The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book, to be honest. I started out a little afraid that this was going to be too much a cross between Harry Potter and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Instead, I got an intelligent adventure that, just when it started seeming a bit predictable, threw me for a loop. Although there were no witches and wizards, there was an evil man determined to control the world through subliminal messages sent via the television into the minds of children. (Mental note: stop letting my kids watch so much TV!) Three orphans and a runaway are the only four to ever pass the test given by the mysterious Mr. Benedict at the same time, which is critical, because in order to thwart the plot devised by Mr. Benedict’s evil twin, a team of children is needed. While on the surface the book is a thrilling spy story, at a much deeper level it also serves as a statement about society as a whole, but you definitely don’t have to dig to get a lot out of reading it. While parts of the story are intense, and somewhat sad, I never had to worry about slipping into despair—one of the “punny” names would snap me right out of my gloomy mood (i.e. the name of the brainwashing villain is Ledroptha Curtain, and his remote Institute is on Nomansan Island). The ending is a little hokey, and room is left for a sequel or two, but if you’ve ever felt lonely, left out, unwanted or just plain too smart, you’ll love it. If you like picking on people who’ve ever felt lonely, left out, unwanted or just plain too smart, you’ll love it, too.