Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The Mysterious Benedict Society

 
 The Mysterious Benedict Society follows the adventures of four young orphans who each have their own spectacular and rather unique talents. Reynie is an incredibly intellectual teenager who is treated as an outcast at his orphanage. Kate ran away from her orphanage when she was very young to join the circus. When she turned twelve, she left to go on her own journey. She is incredibly athletic and resourceful. Sticky ran away from his parents as they were exploiting him for money, as he would win a countless number of geography bees, spelling bees, science events, etc. And Constance is a poetic, grumpy, stubborn, and quite unpleasant cuss, with the maturity level of a three year old. Not much is known about her past.
 All of these kids are selected after a grueling examination, with completely random questions about interesting but one hundred percent useless knowledge, applicable to almost nowhere in every day life, which is why it was so difficult. After another set of exams, the four eventually meet Mr Benedict, whom they have never heard of. He sends them on a mission to uncover a plot of pure evil at the  Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, or L.I.V.E. The miraculous undertaking will put their very lives on the line in order to save all of humanity.
 I absolutely loved this book, like so much. There are also little puzzles and brain teasers that you can solve with the characters, and they're really hard, almost like trying to pass ten sphinxes at once. My OCD mind and I were completely pissed when I couldn't figure them out, as they're really complex. I also really enjoyed the plot, almost none of it was stuff I was expecting. Although the main conflict is a little bit far fetched for when the book takes place (2007), it still would be possible in a not too distant future, which is scary to think about. Overall I give this book an A+.

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