Monday, April 1, 2013

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

This has to be one of my greatest finds at BookOff so far! I hope that I can find the rest of the books too!

The Mysterious Benedict Society is about gifted young children. When Reynie spies an ad in the paper, he signs up for the "special opportunities", and meets three other children - Kate (an all-round athletic girl), Constance (the most contrary girl every) and Sticky (the human brain - he remembers everything he read). Together, the four of them have to stop the fearsome Mr. Curtain.

I love how the book is so centered on the four kids. To be honest, Constance was extremely annoying for the first part of the book - and yes, the other kids thought so too - but towards the end, I found out why, and then it wasn't annoying. Tada! The other three kids were all likable, and I fell in love with them almost immediately.

Story-wise, it was fine too. I think the pacing was right, and the plot was gripping. It's another one of those book you can't put down, and I honestly wish the book was longer. I think it's the way the kids are characterised - you can't help but want to read more about how they interact.

At the end, there's a quiz as to which character you'll be, and a few codes to solve (like, what is Mr. Benedict's first name?), which I think younger kids will enjoy. Like my little brother, since he loves puzzles (At least, as seen by his interest in Detective Conan and Professor Layton and Ace Attorney).

But, even so, I think this book is suitable for all ages. If you like mysteries, engaging characters and team-work, then this is the book for you!

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