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| The Mysterious Benedict Society | 
 enlarge | Author: Trenton Lee Stewart
Creator: Carson Ellis
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
Buy New: $3.55
You Save: $3.44 (49%)
New (49) Used (9) Collectible (1) from $3.55
Avg. Customer Rating:  102 reviews
Sales Rank: 158
Media: Paperback
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.3 x 1.4
ISBN: 0316003956
EAN: 9780316003957
ASIN: 0316003956
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new item. Over 4 million customers served. Order now. Selling online since 1995. Few left in stock - order soon. Code: H20081114205835T
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| Customer Reviews:
 Long, Drawn out, Boring adventure January 2, 2008
16 out of 35 found this review helpful
I have to join the two other people, that were brave enough to give this book a lousy review. Although there were about 40 positive rave reviews, I feel the book does not deserve any praise. The jacket blurb promises to deliver a puzzle solving, Mission Impossible style story for kids and it simply does not deliver. The first few chapters pull you in, and you do believe the story is going to be interesting, different, and cool, but it just never get there. Serious editing could have helped this book as well, it was terribly long at over 400 pages, most of which could have been cut out. The kids do have interesting talents and we are told in the early stages that they will be using those talents to complete a secret mission. But in all reality, they dont get to actually use those great talents to their full potential very often. In small ways they do, once in every hundred pages or so, but the reader is left waiting and waiting and waiting for some great master plan for them to use their talents and wits for success. This is lame, often boring, drags on and on and then in the end, becomes rather sappy. Parts of the story I'd go as far as to say are just simply dumb. It is hard for me to understand the other 40+ rave reviews for something so mediocre. I was so glad that at the end, there was no hint of a follow-up story or series in the works, one book was bad enough. Although I give the author credit for trying something other than all the zillions of fantasy stories now swamping the market, I can't give this more than a 1 star rating. There are many, many other great books out to spend time reading, don't waste precious reading hours here.
 All-purpose buckets o' fun December 9, 2007
15 out of 19 found this review helpful
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 to have to change. So I borrowed a library copy, took it home, and fell in love. Once in a while you just want to read a book that's fun. This book is precisely that. Smart and thoroughly a good good read.
Reynie Muldoon doesn't think of himself as extraordinary. He thinks of himself as weird and out of place. An orphan, Reynie and his tutor one day spot an advertisement that reads, "ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?" He is, as it happens, and that means taking a series of tests. Odd tests. Odd, increasingly peculiar tests that go beyond the classroom, or even the realm of the normal. By the end of the puzzles Reynie has passed, as have three other rather remarkable children. Sticky Washington is a bit of a bookworm, but the kind of kid who never forgets a single fact that he reads. Kate Wetherall is an athletic type who carries a handy bucket with her wherever it is that she goes. And Constance Contraire is very small, very rude, and very stubborn. Together, these kids have been recruited by a Mr. Benedict to infiltrate the very prestigious Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and discover what it is that the school's devious head is planning. They know that it's evil and dangerous, but beyond that they are out of information. So it is that our four heroes become spies and set out to save the world using their very individual abilities.
I've heard this book referred to as two different stories smooshed together into a single tale. That's not exactly how I'd chose to describe it, but it's a fair assessment. This actually isn't a problem either. If you like the first portion then you are bound to like the second. I was fond of the writing too. Never twee or coy, it comes right to the point of things without sacrificing emotion or character. It can get away with sentences like, "She announced her age right away, for children consider their ages every bit as important as their names." because they are straightforward and true. Stewart can get stuff across without a bunch of overwrought flowery language. "Their mouths went dry as bones," needs no further explanation. And somehow this text makes the horrific elements of this story all the more frightening. We know that there is a place called The Waiting Room in which children are placed and very bad things happen to them. When we actually learn what the room consists of, it's bad but not as awful as our minds may have lead us to imagine. Stewart works best when he plays off our unspoken fears. A chapter merely called "The Whisperer" shows a chair with arm braces, rivets, and a scary helmet. For the faint of heart the mere suggestion of the chair might frighten them. Nothing is as bad as it seems in this book, though, so maybe it's a good thing that Stewart lightens initial horrors with mundane explanations.
It's very hard to create a protagonist hero that's believably clever and likable. Yet our hero, Reynie, is exactly the kind of kid you want to see in a leader. He impressed me right from the start when, on going to take a test, he sees that a girl has lost the one pencil they were allowed to bring, and merely snaps his in half to help her out. There is comfort to be had too in a hero that is smart enough not to fall for the traps the author has set for him. Constance seems a pain when we meet her, but Reynie is willing to give her the benefit of the doubt when the other characters and even the reader won't. Characters much prefer to feel what their readers are feeling, so I am always impressed when one goes against the grain in a satisfying fashion.
Comparing the books to A Series of Unfortunate Events is inevitable, what with clever kids using their wits to outsmart the buffoons around them. I usually shy away from comparing anything to Snicket's series, if only because I have only the greatest respect for those books, but Stewart does something with "Mysterious Benedict Society" that is worthy of note and similar to Lemony. In "Unfortunate Events" the Baudelaire children eventually have to make some ethical choices that leave them uncertain of whether or not they can be considered "good" any longer. Stewart also takes into consideration the moral implications of placing children in danger, even if it is for the sake of saving the world. If Mr. Benedict is a good man, then how can we approve of him taking a group of kids he hardly knows so as to send them willy-nilly into harm's way? It is comforting to watch Mr. Benedict wrestle with this choice. And when the danger heats up, he even finds a way to try to get the kids away from the school. Much of the book is concerned with making it clear that kids have a right to DO what is right, and pay the consequences for those choices. It's not a message you hear very often.
In terms of the sequel, one person I discussed the book with said of it, "I don't feel I need to go back to that world." I agree, in a way. Stewart wraps up his loose ends nicely. Unlike some series for kids, you aren't left with many holes or gaps in the plot. There is certainly room for a follow-up, but if you don't read it you won't feel you've missed something. The important thing to remember is that clever kids like clever tales. For children who like everything from The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin to The Puzzling World of Winston Breen, by Eric Berlin, this is the book for them. Consistently fun and fine, the book whizzes through its 400+ pages so fast that you'll be shocked at how quickly you find yourself at the end.
Finding something new, different and very well done... June 5, 2007
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
I was working at the children's department of a major bookstore back when HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE was first published in the U.S. You might not remember that the first two Harry Potter books were released here without much fanfare. Back then, there were no 12-million-copy print runs or midnight sales --- just a book, sitting there on the shelves, ripe for discovery. And discover it we did, setting off a word-of-mouth excitement that spread among the staff and customers, presaging the frenzy that would soon envelope practically the entire world.
As I began to read THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY, I felt a similar sense of discovery and excitement at finding something new, different and very well done. Trenton Lee Stewart's first novel for children is packed with puzzles, mysteries and wordplay, not to mention a great story. I mean, what could be more thrilling than four kids whose mission is literally to save the world?
THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY does share some similarities with J. K. Rowling's celebrated series --- a tight group of friends (who don't always get along), absent parents, a school setting --- but it combines these elements with a whimsical, tongue-in-cheek style that will appeal to Lemony Snicket fans and an emphasis on puzzle-solving that will draw in readers who enjoy Blue Balliett's art-related mysteries.
The four central characters of the novel are thrown together when they respond to a mysterious newspaper advertisement that reads "ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?" Following a grueling series of exams, only four children qualify to be sent on a special mission. As the youngsters get to know one another, they learn that each one solved the exams in a different way, using their own particular skills and talents. Reynard Muldoon saw the tests as a series of puzzles to be solved. George "Sticky" Washington used his amazing memory to come up with the test's answers. Kate Wetherall, a sort of junior MacGyver who carries a bucketful of tools at all times, used her physical skills and problem-solving abilities to get the job done. And as for suspiciously tiny, perpetually crabby Constance Contraire, she was just really, really stubborn.
Together, they form The Mysterious Benedict Society, recruited by narcoleptic Mr. Benedict to investigate a critical problem. Subliminal messages are being broadcast around the world, which seem to hint at some kind of coming crisis. Mr. Benedict suspects that the messages originate from Nomanasan Island, where a reclusive character named Ledroptha Curtain runs a secretive school called the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. As the four kids navigate the school's cryptic rules, bureaucratic structure and creepy punishment methods, they begin to learn the extent of Mr. Curtain's nefarious plan. But can they put a stop to his world takeover before it's too late?
Although THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY has a satisfactory ending, its author has hinted that a sequel is on the way. If you enjoy books with puzzles to solve, mysteries to investigate and wit to savor, don't delay. Discover this fantastic new novel for yourself right away.
--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl
Move over, Harry Potter! March 9, 2007
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
The first reviewer, Toria Leigh, said it all. This is a very good read! The only change needed is the listed reading level. Being a senior citizen and having read thousands of books, I feel qualified to say that the reading level should be 9 to 99 rather than 9 to 12. Good job, Mr. Stewart! Your children's book is superior to most of the "adult" fiction on the market!
 good start, weak finish January 14, 2008
11 out of 13 found this review helpful
I initially bought this on the recommendation of a bookstore owner, because I was looking for something for my precocious nephews and niece to enjoy. Naturally, I decided to read it first. The characters are well-developed and interesting, and the premise is also original. In general the writing is very good. However, I agree that the book is too long for what it offers. In the last quarter of the book (or so) the story became confusing, and it seemed that the author struggled to find a way to bring it all together in a satisfactory and satisfying ending. Also, although the villains were intended to be somewhat robotic, even they became boring. After the interesting first section where we meet and learn about the four children who are the central characters, their personalities don't develop enough to keep a reader's interest. I pushed on to finish the book, but was rather relieved when it was over.
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