Name: The Mysterious Benedict Society
Rating: 4.235087719298246 (285 reviews)
ISBN: 9780316003957

Trenton Lee Stewart

After passing a series of mind-bending tests, four children are selected for a secret mission that requires them to go undercover at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, where the only rule is that there are no rules.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

The Mysterious Benedict Society #1

Taneil Casey

I loved it!  My family and I listened to this in the car, so I can't promise to spell things right(cd's don't tell you how to spell things).

This book started out kind of iffy.  I kept thinking, there is no way I am going to answer an ad that really tells you nothing!  But then, I am not an orphan.  As the story went on, there began to be more and more things that I liked.

I think that my favorite out of the children was Reni (?).  I loved the way his mind worked, the way he puzzled things out and logicly reached certain conclusions.  Also, the fact that he was the unanimous leader, and the burdens that came with this resposibility, made a really great character out of him.

The first thing that I didn't like was Constance Contraire (?).  Both my Mom and I just groaned every time she was brought up, every time she said or did something.  We knew right then and there that we did NOT like Constance.  My sister would be the one groaning then(she listened to it before we did and knew what happened).  As the story wore on, we became used to Constance and then at the end, we loved her to death!  What a shocking thing to discover that she was only two years old!  I still can't get over that!  

My other favorite characters were Mr. Benedict, and Milligan(?).  How could you not like Mr. Benedict?  As for Milligan, well, I have always liked father figures, and Milligan made a very good one.

And then, there was one last thing that I wished had happened, even though the story was very good in the end.  I had hoped that Mr. Benedict would adopt all of them, and they would become one big, weird, family.  In a sense that still did happen, but not like that.  

Overall, I loved the book, as I said above, and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone who loves stories about children saving the world.

I would definitely recommend this book to children (and adults) who are gifted/intelligent and don’t always fit in with society. It’s filled with hopeful themes and has such dynamic and lovable characters. 

Jeweliet Coffee

It was so joyful to return to a book from my childhood. Such a fun read and stood up to my fond memories. 

Abigail Swallow

Amna A.

Loved it! Lemony Snicket meets Roald Dahl. Full of puzzles and codes, the characters are a joy... looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

Sarah Sammis

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart had been on my wishlist since it was first published. I had a chance to buy it when it back then but I decided not too. Thus it was one of the first books to come off my wishlist when I began my project last summer.

The book begins with Reynie Muldoon taking a series of tests. Those who pass get to enroll in a special school. Reynie being an orphan has nothing to lose; if anything, the school will be a huge improvement. In all four students pass by different methods and they are invited to perform a secret mission to save the town and quite possibly the world.

The has all the hallmarks of a British children's story: the orphan going to a boarding school, a mysterious evil and lots of puzzle solving. But it's not; it's set in the United States. There was a time when these sorts of books were set and written here but it's been about a century. The Mysterious Benedict Society has a kinship with the Ruth Fielding series from the 1910s.

My favorite character in the book is Constance. She's portrayed as obnoxious, lazy and contrary, there are reasons behind her flaws. The observant reader might be able to decipher the clues behind her secret. I didn't but I was having too much fun seeing if the Mysterious Benedict Society could save the day.

Christine

an all time favorite book of mine <3 i've read it like 4 or 5 times

rumbledethumps

Too cute by half. Punny names, combined with uninteresting puzzles made this book nearly unreadable for me. Read it to see if my daughter might want to read the series, but I can’t recommend it to her nor anyone else.

Jordan Bowman

I don't mind long books at all, and I don't think this book is terrible. But it would be much, much better if it were about 250 pages shorter.

abby

My fav book in elementary/middle school :]

Heaven Adore

Definitely a favorite book of the year! Man, this book was absolutely amazing! I just like how idiosyncratic and intriguing the story line was. "What's going to happen next?" or "How are they going to escape that situation?" are questions that constantly ran through my mind. I literally had trouble putting the book down because of that haha. There were funny moments, sweet ones, and of course peculiarity. 

I'm glad that my best friend persuaded me to read this book. I probably wouldn't have known what a great book this was because of her! 😄 I definitely highly recommend it and I'm SO excited to read book 2!

annie

The first is the great series. 
When a peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending, tests. But in the end just four very special children succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. With their newfound friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all?
This is a really fun book that is great for listening to in the car with the whole family!
Enjoy!

Mary Horton

These children are precious and I want them as my friends. (Also Sticky's anxiety is SO RELATABLE. I am Sticky.)

All in all, such a fun read! Thoroughly enjoyed it and am looking forward to continuing the series.

4 stars

mighty dragon 

Rick Dobrowolski

This book was a lot of fun to read through as a family. The thread of working together as a team was an excellent lesson to learn. The story is definitely fantastical and very unrealistic at points but that doesn’t take away from the book at all.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

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