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What Members Thought
Unfortunately, I found this to be way too long for the story it told - I really felt it dragged at times, and easily could have been half the length. When I was the age of the target audience I never would have picked it up due to its bulk! Which is a shame, because it does have a decently creative story, but not nearly as action-packed as I would have hoped. I enjoyed the puzzles and hints the children had to solve, but I felt that Mr. Benedict could have been much more helpful than he was. I d
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Overall, I did enjoy the story and the characters and thought the book was entertaining. I do have to agree with some other reviews I have seen that this book was a lot longer than it needed to be. Some parts seemed to drag on and on. I was also a little disappointed at some parts when the children took a long time to find a simple answer. I would be sitting there, knowing exactly what the clue or whatever meant and the children didn't figure it out for a bit. They were supposed to be sooo smart
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*None of this was familiar to the members of the Mysterious Benedict Society. And yet, in certain ways, the Institute did remind them of other schools: Rote memorization of lessons was discouraged but required; class participation was encouraged but rarely permitted; and although quizzes were given every day, in every class, there was always at least one student who groaned, another who acted surprised, and another who begged the teacher, in vain, not to give it.*
Definitely not your normal cookie-cutter kids book, but a great recommendation and read! I agree with the book being described as a detective book mixed with Roald Dahl. A fun story with odd, but interesting characters, add in silly jokes/humor, and a simple overall theme (teamwork: each kid was selected for their unique skills and each of them is essential to the success of the team). Ending was cheesy, but it is a kid's book, so I am okay with cheese :)
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It took me a long while to read this book because the beginning was slow. I didn’t get into it until about halfway through the book when the suspense started to build. Not a bad book but the ending was a bit disjointed and disappointing. Not sure that I will continue this series.
While certainly imaginative and well-paced, I felt like this was just old stomping grounds for kids' literature.
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If I were an upper elementary or middle school teacher, I would read this aloud to my class.
Jul 20, 2009
Paula
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
children-s,
if-you-liked-diary-of-a-wimpy-kid
Sep 21, 2017
Guin
marked it as to-read
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ya-lit-for-the-classroom
