Rereading The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart

On a bright September morning, when most children his age were in school fretting over fractions and decimal points, a boy named Reynie Muldoon was walking down a dusty road. He was an average-looking boy- with average brown hair and eyes, legs of average length, nose an average distance from his ears, and so on- and he was entirely alone. Other than a falcon soaring high over the road and a few meadowlarks keeping a low profile in the fields on either side, Reynie was the only living creature around.

In the second book of The Mysterious Benedict Society series, Mr. Benedict arranges a special surprise for the anniversary of the children's meeting, but is kidnapped along with Number Two by Mr. Curtain. And no one knows his location because it was supposed to be a surprise. So the children set off by themselves to try and locate Mr. Benedict and Number Two and rescue them. Unlike many series, I think the second book was just as good (though not any better) than the first one. And that holds true for the third one too. (But I'll get to that later.) Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance have to solve a lot of puzzles to find out how to get to where Mr. Benedict is, an opportunity for Trenton Lee Stewart to come up with new mind-benders for the children (mostly Reynie) to solve. That, and the element of suspense, is probably my favorite part of the series. Hmm, what else to say? Well, this one has the element of travelling too. They're not just secret agents at L.I.V.E. It was a whole different type of story, following in the tracks of Mr. Benedict. And we meet the other characters from The Mysterious Benedict Society again: Jackson, Jillson, Martina Crowe, S.Q, and the vicious "Ten Men." And Mr. Curtain obviously.

Anyway, this is a great sequel, and I would recommend it if you loved (or even liked) The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Read The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey:

• if you liked the first book
• if you like mysteries with mind-bending puzzles (though you really have to read the first book)
• if you like books with smart children outwitting evil adults

440 pages.

 

Outstanding Book That Will Stay On My Bookshelf For Rereading (jf I own it)!