I have really been enjoying the exploration of my library's middle grade fiction section. For the most part, I just grabbed books from the shelves that had interesting covers. This led me to The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart with illustrations by Carson Ellis (I told you she'd b...
I zipped through the beginning of the book, but the ending took a while to finish. I don't remember having trouble reading any of the books the first time around. Not sure what happened this time (I did feel like there was a lot of telling... maybe that was part of it). But I like the characters so ...
Eeeeeh. I can see why the series has become so popular with children, but then children do like to be talked down to and like their characters broadly defined by one or two - one or two only - characteristics and have villains with vague, improbable plans that are easily foiled. In other words, 'The...
It's so hard to find really good middle grade books. In an effort to write a story that is "on their level," most of them are poorly written, have overly simplistic plots, and canned, characterless characters. At last, I've found one that dares to assume our kids aren't stupid! The Mysterious ...
The Mysterious Benedict Society gave me hope for future generations in the way that Matilda probably gave adults hope for my generation. The story is told Harry Potter-style, through the eyes of Reynie Muldoon - a kind-hearted and intelligent kid who actually reminded me a little bit of Harry Potter...
hmm. other than the fact that I could predict the plot twists a few pages before they happened, I also felt like the characters were a tad cardboardy. I mean, is Constance ever not grumpy? exactly. but I liked it.
Is there a word for a book that starts with great promise whose momentum just peters out about halfway through? I feel like this is a fairly common problem in the literary world and there ought to be a word! And maybe there is and I just don't know it. I was super stoked when this book was chose...
I really don't know what I expected when I was intrigued by this book in the bookstore, but it was so much better than I expected it to be. The characters really came alive to me and the whole story was very interesting. The puzzles were interesting, and the solutions creative. I am really lookin...
Reynie Muldoon, George "Sticky" Washington, Kate Wetherall, and Constance Contraire are three children on a mission. A mission to save the world from a most terrible fate. When these four ace a test designed to weed out the best of the best, the cleverest of the clever, and the most imaginative of...
One day I found a picture of this book on Tumblr. I saw the beautiful illustrations and the mysterious title, and I knew it. I knew I had to read it. I quickly found a synopsis of its plot, praise for its author and comparisons towards Roald Dahl and the Harry Potter books. I didn't doubt it for a s...
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