K-nay's Book Musings

Imagine that you have a valuable piece of information. You go through all of the motions to have it protected, and then the next thing you know, the enemy has stolen what you have uncovered. What do you do? Are you like Reynie Muldoon, and fight to get it back, or are you like Constance Contraire, who is too intent upon her own past to care about anything else?
Mr. Benedict has taken the Wisperer from his evil twin brother, Mr. Curtain. The Wisperer was a machine that Mr. Curtain had previously been using to brain wash people….make them forget their pasts so that they didn’t have a clue who they were, and then they could go do work for him.
This was quite an accomplishment, seeing as the Wisperer was also the only remedy to itself. There was a way to operate it, making those people whose memories were lost find themselves again.
But when a power outage conviently happens in the whole town, nobody is occupying Mr. Benedict’s house, and so the Wisperer is mysteriously taken away. Why does Mr. Curtain need it?
To finish the work that he had started.
It’s up to Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance to get back what was stolen.
With knowledge on their side, can they help imprison the evil and bring peace to their community once more?

Did you think that Reynie Muldoon’s story was over once he got the Whisperer out of the hands of the evil Mr. Curtain? How about Kate Wetherall’s story? Sticky Washington or Constance Contraire? Well, if you thought that, you are most certainly wrong. In fact, this story starts off just as thrilling as the last one ended. Curious? Is your attention grabbed? It should be, because…

CHILDREN YOU MUST NOT COME STOP DANGEROUS

…signs that say “DANGEROUS” mean excitement.

Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance were to have a fun and entertaining reunion with one another and Mr. Benedict. They all met at Kate’s farm, and then they were to be taken to Mr. Benedict’s house for further instructions. However, the note that was supposed to meet them at Kate’s farmhouse never reached the children. STOP and DANGEROUS were the only words that the man with the note had to read to  try to contact the children. When Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance made it to Mr. Benedict’s house, they learned the news: Mr. Benedict and his close friend, Number Two, had been kidnapped.

Yes, kidnapped.

The only way to rescue them was to follow where their kidnapper was heading. Four days was all they had to rescue their friends. Can they do it? When they meet some Executives and Ten Men, do they have what it takes to leave false trails and uncover vital information?

Let’s find out!

The Mysterious Benedict Society, by Trenton Lee Stewart, is a book that is accompanied by many twists and turns, and pleasant and not so pleasant surprises and happenings. A dangerous but stimulating adventure for four children all started with a strange ad in the newspaper.

“Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?”

The children interested were to undergo certain tests. Naturally, lots of children wanted to see what these special opportunities were, so lots of children showed up at the place where they were supposed to take their first test. After that test, they were to go to a different building to take the second test. The questions on this test were more difficult, and many children grew anxious, because the only way you could pass this test was if you got all-each and every one- of the questions right. A boy named Reynie (whose real name was Reynard) Muldoon was the only boy to pass the test in one of the sessions. Reynie was sent to a room to wait, and he was soon joined by two other children that had passed. Their names were Sticky Washington and Kate Wetherall. These children were soon taken to a house where they had to take the third and final test. This test was a different kind. It was a maze. In order to pass the test, you had to successfully go through the maze in a quick amount of time. All three children got through the maze alright, and they were sent up to a room to meet a man. This man’s name was Mr. Benedict. Up in Mr. Benedict’s office, Reynie, Sticky, and Kate met the fourth and final child that had passed the tests. Her name was Constance Contraire.

Mr. Benedict explained to the children that he had a secret mission that they must go on, to grab hold of certain (and possibly dangerous) information. They were to go to a school that was called ”The Institute for the Very Enlightened.” As the children attend the Institute, they meet many new people. The only question is: Which is a friend or foe? Is S.Q. naturally slow, or a professional spy? Are Jackson and Jillson menacing weapons, or simply in the wrong place at the wrong time?

Figure out the answers on this exciting and exhilarating escapade!

I enjoyed this book immensely, and if you like fantasy, adventure, and mystery, you will also find yourself enjoying this book. I could hardly put it down once I got into it!