A review by daphne2000
The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart

5.0

This book feels very different from the other books in the series. It feels like a more traditional middle-grade book and there is a noticeable lack of riddles and word-play. Nonetheless, I still loved it. Trenton Lee Stewart's writing is so cozy and charming; I always fall right into the world that he creates.

Even though we don't get many riddles in this, I really enjoyed seeing Mr. Benedict Nicholas outwitting his enemies and crafting his plans. He was a very believable child-genius. By this I mean that, even though it was obvious that he was extremely bright, he never came off as an adult. He still seemed very childlike in many ways despite his intellect which I liked since oftentimes precocious children in literature come off as adults in a child's body.

I also really liked the ending. It was perfectly bittersweet. It leaves Nicholas's future wide-open so it doesn't cause any continuity errors, but it also has enough closure to make it satisfying. There's no need to know anything about the rest of the series in order to enjoy this book, so I'd highly recommend it to anyone that likes Middle Grade novels.