From the Bookshelf of Baltimore County Public Library Summer Reading BCPL SRC …

[close] Reading the first page, I thought Serafina was a cat. I was delightfully surprised to learn on page 2 that she was, in fact, human, although there is something mysterious about her. I loved her from the beginning, and cheered her on as she made new friends, fought evil, and [reunited with her long-lost mother (hide spoiler)] While I have never visited, I've always been fascinated with the Biltmore and have spent much time poring over pictures of the Estate. I was glad that the author picked such a huge setting as it made everything that much more believable: that Serafina could be living in the basement undetected for a decade, that the first child to go missing was just believed to be in the house somewhere, that Serafina and Braeden could sneak from room to room, etc. The villain here was so creative that even though I suspected the correct person, I still couldn't figure out his back story or motive. The basic plot was quite predictable, but in my younger years I would've been more gullible and surprised by the outcomes. The end was so thrilling, I just couldn't put it down!