Book review: The Seraphim’s Song

This is Book 5 of the F.I.G. Mystery series by Barbara Casey

I had an excellent experience with iRead Book Tours as an author last year, so I decided to pay it forward by participating as a reviewer to help other independent authors. I read widely and especially enjoy books that combine genre elements in inventive ways. I selected The Seraphim’s Song for review largely due to the author’s credentials, because I find it difficult to assess whether a book is worth reading based on the description alone. This books’ description did, however, pique my curiosity. Here it is:

Book description:

Many changes have taken place at Wood Rose Orphanage and Academy for Young Women while Carolina and Larry were on their honeymoon in Frascati, Italy, on the Granchelli farm. The newlyweds have been given a larger bungalow; Ms. Alcott, niece of the founder of Wood Rose, and Mrs. Ball, assistant to the headmaster, have moved into a bungalow together; and Jimmy Bob, caretaker and night watchman at Wood Rose has moved from his family home down the road a bit into a small bungalow on the orphanage property with his hound dog Tick, as well as his new cat and her litter of kittens.

Summer is coming to an end and the F.I.G.s will soon return to the universities to complete their special projects. They are starting to feel anxious, and the coping mechanisms they have used their entire lives are starting to work overtime. Dara’s thoughts turn to an unknown language, possibly from another world; Mackenzie focuses on the relationship of math to music; and Jennifer keeps hearing the note of B flat minor and is drawing dark swirls on her canvas board.

Now for Barbara Casey’s bio:

Barbara Casey is the author of several award-winning novels and book-length works of nonfiction for both adults and young adults, and numerous articles, poems, and short stories. Several of her books have been optioned for major films and television series.

In addition to her own writing, Barbara is an editorial consultant and president of the Barbara Casey Agency. Established in 1995, she represents authors throughout the United States, Great Britain, Canada, and Japan.

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

In 2018 Barbara received the prestigious Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award and Top Professional Award for her extensive experience and notable accomplishments in the field of publishing and other areas.

Barbara lives on a mountain in Georgia with three cats who adopted her: Homer, a Southern coon cat; Reese, a black cat; and Earl Gray, a gray cat and Reese’s best friend.

My thoughts:

This is a YA novel geared for youths ages 13 to 17. I do not know the conventions of this genre, so I’m not reviewing as a YA fiction expert. I’m also discussing the fifth book in a series without having read any of the previous four. I wanted to dive in, though, because it’s a good sign of an author’s skill if each book in a series can stand alone.

I found that The Seraphim’s Song is an engaging read on its own, but I do recommend reading the prior books in the series to have a more immersive experience, because Book 5, of necessity, summarizes certain things that are most likely fully developed with scenes in the preceding books.

What I liked best about this book are its strong sense of place and its educational value. The first example of providing a strong sense of place is at the beginning of the prologue:

“The cave, one of many created over time within the steep, rocky outcrop overlooking the Yellow Sea, was unremarkable. From all appearances, it had been naturally carved into the cliff face by the dust storms that frequented this western coastal area of China and the ebb and flow of tides. The singular thing that set it apart from all of the other caves, though, was …”

This opening made me want to peek into that cave and find out what was going on in that cave. I read on with great interest. And I enjoyed frequent details peppered into the narrative that pulled the reader into the lives of the many characters, the primary ones being strong young women, which is a special plus for young readers.

As far as education goes, right off the bat, the title introduces the word “seraphim,” which is likely to be a vocabulary builder that stimulates the imagination. In the text itself, many details serve to educate while also carrying the narrative forward, including those having to do with gypsy life, archaeology, Chinese culture, music, mathematics and more. This is not easy to do, and in this book, it’s done with aplomb.

A suggestion:

One quibble I have is that I think this book could have used another round of copyediting or line editing. That’s not proofing to find things like typos, and it’s not editing to assess the story’s arc. It is editing to tighten the text and eliminate things like awkward or repetitive text. This kind of editing tends to improve the story’s flow.

Here’s a possible edit for a paragraph I picked at random on page 92 of the paperback edition:

Paragraph in book:

“She knew the danger of the story would pass; and Carolina would receive the key. But there was more which remained hidden. It was the terrible evil festering within Milosh that most frightened her. She would not rest until she knew what form that evil would take and what path. She had to understand how it would materialize and how it would manifest. Only then would she know how she could fight it.”

Suggested copyedit:

She knew the storm would pass; Carolina would receive the key. But more remained hidden, the terrible evil festering within Milosh most frightening of all. She would not rest until she knew what form his villainy would take and what path, how it would materialize and how it would manifest. Only then would know know how to fight it.

Of course, copyediting remarks are just suggestions an author can reject or accept. I just think this book could have used more suggestions to consider.

That said, I rank The Seraphim’s Song high, with four stars, for it’s imaginative story and inspiring characters. I think young readers in the 13- to 15-year-old group will find the book’s powerful female characters particularly appealing.

Here’s a link to The Seraphim’s Song’s iRead Book Tour page, which has purchase links and links to all stops on this tour: https://bit.ly/3bIHfQd.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.