Okay, I work at a library and, for some reason, this book is constantly on hold and I very rarely see it on the shelf. Let's see if it's any good.

I've read some good spooky junior fiction books, Coraline and The Night Gardner immediately spring to mind, and among these Serafina and the Black Cloak ranks at about average. I could see a kid in elementary school or middle school really digging the suspense, but I found it to be so-so.

It wasn't bad or anything. It was really readable and the pacing was solid. There are a few plot points that are dropped and will randomly pick up again, but this is more of a nit pick than anything else.

Also, the foreshadowing with Serafina's origins is just dreadful. Beatty really hammers it in with all of her mannerisms and thought processes that I got it pretty quickly, but it just kept going throughout the whole book. It was getting pretty ridiculous after a while.

The mystery of the Man in the Black Cloak was handled well though, with some good misdirections here and there. 

While the book didn't leave me overwhelmingly impressed, I did like it well enough to consider checking out the sequel. I want to see how Serafina will grow as a character and what trials she will face once she starts learning more about her world.