The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Chicken House, 2008.
Ages: 9+ Recommended. Fans of Lemony Snicket are bound to enjoy
this
light hearted, rip roaring adventure based on the dastardly Mr
Curtain's wicked plan to brain wash the entire population and take over
the world. The story starts with an advert placed in the
newspaper requesting gifted children with special talents to perform a
series of tests. Reynie Muldoon, resident of Stonewall Orphanage is
encouraged by his beloved mentor to take part. Along the way he meets
three other children, also parentless. All four pass a series of
bizarre exams and are chosen by the mysterious Mr Benedict to
infiltrate the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened (LIVE) to
defeat the evil Mr Curtain.
This is a cinematic story, reminiscent of Roald Dahl, with plenty of
breathtaking action and larger than life characters. Neatly placed in
all the action are some thought provoking messages such as: 'the only
way to get rid of fears is to confront them', and 'to be a leader means
being lonely and having enemies who despise you'!
One of the reasons this story works so well is that our heroes and
heroines are flawed and human. Although highly intelligent Sticky
Worthington has more neuroses than a medical text book, Kate is brave,
indomitable - and knows it. Reynie lacks self belief and worries
endlessly, and Constance Contraire lives up to her name by being
awkward and irritable. The children bicker and fall out, but ultimately
they use their individual strengths (very appropriate in our climate of
multiple intelligences) to defeat the wicked Mr Curtain.
Just how Kate stumbles on her father, how Reynie finds the happiness of
a family of his own and how we discover Constance Contraire's perfect
excuse for being so lazy and irritable are pulled together in a superb
and satisfying ending that ties up all the knots.
At nearly five hundred pages this is a novel for able readers, ready
for a challenge. They will be richly rewarded with an action packed
story which neatly balances slap stick humour with moments of high
octane excitement. There are heroes they can relate to and a villainous
megalomaniac who deserves every boo and hiss yelled at him!
Claire Larson