be a great ally, and they work together to stop the kidnapper before they become the next victims. Beatty spins an enchanting mystery through lonely Serafina's golden eyes. As she begins to defy her loving, protective father and involve herself in the estate’s doings, she comes ever closer to uncovering the villain and the secret behind her own origins. Each new clue adds another brush stroke to this keenly perceptive portrait of a young girl searching for answers about herself and the world around her. The book leaves readers satisfied with the plot but hungry for more about its unusual heroine.

Adults and children will eagerly follow Serafina from the basement into a world of self-discovery, justice, and new friendships.

(Fantasy. 8-12)