The Mysterious Benedict Society | Trenton Lee Stewart

The Mysterious Benedict Society | Trenton Lee Stewart | A sure winner for middle grade readers, boys and girls

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The Mysterious Ben...

	The Mysterious Benedict Society Trenton Lee Stewart Little, Brown Young Readers, 2007 - 485 pages average customer review:based on 106 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The adventure begins when orphan Reynard Muldoon (Reynie) answers an advertisement in the paper - "ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?"

Answering the ad leads Reynie to a strange building that opens at odd times and is filled with classrooms of children taking bizarre tests. I found myself taking the tests along with him, and although I was utterly confused by the questions, I was extremely relieved when Reynie was able to ace every test.

At the end of the testing, only four children are picked to take the final exam. Reynie, Sticky (George Washington), Kate Wetherall (who would really like to be called The Great Kate Weather Machine) and Constance Contraire master a maze, well let's say they all almost master a maze, and after some soul searching, they each decide to be part of a team that will embark on a dangerous adventure.

This story was wonderful to read. It gave me the same feeling as when I was reading the Harry Potter series. A little bit of science fiction, with a lot of mystery and a very warm and happy ending is my best "short" synopsis. I loved the description of the places and people throughout the story and it was complete with big spooky houses, bridges over troubled waters and creepy laboratories.

I also recommend this book as a gift. Middle school, high school and adults will enjoy this story. I'm sure it will be added to their collection of "read more than once" or "listen to many times" category.

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A sure winner for middle grade readers, boys and girls

The Mysterious Benedict Society begins when eleven-year-old orphan Reynie Muldoon responds to a newspaper ad that asks: "ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?" The ad leads Reynie to a series of examinations, to which he applies intelligence, ingenuity, and ethics.

Following the exams, Reynie finds himself part of an elite team of children. Children whose mission is nothing less than to save the world. With only a smattering of adult guidance, the children go undercover at a mysterious school, where they find horrors almost beyond comprehension. But they also learn to be resourceful, and to be loyal to one another. They become a sort of surrogate family, and learn that the unique strengths that they each bring to the problem are all necessary for its solution.

The Mysterious Benedict Society is an adventure novel with an old-fashioned feel (clear from the very picture of a mysterious house on the cover). There are Morse code messages, creepy laboratories, and secret tunnels. The school is even set on an island. But it's also a highly entertaining book, aimed squarely at the middle grade set, too, with humor at various levels (from irony to slapstick). Trenton Lee Stewart is very very funny. I flagged some dozen passages, and had a difficult time pruning it down to my favorite two.

Team member Kate, challenging the cliche "know it like the back of your hand":

Kate again, poking fun at her team in witty fashion:

"Aren't we a depressing bunch?" said Kate. "If we continue like this, we'll have to start calling it remorse code." (Codes and Histories)

A leader at the school, informing the children about the somewhat irrational rules:

"You can wear whatever you want, just as long as you have on trousers, shoes, and a shirt. You can bathe as often as you like or not at all, provided you're clean every day in class. You can eat whatever and whenever you want, so long as it's during meal hours in the cafeteria. You're allowed to keep the lights on in your rooms as late as you wish until ten o'clock each night." (Traps and Nonsense)

The four children are clearly drawn, and each arouses the reader's sympathy in a different way. The character of Constance, the smallest and crankiest of the children, is a delight, even as she's clearly annoying to the others. I also loved the brilliant but shy and insecure Sticky (he has a sticky memory). Kate is the epitome of bravery and resourcefulness. And Reynie is everyone's conscience, doing the right thing, and thinking clearly, until the end.

The Mysterious Benedict Society includes small illustrations at the start of each chapter. Carson Ellis's pen-and-ink drawings support, in tone, the old-fashioned feel of the book. But they also add to the book's humor, and capture the distinct personalities of the children.

I would have adored this book when I was 10 or 11. The Mysterious Benedict Society is a sure winner for middle grade readers, boy and girls, especially if they like puzzles, or reading about mystery and adventure. I think it could also be a fun read for their parents, too. Recommended for anyone, ages nine and up.

A slightly longer version of this book review was originally published on my blog, Jen Robinson's Book Page, on September 26, 2007.

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Great Book!

I bought this on a whim at a book fair. Captivating. Great characters, nice plotting, really good. Beware, tho, my book was missing ~30 pages in the middle.
Also try "The Penderwicks" by Birdsall, also a really well written kids' book.

A fine leisure library pick.

An ad for 'gifted children seeking special opportunities' invites dozens of children to take a series of mind-bending tests - but the winners, four special children, are to go on a secret mission which proves dangerous and compelling, introducing them to new worlds in THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY. Advanced teen readers will quickly become absorbed in the challenging adventure which holds plenty of twists and turns to keep readers guessing, making it a fine leisure library pick.

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a great read!

Interesting read, goes a bit slow at some points, but never wavered in details and no superfluous sections. End is somewhat predictable, but since I'm much older than the probable target reader, the end should still be fun and exciting.

reviews: 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, page 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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