15/100: The Mysterious Benedict Society

 New month, new look! I decided to give this little blog a facelift and I'm really liking the new layout. I've got big plans for this month, mainly getting ready for graduation, commencement, and applying to a teaching credential program. But my big plans also involve big reading plans, and to kick that off, here is my review for my first book read in March.

The Mysterious Benedict Society was a re-read for me. I read this years ago, probably when I was 12... maybe 13? I remember absolutely loving it but never finishing the series. All of a sudden this month I was struck with the desire to read this series, and I'm so glad I followed through.

This book sucks you in; from the very beginning when we meet Reynie Muldoon and read all about these... well, mysterious, tests he takes. I found myself flipping past page after page, not even registering just how much I had read until much later. I love those kinds of books. The pace does slow down a little in the middle in my opinion, but the main underlying plot is so unique that it keeps you invested until the very end.

I love reading books about smart kids, but what I love reading about even more is different kids. I always felt like one of those different kids; I wasn't unloved or an orphan like most of the kids in this book, but I felt different in the activities I enjoyed and the subjects I was interested in. It feels refreshing to find a book that not only tells the story of such kids, but it embraces and celebrates it as well. And the best part is, each child is special and different in their own way. All of them are not major geniuses, though some of them are. Kate is athletic, Reynie is analytical, Sticky is booksmart, and Constance... well. I haven't found a good way to describe her yet.

Constance was a thorn in my side the whole story. I kept waiting and waiting for the moment where it just clicked for all of them and that they were supposed to be a team. Well, I really mean I was waiting for it to click for her, because she would make nasty comment after nasty comment and the others would simply brush it aside as her natural personality. It gets explained in the end why she is the way she is, and she does have a redeeming moment in the book that I felt was also a defining moment for her, so I guess we do get some resolution in that way. But I also can't stand characters (or people for that matter) that are mean, nasty, and rude just for the sake of it. That's another discussion, though :)

I can't wait to get my first students and my first classroom because I fully believe that The Mysterious Benedict Society series will have a place on honor in my classroom library.

Stats:
Completed: March 2
Rating: 4 stars
Pages: 497

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