The Mysterious Benedict Society ***-

Our local book club recently read The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. When I went to book club I had only read about 1/3 of the book. My friend leading the discussion asked who thought it was just "eh," who liked it, and who really enjoyed it. Majority of people liked it, with several saying that they didn't enjoy it at the beginning, but toward the end really liked it. There were a handful that really enjoyed it and I classified myself in that category. I really liked the beginning of the book. It was exciting and mysterious to me and if it only got better, why then it must be fantastic! It didn't get better to me, I think I even enjoyed the beginning more than the end, I don't know. I did like the book a lot, but for some reason it was missing something for me (and I'm sorry I'm not smart enough to know what that is).

From the back cover:

"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" When this peculirar ad appears int he newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will 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? Welcome to the Mysterious Benedict Society.

It is clearly a children's book, targeting a little older children (10-12 maybe?) as it is 480+ pages. I think my 7 year old will enjoy reading it with his dad for now. I generally love children's lit, but occasionally find it boring (for lack of a better word) as it doesn't push/drive me to keep reading, Cornelia Funke is the main culprit in this category for me. This book was on the verge of this description at times, but never all the way. Like I said earlier, I'm not sure what it was missing, but something.

We follow Reynie, a 12 year old orphan boy, through most of the book and I'm so glad he's the main, main character. I liked him a lot. He was smart but not annoying, clever, caring, self-aware, observant... so many traits that I respect and admire. The other children were less enjoyable to read, though each was entertaining in their own way. I liked Mr. Benedict and his "family" a lot and wish they had been in it more. Their relationships with the children were nice, they felt more real than you often find in children's lit.

I think I just realized what was missing for me, as you probably know, I'm character driven rather than story/plot driven as a reader. The beginning was great at showing us the characters many sides, but the characters kind of got lost in the rest of the story as it moved along. That is except for Reynie, which as I pointed out earlier, I was very appreciative of. We gain insight into his character through the entire book as he figures things out about himself. The rest of the characters don't really grow or blossom during the story, the beginning "getting to know the characters" was just set-up for their roles in the plot. However, I'm glad I read it, even though there was only one character that I really related to.

With all that being said, I did really enjoy the book. I give it 3 1/2 stars for a clever story, some great characters, and some good insight into my personal self-analysis. I highly recommend this to all children 8 and up and anyone else who likes children's lit and isn't totally driven by character development.