Recently released in Australia, The Mysterious Benedict Society (Chicken House, 2009) is the first book in an enthralling adventure series by US author Trenton lee Stewart suitable for children aged 9+.
The Mysterious Benedict Society
Reynie, a bright but lonely orphan, is intrigued by an advertisement in the morning paper asking “Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?” Reynie completes a series of tests, each stranger than the last, and finally finds himself part of a group of four children who are asked to undertake a mysterious assignment.
Joining Reynie are George “Sticky” Washington, a boy with an amazing memory for facts, Kate Weatherall, an adventure-loving girl with a bucket full of gadgets and tools, and Constance Contraire, a stubborn little girl. These four children have been chosen by Mr Benedict to help protect the world from the plans of Ledroptha Curtain, an evil mastermind.
Together, the children infiltrate Curtain’s Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and try to discover his secret plans and sabotage them before it is too late.
Adventure, Mystery and Intrigue
The Mysterious Benedict Society is an appealing book on several levels. At its most basic, it is a wonderful adventure story, as the four young spies try to unravel the mystery of Curtain’s sinister plans and find some way to thwart him without blowing their cover. At this level, it is also quite humorous with many fun scenes as the children seek to confuse their supervisors at the Learning Institute.
At a deeper level, the book examines the nature of friendship, loyalty, courage and leadership. All four children have been abandoned in someway and have always felt very isolated. When they are brought together by Mr Benedict, they must learn to trust each other and work together if they are going to have any chance of succeeding in their task.
The Influence of Media and Propaganda
At an even deeper level, The Mysterious Benedict Society offers a range of classroom discussion topics or food for thought for more discerning readers. The children are fighting against Curtain’s plans to brainwash and influence the thoughts of others. Subjected to his school propaganda, they must think carefully and evaluate the truth of what they are hearing.
The use of language is also quite clever with a range of puns, especially in character names, and some very funny manipulations of words and language.
Funny, Clever and Intriguing
Trenton Lee Stewart has produced a children’s novel that is both interesting and intelligent. There is a wonderful sense of fun throughout the novel, in both the action and the language, and the suspense of the plot will keep children eagerly reading to the final pages.
The Mysterious Benedict Society has elements that are likely to appeal to fans of Lemony Snicket and Harry Potter books, with fun adventure combined with clever dialogue and an element of mystery and intrigue.
The release of The Mysterious Benedict Society in Australia coincides with the release of the paperback version of the second book in the series, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (Little, Brown, 2009) in the US. The hardcover edition of the third book in the series, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma, is due for release in the US by Little, Brown in October 2009.
The Mysterious Benedict Society (Australian edition) (ISBN: 978-1-906427-02-3, 474 pages)
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