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A review by sassmistress
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
5.0
5 stars and I'm finding the sequel! I laughed, I gasped with delight, I wiped the occasional watery eye. Full of daring heroics, friendship, resourcefulness, bravery, and the triumph of truth over attractive deception, this book is clean, full of riddles and mystery, and super engaging. If you're acquainted with Harry Potter, this book is comparable in reading level, writing quality, and engagement. No similarities in content, though, unless an "orphan" protagonist counts.
(Summary:
A small team of children join a brainwashing school as secret agents to discover the evil mastermind's plot before it's too late. For what? They don't know, but he's already been sending the world subliminal messages through the television and will soon be sending them directly to people's minds to condition them for the second stage of his plan, The Improvement... whatever that means.
)
I especially love how the children have their own unique ways of problem-solving (solving riddles and thinking logically, book smart with a photographic memory, thinking outside the box, resourcefulness/preparedness and physical skill). They're all necessary and valuable to the mission, even though one girl's contribution to the team doesn't become clear until the end of the book. The book is unobtrusively diverse in several other ways, too. Physical descriptions quietly reveal multiple races, skin tones, styles of dress. There are characters whose first languages are Tamil, Bembi, and Dutch. At least two characters have a disability that affects the storyline but does not limit their involvement in anything.
Minimum age for optional enjoyment would probably be middle grade, as there's some philosophizing, puzzles that young children won't get, and tense moments. You have to understand some basic rules of chess to get one minor plot point. It's a page-turner for adult me, too, so I think it would be an amazing family read-aloud if your kids are a little older.
(Summary:
A small team of children join a brainwashing school as secret agents to discover the evil mastermind's plot before it's too late. For what? They don't know, but he's already been sending the world subliminal messages through the television and will soon be sending them directly to people's minds to condition them for the second stage of his plan, The Improvement... whatever that means.
)
I especially love how the children have their own unique ways of problem-solving (solving riddles and thinking logically, book smart with a photographic memory, thinking outside the box, resourcefulness/preparedness and physical skill). They're all necessary and valuable to the mission, even though one girl's contribution to the team doesn't become clear until the end of the book. The book is unobtrusively diverse in several other ways, too. Physical descriptions quietly reveal multiple races, skin tones, styles of dress. There are characters whose first languages are Tamil, Bembi, and Dutch. At least two characters have a disability that affects the storyline but does not limit their involvement in anything.
Minimum age for optional enjoyment would probably be middle grade, as there's some philosophizing, puzzles that young children won't get, and tense moments. You have to understand some basic rules of chess to get one minor plot point. It's a page-turner for adult me, too, so I think it would be an amazing family read-aloud if your kids are a little older.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Bullying, Death, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
No romance, no drugs, language, magic, or graphic violence.
- There's an attempt to kidnap the children early in the book: they creep through the pitch black to try to avoid getting caught, and one girl gets hurt.
- Someone's "thoughts were with them always", to which another character responds "as are mine... My thoughts and all my prayers".
- There are lies of investigation and self-preservation, but none seem malicious or self-serving. There is mention of forging signatures to get the children into the school/fortress. They are secret agents, after all. They also find ways to cheat tests, sneak around so the bad guys don't notice them, etc.
- The children are in danger, but it never feels dark, just like an obstacle to overcome and a reason to be brave. "But they'll catch you! They'll *kill* you!" There is the occasional beating and injury. There is a traumatic, but not dangerous, punishment inflicted on troublesome students.
- The friends tell each other to "shut up", twice on one page. "I swear it" when making a promise.
- They dose the cafeteria food to mimic a stomach bug. Kids are described rushing to the bathroom with a paper bag, the halls are being cleaned, and "I've never seen so many upchucking kids in my life".
- There is a very gentle anti-TV / pro-book message threaded through the story. The TV is quietly brainwashing the general public with the messages it carries, but there are a few with the mental fortitude to resist it.
- The girls often climb through the vents to get to the boys' room after lights out, but this is purely for secret-agent-team purposes. There isn't the slightest hint of anything but friendship/comradery.
- One chapter has a sketch illustration of half-clothed Gemini twins. There is a brief description of astrology and it mentions that different birthdays have different signs. (which one is yours?, they ask each other as they try to decode a secret message).
-The orphans form up a few found/adoptive/reconciled families at the end: one ends up with two parents, one with a father, one with a mother and a grandmother, one with a father and two adult sisters.