The Mysterious Benedict Society
by Trenton Lee Stewart
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 1157)
bookshelves:
books-in-a-series,
childrensliterature,
crime,
fantasy,
friendship,
mystery,
survival,
teamwork
recommends it for:
mystery lovers, secret society buffs
“Are You a Gifted Child looking for Special Opportunities?” reads the newspaper advertisement.
Reynard “Reynie” Muldoon, George “Sticky” Washington, Kate Wetherall (The Great Kate Weather Machine), Constance Contraire, and many other children answer “yes” to this ad and go to the specified location.
Once there they all embark on a series of bizarre tests from which only the four clever orphans–Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance–emerge successful. These four solve the e...more
Reynard “Reynie” Muldoon, George “Sticky” Washington, Kate Wetherall (The Great Kate Weather Machine), Constance Contraire, and many other children answer “yes” to this ad and go to the specified location.
Once there they all embark on a series of bizarre tests from which only the four clever orphans–Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance–emerge successful. These four solve the e...more
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Read in November, 2007
How do librarians decide what children's book they want to read next? Well, there are professional reviews, online reviews, and good old-fashioned word of mouth. And when it came to "The Mysterious Benedict Society", I picked up this 486-page tome, turned it about, and then needed a quickie confirmation from somebody as to whether or not I should shell out a significant portion of time to read this puppy. As it happened, a librarian I knew and trusted assured me that it wasn't all that...more
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4 comments
bookshelves:
mystery
Read in December, 2007
I'VE FINISHED THE BOOK: My initial impressions (and review comments) were overwhelmingly enthusiastic. I admit that the second half of the book did not quite live up to my hopes/expectations but I'd still give the book four stars overall (five stars for the beginning--see comments below). I felt that the second half of the story (once the children officially embark on their mission and become The Mysterious Benedict Society) was not as captivating, mainly because I found a great deal of the c...more
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6 comments
bookshelves:
library-books,
mysteries-thrillers,
reviewed
Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
fans of adventurous books for younger readers
This one had an interesting and exciting plot, but at times felt a little much.
This is another hard one to give a synopsis of without ruining! Take caution if you don't want to be spoiled, but I will try to keep it innocent enough.
Reynard, although he goes by Reynie, has grown up in an orphanage (again with the parentless theme for me. I don't get it!) without friends, since he is very, very smart, and the other orphans are mean to him because of it.
One day, he finds an ad in the news...more
This is another hard one to give a synopsis of without ruining! Take caution if you don't want to be spoiled, but I will try to keep it innocent enough.
Reynard, although he goes by Reynie, has grown up in an orphanage (again with the parentless theme for me. I don't get it!) without friends, since he is very, very smart, and the other orphans are mean to him because of it.
One day, he finds an ad in the news...more
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bookshelves:
kidlit,
middlegrade
Read in March, 2007
recommends it for:
rena p ginsbery ray, this one's for you
"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?"
When Reynie Muldoon, orphan and gifted child, responds to an ad in the paper, his world is instantly turned upside down. After a series of tests that challenge not just his intelligence, but also his ingenuity, cleverness and character, Reynie is selected with three other children - brilliant Sticky Washington, ingenious Kate Wetherell, and irritable Constance Contraire - for an important mission. Brought together by the my...more
When Reynie Muldoon, orphan and gifted child, responds to an ad in the paper, his world is instantly turned upside down. After a series of tests that challenge not just his intelligence, but also his ingenuity, cleverness and character, Reynie is selected with three other children - brilliant Sticky Washington, ingenious Kate Wetherell, and irritable Constance Contraire - for an important mission. Brought together by the my...more
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bookshelves:
2008-books,
my-favorites
recommended to Eyebright by:
Sweetpotato
recommends it for: Anyone who loves stories about children saving the world
recommends it for: Anyone who loves stories about children saving the world
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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bookshelves:
read-in-2008,
young-readers
Read in April, 2008
Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance are four very gifted children with a mission. They call themselves The Mysterious Benedict Society and together they have to infiltrate the nefarious Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened - a psuedo-school run by the evil Mr. Curtain. It's up to these four disimilar and intrepid kids to save the world and of course they are completely ip to the task.
I thnk this book will have broad appeal to under-12s. The length of the book threw me off - it was so ...more
I thnk this book will have broad appeal to under-12s. The length of the book threw me off - it was so ...more
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bookshelves:
teen-mystery
Read in November, 2007
In the Mysterious Benedict Society, four children with four different problem solving skill sets come together to solve a mystery. Those four children consist of the reader, who has the amazing ability to memorize things; the engineer, who has the amazing ability to create anything to solve the task at hand from materials she carries with her; the baby, whose chief attribute is to be unpredictable and not listen to the rules much less follow them; and the professional puzzle solver, who looks at...more
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Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
fifth grade and up
The story tied together well, and I could picture what was going on quite well. Although some of the plot line is freakish (with a Clockwork Orange slant), I think the action/adventure and ending make it less freakish. If that makes sense.
Here's an excerpt from pages 171=172:
"... Pretty soon you don't even notice them. I remember when i was a student, I liked to play tricks on them -- nothing they could do about it, you see, because no rule said I couldn't. But now I hardly pay att...more
Here's an excerpt from pages 171=172:
"... Pretty soon you don't even notice them. I remember when i was a student, I liked to play tricks on them -- nothing they could do about it, you see, because no rule said I couldn't. But now I hardly pay att...more
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bookshelves:
actionadventure,
childrens-stories,
fantasy,
mysteries,
sci-fi
Read in December, 2007
What a delightful story! It was very difficult to choose a shelf for this book - it's not truly fantasy, but its not just adventure or mystery either. Perhaps a little Sci-Fi more than fantasy? Well, anyway, it was a wonderful book about four children who agree to help save the world. It sounds a little over-done, I know, but it’s really quite sweet and charming. Well-written and with loveable characters and a kindness throughout the book I was enthralled from the first page.
The book ...more
The book ...more
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6 comments
Read in July, 2007
recommends it for:
anyone
I can’t say enough good things about it. The characters are charming, except, of course, for the evil rotten nasty gits who are trying to take over the world. Four children, backed by their team of assistants, are all that stands between the evil Mr. Curtain and the world. Two of the children are orphans, one has run away from home, and the other was abandoned by her father years ago. Why children? Why, to be more precise, unattached children? The benevolent Mr. Benedict explains: “Oh, ye...more
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bookshelves:
7up,
unfinished
Read in April, 2007
Having quit this book half-way through, you might think I dislike it. I don't. It's a great book, especially if you're, you know, between the ages of eight and twelve. But I'm not. So it felt pretty tedious (example: you know, how at the end of the first three Harry Potter books Dumbledore's all "here, let's take a two chapters to explain everything that just happened" and it feels kinda cheap because you're not braindead and all that? Well, like HP, this is a great story, but t...more
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bookshelves:
currently-reading,
fiction,
loved-it,
young-adult-kids
I'm nearing the end of this marvelous book and the only upside to finishing it is that I know there's a sequel!
This book's story line is quirky and clever, with unexpected twists that are presented in a way that is totally coherent...not always easy to do, I imagine. The characters are well-developed and imperfectly perfect, if that makes sense, though with a few of them, I'm left wanting more (I'm sure that will be addressed in future books). My favorite thing about this book is that the ...more
This book's story line is quirky and clever, with unexpected twists that are presented in a way that is totally coherent...not always easy to do, I imagine. The characters are well-developed and imperfectly perfect, if that makes sense, though with a few of them, I'm left wanting more (I'm sure that will be addressed in future books). My favorite thing about this book is that the ...more
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Read in May, 2007
I'm super excited to start this book. It's an enormous children's book (500 pages!) and I have already renewed it from the library, but I just can't wait. The book is about gifted children trying to get into the very secretive Learning Institute for the Very Enlightned. As a child that was pulled out and placed in all sorts of classes (including gifted) I am eager to learn about the characters and their personalitites in relation to my own at that age. I hope to begin this book by the weeken...more
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Read in October, 2007
Oh, how I loved this one. It reminded me of The Penderwicks- a perfect mixture of old-fashioned and contemporary. I think if E. Nesbit were still around, this is what she would be writing.
I loved the characters and their "superpowers" (especially Constance!). I loved that I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to turn out, and the twists and turns were perfectly plausible. The Edward Gorey-esque line drawings complemented the story perfectly.
The only thing that bothered me was...more
I loved the characters and their "superpowers" (especially Constance!). I loved that I wasn't entirely sure how it was going to turn out, and the twists and turns were perfectly plausible. The Edward Gorey-esque line drawings complemented the story perfectly.
The only thing that bothered me was...more
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bookshelves:
middle_school_08,
sciencefiction,
yt
Read in September, 2007
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.
The Mysterious Benedict Society isn’t mysterious in and of itself. Nor does anyone in it like Eggs Benedict. Rather, it is an “elite” team of four highly-gifted orphans, all of whom are a little odd, to say the least. They are recruited to stop the evil Mr. Curtain from taking over the world by a mysterious man named Benedict, hence the group’s name.
The gang is sent to a heavily guarded island to “infiltrate” a special ...more
The Mysterious Benedict Society isn’t mysterious in and of itself. Nor does anyone in it like Eggs Benedict. Rather, it is an “elite” team of four highly-gifted orphans, all of whom are a little odd, to say the least. They are recruited to stop the evil Mr. Curtain from taking over the world by a mysterious man named Benedict, hence the group’s name.
The gang is sent to a heavily guarded island to “infiltrate” a special ...more
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bookshelves:
best-of-2007-presentation-,
children-s-lit,
good-audio-books
Read in January, 2008
This was a fantastic novel, well plotted and logical--just like its main characters. I'll admit, while I was reading I came across a few things that made me scratch my head...but in the end they were so insignificant that I forgot them!
The story follows a group of young savants who are recruited into the fold of a mysterious society. The curious mixture of adult sized brainpower and childlike simplicity is what makes these characters so forceful and yet so endearing.
The artwork on the ...more
The story follows a group of young savants who are recruited into the fold of a mysterious society. The curious mixture of adult sized brainpower and childlike simplicity is what makes these characters so forceful and yet so endearing.
The artwork on the ...more
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bookshelves:
young-adult
Read in June, 2008
my seven year old friend Abegale passionately loves this book. one day i said (in jest), "i've heard this book sucks" and held up this tome. her and her friend almost killed me. if they had their straight razors, i would be dead now. so, i figured i should probably read the book that almost caused my demise.
i, of course, loved it. all of the characters in this book are excellently envisioned. i love how each of the members of the Mysterious Benedict Society solve the same probl...more
i, of course, loved it. all of the characters in this book are excellently envisioned. i love how each of the members of the Mysterious Benedict Society solve the same probl...more
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Read in November, 2007
At first this reminded me a bit of The Westing Game -- a puzzley sort of book that the reader is encouraged to sort out along with the characters -- but that went away eventually and it's really just a mystery written for children that's better than many written for adults. Some of it is far-fetched, sure, and there are puns with names (Nomansan Island, f'rinstance), but I liked that the children were strong, smart, occasionally beaten down but ever resilient. I liked, too, that all of the adult...more
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Read in May, 2008
I'm not exactly sure why this book was in the YA section of the library since 1) the primary characters are all kids (though it's easy to forget this); and 2) there's really nothing too racy/scary/violent about it. Regardless, I guess I'm lucky that it WAS in the YA section because that's where I do most of my browsing and that's where I stumbled upon it!
Overall, this was a fun and intelligent book with many layers of meaning (I favorably compared it to The Phantom Tolbooth, though the tw...more
Overall, this was a fun and intelligent book with many layers of meaning (I favorably compared it to The Phantom Tolbooth, though the tw...more
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