The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
I am Zach. I am an eighth grader and live in Ketchum, ID. I enjoy playing board games, reading, mountain biking, Nordic and alpine skiing, playing with my family, snowmobiling, and being outside.
Reynie has grown up without the support of parents at an orphanage. One morning he finds out, from his tutor, about an odd advertisement in the newspaper targeting gifted children. He follows up and finds himself at an old building. There, he is put through a series of oddly weird puzzles, with each one harder than the last. Hundreds of people begin the challenge, and only five people make it through the final puzzle. These tests were designed to find people of a very specific demographic, kids who are alone, relatively smart (or think about the world differently), and who try hard. These kids were picked for a special mission to infiltrate a school and stop an evil villain trying to control people through wicked ways. Reynie and the other four people are extremely nervous at first, the task seems daunting, but once they start, there is no going back.
I absolutely love this book for how well Trenton Lee Steward transports you into this fictional world. You get to test your own skills along with the characters, and it is thoroughly entertaining. All of the interactions between characters are quite believable, and the descriptive words are quite effective at setting the scene. This story is about tapping into your orenda and changing the world. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys action-packed writing that makes you think about the world in a different way.
