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The Mysterious Benedict Society: Book 1
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Description edit
"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
In this book four orphans take a gifted test. All of them pass. The orphan's names are Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Contance. The orphans are brought to an abandoned house where Mr. Benedict sends the orphans on a secret mission to stop Mr. Curtain from broadcasting secret messages at his... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters edit
- Renyard Muldon: A gifted orphan. Reynie is a good leader, exceptional with solving problems and riddles. He is kindhearted and responsible. He is described as very "average-looking."
- George "Sticky" Washington: A bald boy with a photographic memory.
- Kate Wetherall (a.k.a. The Great Kate Weather Machine): A spunky, athletic and resourceful 12 year old girl. A member of the Mysterious Benedict Society. Kate is the tallest of them all, always carrying a bucket of useful things.
- Constance Contraire: A girl who is extremely bright for her age, yet extremely stubborn. A member of the Mysterious Benedict Society, she loves to make poems.
- Mr. Benedict: He has a sleeping condition which makes him fall fast asleep with certain strong emotions. Has 2 "adopted daughters" Number Two and Rhonda.
- Milligan: Works for Mr. Benedict. Has blond hair and blue eyes.
- Rhonda Kazembe: A short, beautiful African American woman. She is one of Mr. Benedict's closest assistants and daughter.
- Number Two: A stern, slim woman who is one of Mr. Benedict's closest assistant and adopted daughter. She always wears yellow and has flaming red hair. She is often described as looking like a pencil. Number Two rarely sleeps, and as a result is constantly snacking.
- Mr. Ledroptha Curtain: Curtain is a very bad man who wants to take over the world.
- Kate Wetherall (a.k.a. The Great Kate Weather Machine): Fast, athletic girl. Her Father abandoned her and she ran away from the orphanage to live at the circus until she heard of Mr. Benedict.
- Jackson: An awful executive working for Mr. Curtain.
- Jillson: Another nasty Executive working for Mr. Curtain.
- Martina Crowe: A student at LIVE and eventually ends up working for Mr. Curtain.
- Miss Perumal: Reynie's tutor at the orphanage... she loves Reynie and wants the best for him.
Quotes edit
-
“The gym is always open, except when it's not.”
Jackson -
“You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family.”
Mr. Benedict -
“Oh, here's a clever one. Do you remember this question from the first test? It reads, 'What wrong with this statement?' And do you know what Constance wrote in reply? She wrote, 'What's wrong with you?”
Mr. Benedict -
“I'm sorry. I was so nervous, you know. I guess I've misremembered.”
Sticky -
“'The Mysterious Benedict Society.' Then she stood up and left.”
Constance Contraire -
“'Mr. Benedict, sir, have you read all the books in this house?' Mr. Benedict smiled, glancing fondly at the many books in his study before looking at Reynie again. 'My dear boy,' he said, 'what you do you think?'”
Reynie, Mr. Benedict -
“The room was dark only for a few moments, yet when the lamps came back to life, Milligan stood before the children with a pitcher of juice, having appeared out of nowhere. Constance shrieked. The other children jumped. Milligan sighed.”
-
“Remember the White Knight.”
Mr. Benedict -
“Now we have waited for thirty consecutive minutes to see some old dirty Executive. Thirty long minutes I could have been sleeping, but SHE doesn't find her appointments worth keeping.”
Constance Contraire -
“"... to find a place you must exit to enter..."”
Reynie Muldoon, recieved in Morse Code -
“Rules and schools are tools for fools—I don't give two mules for rules!”
Constance Contraire -
“Remember, children. For every exit, there is also an entrance.”
Milligan -
“No one seems to realize how much we are driven by FEAR, the essential component of human personality. Everything else- from ambition to love to despair- derives in some way from this extremely powerful emotion. Must find the best way to make use of this.”
Ledroptha Curtain -
“Much to my dissapointment, I have concluded that there is no such thing as perfect control. I have come to understand, however, that the illusion of perfect control can amount to the same thing.”
Ledroptha Curtain -
“Whether you always agree is inconsequential, but you must take care of one another, must rely upon one another in all things.”
Mr. Benedict -
“'I've always thought that was a funny expression,' Kate said. 'Because how well do people really know the backs of their hands? Honestly, can anyone here tell me exactly what the back of your hand looks like?'”
Kate Wetherall (a.k.a. The Great Kate Weather Machine) -
“That's the downside to being a genius - just because you understand something doesn't mean anyone else will.”
Number Two -
“Greed often helps people think of reasons they might not discover on their own.”
Mr. Benedict -
“Sometimes, Reynie, trouble itself is the key.”
Mr. Benedict -
“On a certain level everything sounds like nonsense, doesn't it?”
Jillson -
“People are capable of great wickedness, Reynard.”
Mr. Ledroptha Curtain -
“Children despise superior minds, you know, especially in leaders, who must often make unpopular decisions.”
Mr. Ledroptha Curtain -
“'One problem with being a leader,' Mr. Curtain was saying, 'is that even among your friends you are alone, for it is you - and you alone - to whom the others look for final guidance.”
Mr. Ledroptha Curtain -
“Every great thinker keeps a journal, you know.”
Mr. Ledroptha Curtain -
“He'd never expected doing the right thing to be so hard. But it was.”
-
“Anyone who knows anything about the human mind understands that it never truly forgets anything. To completely erase memories is impossible. What is possible, however, is hiding memories from their owners.”
Ledroptha Curtain -
“Fears lurk just beneath the surface and are easy to detect.”
Ledroptha Curtain -
“The only way fears truly disappear is if you confront them. But who in the world wishes to confront his or her worst fears?”
Ledroptha Curtain -
“... nothing soothes the mind more effectively than a simple answer to a complicated problem.”
Ledroptha Curtain
First Sentence edit
"In a city called Stonetown, near a port called Stonetown Harbor, a boy named Reynie Muldoon was preparing to take an important test."
Table of Contents edit
Pencils, Erasers, and Disqualifications
Buckets and Spectacles
Squares and Arrows
The Trouble with Children Or, Why They Are Necessary
The Sender and the Messages
The Men in the Maze
Codes and Histories
The Thing to Come
The Naming of the Crew
Nomansan Island
Traps and Nonsense
Beware the Gemini
Lessons Learned
People and Places to Be Avoided
Logical Conclusions and Miscalculations
Poison Apples, Poison Worms
A Surprising Suggestion
Tests and Invitations
Everything As It Should Be
Of Families Lost and Found
Tactical Cactupi
Caught in the Act
The Waiting Room
Punishments and Promotions
Half a Riddle
The Whisperer
Open Sesame
Practice Makes Perfect
Know Thine Enemy
A Chess Lesson
The Mouse in the Culvert
Sacrifices, Narrow Escapes, and Something Like a Plan
Bad News and Bad News
Sticky's Discovery
The Great Kate Weather Machine
Stands and Falls
The Best Machine
Escapes and Returns
For Every Exit, an Entrance
Themes & Symbolism edit
- Challenging the norm: Children can be smarter and more helpful than adults. Children don't always need an adult for help. Society isn't always telling us the truth. What we think is right may not be.
Series & Lists edit
This is book 1 of 5 in The Mysterious Benedict Society. (standard series)
Preceded by The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict, and followed by The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey.
This is book 8 of 23 in 2010-2011 Iowa Children's Choice Award. (authoritative list)
Preceded by Trading Faces, and followed by Two-Minute Drill.
This book is in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Trenton Lee Stewart (Author)
- Carson Ellis (Illustrator)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Little Brown & Co.
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2007
ISBN: 9780316057776
Page Count: 485
Publisher: Little Brown & Co.
Country: USA
Publication Date: 2007
ISBN: 9780316057776
Page Count: 485
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PZ7.S8513
- Dewey: Add the Dewey Classification.
Subjects edit
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
- Mysterious Benedict Society Site: Official website for the series.
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