The Mysterious Benedict Society | Trenton Lee Stewart | At once romantic, hyperrealistic, and...

The Mysterious Benedict Society | Trenton Lee Stewart | one of the best!!

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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 99 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

At once romantic, hyperrealistic, and superbly entertaining

For some reason when I was ordering Gravity's Rainbow on Amazon I thought of this book immediately. The parallels are quite clear. The Mysterious Benedict Society is a book by, about, and for "lovers of the truth." And even while it entertains it takes that job quite seriously. The attention to detail will spark every reader's imagination-- I kept flipping back to the character descriptions to confirm them, so strong was my mental image. When it mentions as an aside the Nagorno-Karabakh territory, they're talking about an actual place in the world.

While the plot is of course a fantasy, it takes place not in some superhero universe but here on Earth, and you will see excellent descriptions of cult brainwashing, peer pressure, self-doubt, and the joy of taking on a challenge. I'd say a reader as young as 8 would be able to understand and enjoy this book, but I'm 20 and I still felt it spoke directly to me. I can't wait for the sequel!

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one of the best!!

I really enjoyed this book! I bought the 2nd book in the series, today. Looking forward to another good read!!

Stories for Children Magazine 5 Star Review

When I first started reading the first few chapters I wasn't sure I was going to like the book. I felt it had a bit of a slow start and it took sometime for me to bond with the main character, Reynie Muldoon. After sticking to my rule, which is to read the first 100 pages before putting a book down, I started to be drawn into the storyline. The Mysterious Benedict Society is about a bund of children who have either been orphaned, abandoned, or have run away from home. A man named Mr. Benedict has setup some tests to find gifted children among this groups of children. In which case he does and this is how Reynie Muldoon, Kate Wetherall, Sticky Washington, and Constance Contraire become the four members of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

What I do like about this book is it caters to reluctant readers. Boys and girls alike can relate to the story. These four friends find out through out the book, along with the reader, is children are an important part of our lives. Sometimes children can solve problems most adults can't see at the end of their nose. This four brainy, witty, and adventurous children set out to save the world from a mad man named Mr. Curtain. They must become spies at Mr. Curtain's institute, send secret messages, and work their way up to becoming Messengers so they can learn Mr. Curtain's secrets and stop him before its too late.

The action really gets going once the children arrive at the institute which is almost half way through the book, but it's well worth the wait. Also, readers will enjoy the child like humor and gross descriptions throughout the story.

Now here's what a young book review had to say:

The Mysterious Benedict Society Book Review
By: Carson King, Young Book Reviewer

I chose my book, The Mysterious Benedict Society, because it sounded like my type of book, a half-fantasy. It is a flawless story about four orphans, Kate, Reynie, Sticky, and Constance. In the beginning, they take a series of tests. All do well and make it into the Mysterious Benedict Society. They are sent on a mission to stop the founder of a mysterious school, (Mr. Benedict's brother, Mr. Ledorptha Curtain), from destroying the whole human race. The group, though best of friends, go through many ups and downs during their mission. The book ends in a whirlwind, and you find yourself content.

I loved it because of the way the author portrayed it and I felt I was witnessing every scene.

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Thumbs way up!

I am a 4th grade teacher and I just finished this book with my class. My students loved it, and we were able to talk about so many different issues that came out of the story, not to mention Morse Code! My 26 students range in ability level, but all of them love to be read to, and they got a kick out of this book. They especially liked Kate and her daredevil attitude and Constance's little one-liners. In fact, 5 of my students have gone to purchase this book, and are ready for the sequel.

Very nice!

I picked this up in the bookstore looking for something new but yet classic feeling. This book definitely fulfilled its promise and I'll be putting it away for my kids to read when they are older. It's nice to find a book that doesn't talk down to its readers, but also doesn't fall into the trap of gutter-speak.

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