This is the week. Over at Chachic's Book Nook it is Marchetta Madness and you will find a delectable range of posts dedicated to the amazing works of Melina Marchetta, including a fine poem dedicated to all her truly wonderful heroes. (Even if Will didn't get the love he oh so deserves in it.) I have tried to give Will a little of that deserved love in my post though which is now up. So go on over there and check out what I have to say about Saving Francesca and read all the other wonderful posts while you are over there. If you haven't yet read a Marchetta book you should probably get on that too.
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty is a thrilling tale of mystery and adventure set at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC in 1899. Having lived in Asheville and visited the house several times, there was no way I was going to pass up a chance to read this. (Also it's MG fantasy, always a bonus for me.) Serafina lives in secret in the basement of the Vanderbilt's spacious vacation home. She has lived there most of her life. Her father worked on the house as it was being built and is the mechanic who runs the massive generator and keeps the electricity going. Serafina is the chief rat catcher, slipping through the halls of her massive home secretly and quietly. She is light on her feet, sees well in the dark, and is quick enough to catch the vermin and keep them out. Serafina knows she if different and strange. Her father insists she stay hidden. But all that changes when one night Serafina witnesses a horrible crime. A little girl, a guest in the house, is fleein
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