Elizabeth's review of The Mysterious Benedict Society
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
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 good and that I shouldn't waste my days. Fair enough. I gave away my copy and decided to forget all about it. But then the book's name kept cropping up left and right. Oh, I should really read it! Oh, it's really good! Oh, you haven't read it? What's wrong with you? Eventually, the pressure got to be too much. I couldn't take it any more. As far as I could ascertain I was the only children's librarian in the WORLD who hadn't read "The Mysterious Benedict Society", and that was going t...more
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See.. I disagree with the comment that if you like the first part, you'd like the second part. I LOVED the beginning of the book and found the second part, after the children went to the island tedious and the ending unsatisfying. I still liked the book but thought that it could have been more tightly written/edited and that there is apparent talent here but the steam ran out a bit. Even Lily (almost 9) feels that if the book could be "all like the first part with the puzzles and tests" it would have been a better book! She read the first part of the book really really fast, and then kind of reluctantly finished the second half because she wanted to know how things ended, but without the starry-eyed enthusiasm she had when first started the book. Now... with PISH POSH and KIKI STRIKE, she definitely stayed enthused and intrigued all the way through.
Interesting. I liked the first part, but a whole book of puzzles would have been too much, I think. It's fun for the first few chapters, but I would suspect that steam would run out even faster if it was just puzzle after puzzle. I didn't get exhausted by the school parts at all either, but then I'm 29. Stewart probably should have tightened up the second half, but I don't mind how it stands.
I enjoyed the puzzles and the first part of the book, but it was actually the second half of the book that really got me into it. I liked the group of kids and how they found "family" in each other.
I thought that the puzzles were fun and could have been carried on to the rest of the book (but not exclusively). The problem for me was that the second half felt too much like A Series of Unfortunate Events than something new, which wasn't my feeling about the first half.
I finished the book 2 nights ago, drawn in by the puzzles. I too got tired out and had to force myself to go back to the second half. But what intrigued me most was the day after I finished it (that being yesterday) I was describing the book to a friend and realized how LITTLE I had seen when just merely reading the book. It wasn't until I was discussing it with someone who hadn't read it that it became apparent how nicely the books opens up issues on media, government, the psychology of fear, the importance of the individual (BTW I just wrote all this in my review so need to look at that now). I wonder if this book isn't best enjoyed (really enjoyed) as a book club book where discussion requires the story be dissected. Anyone else find themselves liking it more after they talked it out? I am curious.... if I'm not the only one who feels like this, I'd like to recommend it to my son's 5th grade teacher as a good group book.
