Serafina and the Black Cloak

Those of you who know me know I love history, and one of the most interesting time periods (in my opinion) is the Gilded Age.  It was the time of opulence after the Civil War ended until the early 1900s.  It featured many famous surnames, like Carnegie, Astor, Vanderbilt, Rockefeller, and more.  One of the best preserved examples of this time is the Biltmore House, and I had the wonderful opportunity to visit her this week.

Living rather close to Asheville, I’ve had a chance to visit a few times, but this was the first time visiting as an adult.  I could expound on the estates many details and innovations of the time (if you want a more detailed Gilded Age history, read The Last Castle: the Epic Story of Love, Loss, and American Royalty in the Nation’s Largest Home by Denise Kiernan or my personal favorite Empty Mansions: the Mysterious Life of Huguette Clark by Bill Dedman and Paul Clark Newell, Jr.), but the main purpose for our trip was the hear the author Robert Beatty speak about his Serafina series.

Serafina and the Black Cloak is set at the Biltmore House in 1899.  Serafina’s father works on the many machines and hides Serafina in the subbasement of the house.  Serafina is different from other twelve year old girls.  She prefers being up at night, has heightened senses, and has golden eyes.  She knows she’s different from other children, but she doesn’t have any friends of her own to compare.  But when children start to turn up missing at Biltmore, Serafina knows she must find who’s to blame and stop them.  She enlists the help of Braeden, the Vanderbilt’s nephew that lives at the house with them, and together they try to track down the mysterious man in the Black Cloak who’s behind all the mischief.  

Currently there are three books in the series.  I was hesitant at first to like this book, but as it continued, it grew on me.  The first half of the book is slow.  We’re being introduced to Serafina and this world of the Vanderbilts, but it just seems to drag out a little too long.  I will have to say the vocabulary is wonderful, and it is an appropriate kids thriller book, spooky but not too spooky.

If you have upper elementary or middle school kids who like a good mystery, this could be the next book for you!