“The Mysterious Benedict Society,” by Trenton Lee Stewart.
Little, Brown & Company, New York, 2007, 485 pages, Grades 6-8.
Readers find mysteries intriguing. There are villains trying to destroy ideas or groups of people, and those opposing these lawbreakers.
Tension is elevated in mysteries because readers do not often know who is on what side. In children’s mysteries, this is further complicated by the fact that the rogues are sometimes adults. The children must pit their immature skills against people much older and more experienced.
Trenton Lee Stewart writes such a mystery in “The Mysterious Benedict Society.” Here we see a band of four children facing a deadly scientist intent on creating a machine to destroy the memories of a nation. The quest to stop these evil actions form the basis of the novel.
Reynie Muldoon, an orphan, takes a test with other highly-gifted students. There he meets George Washington. Nicknamed Sticky, George is a baldheaded, brilliant student. Also an orphan, Sticky longs for companionship. The boys meet another orphan, Kate Wetherall, at the test center. Unlike the studious boys, Kate is an energetic tomboy with great athletic abilities.
After succeeding on the exams, the three children are taken to the home of eccentric Mr. Benedict. Two sleuth-like women, Rhonda and “Number 2,” assist Mr. Benedict. The final person joining the adult group is the sad-looking Mr. Milligan.
As Mr. Benedict begins meeting with the children, a fourth child, tiny Constance Contraire joins them. Stubborn and rebellious, Constance is clearly going to be a handful. All the children are exceptionally intelligent and Mr. Benedict explains the nature of the gathering.
A supercomputer is being built on a nearby island to erase the memories of people and to replace them with the ideas of its creator, Mr. Curtain. This mastermind is using children to create and input data into the electronic behemoth. Unlike adults, the minds of children are still flexible and capable of being manipulated by Mr. Curtain. Assisting the evil genius are numerous adolescents at the island’s institute of learning. The four are tasked with entering the institute to try to stop the evil plan.
However, many problems surround the venture. If discovered to be spying on the institute, the children could be brutally interrogated. They may then “disappear.” But time is short; Curtain is beginning to use television frequencies to alter the minds of citizens. This evil thought-control project must be stopped. Someone needs to go on the island, confront the master plan and destroy the supercomputer. Mr. Benedict asks the children to infiltrate the island, act as spies at the institute and destroy the computer. It will be four children against the malevolent Mr. Curtain.
Do the children succeed? Can they act as a team and discover the plans to control memory? What dangers do they encounter? How does Mr. Benedict help them? Does the knowledge of Morse Code help the youngsters trick Mr. Curtain?
What is it like to fight against long odds? Why is courage and love so necessary? To find out the answers to these and other questions, go to the library and check out this award-winning book, “The Mysterious Benedict Society” by Trenton Lee Stewart.
This novel has many twists and bends and is complicated. Stewart sets the stage in the first half of the book and then the pace quickens in the second half. The conclusion is quite exciting as the children face dramatic choices and must exhibit great courage and love.
This is the first book in Stewart’s series of The Mysterious Benedict Society mysteries. These mysteries are quite popular with students enjoying the use of puzzling clues to solve mysteries and have been on the New York Times best-seller list. You may enjoy the mystery; just make sure you are a good detective.
