The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society

By Trenton Lee Stewart

My reading recently has been pretty scattered and sporadic, not only in the amount of time I spend reading but also in what I read. A few pages here from this book. A few pages there from that book. Put that book down, pick up a different one. Put this book away, half-read.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, however, held my attention and delighted me. The story is told mainly from the point of view of Reynie, a remarkable little boy who has no parents. Through a series of interesting tests, he is recruited by Mr. Benedict to help with a mission. Reynie and three other bright young children are sent as secret agents into a strange school run by Mr. Curtain. As the children find out, Mr. Curtain is trying to take over the world through a special machine that whispers lies into the minds of people. Only minds that seek the truth have been able to withstand the messages, but soon Mr. Curtain will increase the power of his broadcasts. It’s up to the children to find a way to stop him.

As I mentioned above, this book was a delightful read. The four main characters, Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance, are all lovable (in their own ways) and well-developed. Throughout the book the values of independent thinking, putting others first, and caring for people despite their shortcomings are paraded. I love that.

I also appreciate that the author shows through his characters that sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do. I loved getting to watch the characters grow and develop, and the plot was interesting enough that I was kept guessing until the end.

A thirst for knowledge is applauded in this book, to the point that I wanted to set the book down and go learn something! I definitely acquired an interest in Morse code while reading this book; if you pick it up yourself, you’ll know what I mean.

Besides the main characters, however, many of the other characters were a little unbelievable. They all had cardinal traits that made them obvious individuals, but they weren’t developed. Normally what makes reading novels so enjoyable is that I can suspend my reality for a while and live in the reality that the author creates. The exaggeration of some of the support characters in this book made suspending reality a little bit difficult because I kept catching myself wondering what else is going on in a support character’s head besides the obvious cardinal trait the author brought out.

However, critiques aside, I sincerely enjoyed this book. We’re going to be using it for our 3^rd-4^th grade book club at the library this summer, and I’m looking forward to hearing what the kids think of it! I am excited to pick up the sequels in this series. Check out The Mysterious Benedict Society!

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