The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey - Book Review

The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey

The second book in The Mysterious Benedict Society series was just as fun to read as the first. I was thrilled to read more about the developing friendship between the four main characters, Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance, and to follow along as they solved more puzzles in an attempt to save their friends. In this installment, the four kids must solve puzzles created by the kidnapped Mr. Benedict in order to save their benefactor and his assistant from Benedict's twin brother, Mr. Curtain. Reynie begins to have doubts about trusting people, which almost alienates him from his three companions; Sticky has perhaps gained a little too much confidence; Kate must learn how to become a responsible daughter; and Constance's true gifts are finally revealed. This second book is packed with adventure and more excitement than the first book, which made for a suspenseful and enjoyable read. Even at 440 pages, it went quickly and I couldn't wait to get to the next book in the series.








Although it seems a bit unrealistic that the four children could have boarded a ship, traveled to Portugal, the Netherlands, and finally to a deserted island without attracting enough attention to be stopped, I was happy that the four young members of The Mysterious Benedict Society were traveling without much assistance from adults, who are written as rather boring characters in this series. Even Milligan (my favorite adult character), despite all of his amazing stunts and miraculous just-in-time rescues, is still Kate's father and his first priority is keeping the kids safe, away from harm, and therefore away from the action. I appreciate Stewart's realistic portrayal of parents, but I was still rooting for the four main characters to disobey the orders from their adult guardians--no doubt many younger readers will feel the same way, which may put parents of these younger readers in a difficult position.

I was also glad that the antagonists were the same people from the first book, negating the need to go into a detailed explanation of who they are and what they want to do. Mr. Curtain still wants to take over the world (perhaps a bit cliché, but it's worked for hundreds of years as a basic plot point), but this time he wants to use an ancient rare plant that can put an entire city to sleep and may also hold the cure for his narcolepsy. The plot details were just different enough to make the story interesting, but similar enough to the first story that the reader is already familiar with the background of most of the characters.

I appreciated Stewart's brief mention of the complicated relationship between Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain: although one is obviously evil and the other is practically a saint, they are still brothers and are both dealing with accepting this new-found fact. Milligan teaches Kate that despite the evil that Mr. Curtain and the Ten Men are willing to do, she should not reciprocate, a hard lesson that many people never learn. When Captain Noland grounds his ship to save everyone on the island, Reynie learns that he can't judge the majority of humanity based on the faults of Mr. Curtain and his accomplices. Sticky may have fallen asleep at his post and gotten ambushed by the Ten Men, but his friends forgive him and he strengthens the resolve of the group at a key moment. S.Q. Pedalian, although strangely attached to Mr. Curtain, still seems to be a good person, and Mr. Benedict suffers from a large amount of guilt after tricking S.Q. into letting him escape. If there is one thing that Stewart excels at, it is writing about relationships, which are almost always complicated and messy.

Favorite Line(s): "Kate was not like Mr. Curtain and his nasty associates. Not at all. Back on that rooftop in Thernbaakagen Milligan had told her as much, and she saw now what he meant. Seeing those men there, helpless to stop her from doing what they themselves would never hesitate to do, Kate realized -- with a certain degree of disappointment but also a degree of pride -- that she could never do it, could never do something that would make her more like her enemy and less like her father. . . . As the Salamander rumbled away, Mr. Curtain smiled and blew Kate a kiss. Kate made sure he saw her wipe it off."

Overall: I recommend this book to anyone who loves puzzles, fast-paced adventures, or parents wanting to read to children who are a bit too young to read on their own. If you liked the first book in this series, I think you'll definitely enjoy this installment too.

(And coming soon, I'll be reviewing the third novel in the MBS series!)

Nutcracker, by E. T. A. Hoffman; Illustrated by Maurice Sendak - Book Review

I have been a huge fan of Maurice Sendak since I first read Where the Wild Things Are many many years ago. While I love his other children's books (such as In the Night Kitchen), I find myself a bigger fan of the dark side of Maurice Sendak, such as what you will find in the so-called "nursery rhyme" We Are All in the Dumps with Jack and Guy. In the 1984 version of E. T. A. Hoffman's Nutcracker, Sendak not only illustrates a well-known tale but also takes the story back from the popular ballet version and returns it to a darker, more mature story that better resembles what Hoffman originally wrote in 1816.


Nutcracker

I first discovered this particular rendering of the popular story when I worked at a public library. I was alphabetizing children's books when I saw "Sendak" on the spine of a book I didn't recognize, and I was amazed when I saw the title of the book. Not only am I a Maurice Sendak fan, but I also love the story of Marie and her nutcracker prince. I soon discovered that the Nutcracker Ballet is not exactly faithful to the story that E. T. A. Hoffman wrote in The Nutcracker and the Mouse King (1816). As Sendak writes in the introduction to this particular edition, "[T]he vital subplot, the tale within a tale in Hoffman's story, was entirely missing from the ballet. 'The Story of the Hard Nut' gives the fairy tale dramatic sense and needed psychological meaning" (xi-xii).

The original edition was published in 1984 and was reissued once in 1991. Why this version is not more widely popular is a mystery to me; the illustrations are vibrant and full of Sendak's unique style and they are present on nearly every page. The story goes back to Hoffman's original and not only makes more sense than the choppy plot of the ballet, but it also offers more excitement and can stand on its own without having to rely on the "confectionary goings-on" (Sendak, 1984) of the Land of Sweets segment, which is only briefly mentioned in the original.









My favorite aspect of this version was the decision to re-incorporate "The Story of the Hard Nut." In this central story, Godfather Drosselmeier explains to Marie how nutcrackers came to look as they do. As a child, the Princess Pirlipat is beautiful and adored by her kingdom, but when her father angers the Mouse Queen, she is cursed and her face mutated to look like what we now know as a nutcracker. Drosselmeier's nephew lifts the curse, but in turn takes it upon himself when he stumbles backwards onto the Mouse Queen. Although Pirlipat's father promised his daughter's hand to anyone who could lift the curse, the princess changes her mind and has young Drosselmeier banished when she sees his hideous face.

Pirlipat is the opposite of kind, selfless, brave Marie, who gives up her precious candy figurines to save her Nutcracker and who (in possibly my favorite moment of literary history) throws her shoe at the King of the Mice in the middle of a battle between the rats and the toys. The Nutcracker Prince takes Marie to the Doll Kingdom for a night as a way of thanking her for saving him and his kingdom. When Marie returns to reality the next morning, none of her family believes her story and she spends the next few years (it's not really clear in the story, but it seems that a significant amount of time has passed) dreaming of the Doll Kingdom and staring into the face of her nutcracker.

As I mentioned before, I'm a sucker for a happy ending, so I was thrilled with how this story ends: one afternoon, Marie tells her nutcracker that she loves him no matter how he looks. Soon after that, Drosselmeier arrives at Marie's home with his nephew, who is no longer under the Mouse Queen's curse, thanks to Marie's selfless proclamation of love. The two are married and Marie returns to the Doll Kingdom as its Queen.

One of the major themes in the Nutcracker is Marie's maturation from a twelve-year-old girl who plays with dolls to a young adult who has saved the Doll Kingdom, finding and losing a love in the process. I love that Sendak is able to write and/or illustrate stories that tackle bigger topics than playing outside or losing a teddy bear, making them appealing to both children and adults.

Favorite Line(s): "[Marie] picked Nutcracker up in her arms, went over to the toy cabinet, bent down in front of it, and said to her new doll, 'Mistress Clara, I must ask you to give up your bed to our poor Nutcracker and make do with the sofa. After all, you're bursting with health, or you wouldn't have such plump, red cheeks, and I hope you realize that very few dolls, even the prettiest, have such nice soft sofas to sleep on.'"

Overall: I recommend this book to everyone, and not just for Christmas reading.

The Mysterious Benedict Society - Book Review

The Mysterious Benedict Society

This first book in the Mysterious Benedict Society trilogy was a clever, fun, and touching story of four exceptionally talented children, all of whom are orphans for one reason or another. As I read, I was so excited that I often found myself skipping pages to read ahead without thinking about it, then having to go back to read everything I had skipped. Although many of the book's puzzles are probably common knowledge for older children and adults, I think that young children would definitely benefit from having the puzzles presented in such an atypical format, especially if they stop to try and figure them out on their own before being given the answer. The young characters that Stewart has created are realistic, likable, frustrating, enjoyable, and fascinating all at once.










Reynie is an admirably patient and kind character, especially for a child who has been teased and tormented his whole life for being extremely intelligent. I found myself liking and admiring him, even if his almost always cheerful disposition was a bit unbelievable. I appreciated the scene with the Whisperer near the end when it was shown that Reynie was not above all temptation to take the easy route. Kate was by far my favorite character, precisely because of her unbelievable feats and acrobatics; she won me over almost immediately with her laugh-out-loud antics. Constance was frustrating and annoying, but too funny to hate; when her big secret was revealed at the end, I found myself as thankful as the other three children that she had a good excuse for being so downright grumpy. Sticky's intelligence and lack of confidence were important to the story, but I found myself often more annoyed with him than I was with Constance. His wishy-washiness may have been a bit overdone for my liking.

The time spent in the Learning Institute was full of plot twists, secrets, and challenges that were not only exciting to read about, but they also brought out the best and worst of the four members of the Mysterious Benedict Society. While I enjoyed the main plot of the story, I was happiest when the four main characters were making discoveries using uncommon methods and teamwork, such as when Reynie used bookmarks to get Mr. Curtain to switch to important pages in his journal, and Sticky used Kate's spyglass to quickly memorize the contents of those pages. The burgeoning friendship among the four young members of the Mysterious Benedict Society and their realizations that 1) each of them has something unique to offer and that 2) they will all make mistakes, adds a heartwarming moral to an already thrilling and enjoyable adventure novel.

Favorite Line(s): "'What good is your bucket doing you now?' Jackson jeered. 'I'm glad you asked,' Kate said, bending over the brook to scoop the bucket full of water. Instantly it was as heavy as a bowling ball. Returning to look down into Jackson's icy blue eyes -- he was only a few rungs from the top -- she gave him a friendly wink. And dropped the bucket."


Overall: I recommend this book to anyone who loves puzzles (if that's you, be sure to check out the Professor Layton games for the DS too), fast-paced adventures, or parents wanting to read to children who are a bit too young to read on their own.

(And coming soon, I'll be reviewing the second novel in the MBS series!)

Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Series Review

I wasn't able to do much reading for pleasure during my four undergraduate years at the University of Georgia. Even when I graduated this past May, I was kept extremely busy with planning a wedding and honeymoon and trying to find a job. After returning from our honeymoon, I was offered a job as a copyeditor at an educational technology firm in Athens and finally I've been able to breathe and start reading again!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians was a fantastic way to break my hiatus from pleasure reading. The series was recommended to me by a friend a few months ago, and once I started reading, I finished all five books in the series in less than a month! I typically judge my attraction to a book by how quickly I read it, since I read faster the more excited I am. I read all 400 pages of The Lightning Thief in one afternoon, and the rest of the books only took one or two days as well! I have even picked up all of the audiobooks and I was considering getting the Camp Half-Blood t-shirt until it sold out. :(

I loved the way Rick Riordan wrote the series from Percy's point of view, and his grasp of what a twelve-year-old boy would think and say seemed remarkably genuine to me. The emotions it evoked were also genuine: I laughed out loud during several parts of the series and I cried several times. I can recall lying on my stomach eagerly flipping from one page to the next with my knees shaking and my heart pounding during the action sequences, which were almost nonstop at times. My husband and I read the series together, and we started vocalizing our predictions to each other, which was a lot of fun and lead to at least a few fun "I told you so!" and "I can't believe you thought of that!" moments.

I've heard the criticism that the story is a repeat of Harry Potter and although that may be true, Harry Potter itself is a repeat of a story that has been told again and again: the story of a child or young adult who leaves home, finds a group of friends to support him or her, and grows to maturity through conflict, both internal and external. This type of story, called a bildungsroman has its origins in ancient folklore and has constantly been told in various forms. Just to say that the Percy Jackson series is a repeat of this type of story does not disqualify it in my mind; Riordan's pleasant writing style and talent for incorporating ancient Greek and Roman myths into a modern day story was enough to keep me engaged throughout the series.











Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief


Perhaps my favorite part of The Lightning Thief was that Hades was not the bad guy. I think that in similar stories, authors are often quick to blame Hades since in our society hell is seen as the worst of the worst and Hades is associated with the devil. I also appreciated the realistic dialogue that occurred between Percy, Annabeth, and Grover; it seemed neither forced nor planned, and I loved the constant tension between Percy and Annabeth. Perhaps the only complaint I had with the story was the slightly-too-perfect happy ending involving Percy's mom Sally. It seemed a little too forced to have her "die" early in the book, only to come back later on because she never actually died, suddenly get rid of Gabe (although it was hilariously done), and start to live her dream of being a writer.

Favorite Line(s): "[My mother] told me Gabe had left mysteriously--disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact. . . . On a completely unrelated subject, she'd sold her first life-sized concrete sculpture, entitled The Poker Player to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho."


Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters

In The Sea of Monsters, we are introduced to Tyson and I liked him almost immediately. I really loved the way Percy stuck up for him, even to Annabeth, and I was desperately hoping throughout the whole story that Tyson would turn out to be a good guy. I was extremely satisfied with Riordan's handling of the Polyphemus battle scene, which solidified my respect for Tyson's character. I also found myself starting to like Clarisse, which, after the first book, I assumed would be impossible. My favorite scene, though, was when Percy saves Annabeth from the sirens; again, the emotion and tension between Percy and Annabeth was intense without seeming too overdone, and Annabeth's admission of her own fatal flaw (hubris) was well placed.

Favorite Line(s): "But when the fire died, Tyson was still standing there, completely unharmed. . . . The bull must've been as surprised as I was, because before it could unleash a second blast, Tyson balled his fists and slammed them into the bull's face. 'BAD COW!'"


Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse

Within the first few chapters of The Titan's Curse, when Annabeth is kidnapped, I thought that I would not enjoy this entry in the Olympians series. Annabeth has been my favorite character almost from the moment she was introduced and I thought that without the tension between her and Percy, the book would fall flat. Thankfully, I was proven very wrong. Each of the new characters Riordan introduced in this entry are interesting and filled with unique personalities. I loved Thalia's arrogant stubbornness, Zoe's independence and courage, Bianca's sisterly guilt, and Nico's confusion and anger at Percy. The deaths of Bianca and Zoe caused more than a few tears, while the reunion between Percy and Annabeth appealed to that part of me that is still a teenage girl cheering for the protagonist to get the girl.

Favorite Line(s): "[Annabeth] touched the new streak of gray in my hair that matched hers exactly--our painful souvenir from holding Atlas's burden. . . . I said, 'I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And . . . I think I owe you a dance.' She smiled slowly. 'All right, Seaweed Brain.' So I took her hand, and I don't know what everybody else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: a little sad, but maybe a little hopeful too."


Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth

If I had to pick a least favorite book in the Olympians series, it would be The Battle of the Labyrinth. Although this entry in the series was still well-written, engaging, and very very fun to read, it didn't appeal to me in the same way as the previous three. I liked how Percy struggled with Calypso's offer to make him immortal (an offer that would be repeated in the next book) and I liked the development of Nico di Angelo from an angry 10-year-old into a powerful and slightly intimidating 11-year-old son of Hades. The tension and conflict between Rachel and Annabeth was also entertaining, all the more so because of Percy's almost complete ignorance as to why Annabeth disliked Rachel. Beyond that, I was just happy to finish The Battle of the Labyrinth in order to move on to the final book in the series.

Favorite Line(s): "[Nico] dropped the rest of the Cokes into the grave and pulled out a white paper bag decorated with cartoons. I hadn't seen one in years, but I recognized it--a McDonald's Happy Meal. He turned it upside down and shook the fries and hamburger into the grave. 'In my day, we used animal blood,' the ghost mumbled. . . . 'I will treat them with respect,' Nico said. 'At least let me keep the toy,' the ghost said."


Percy Jackson and the Last Olympian

The Last Olympian was a fantastic way to end the adventures of Percy Jackson and his friends, although I'm still holding out hope that maybe Riordan will write more about Camp Half-Blood one day in the future. This entry in the series was almost nonstop action, leaving me reading well past my normal bedtime in order to find out the story's ending. It's almost impossible for me to pick an absolute favorite part--I cried when Selena sacrificed herself to bring the children of Ares into the war against Kronos and when Annabeth realized what must happen to Luke. I laughed when Chiron showed up with the Party Ponies and when Annabeth realized that Percy has chosen to remain mortal (okay, so there were a couple of tears mixed in as well). I was very satisfied that Percy stood up to the gods of Olympus and made them promise to recognize all minor gods and to claim their children. I'll admit it, though; I'm a complete sucker for happy endings and successful relationships, so I have to say that when Percy finally tells Annabeth how he feels about her, I literally laughed out-loud and did a mid-air fist pump. :)

Favorite Line(s): "'Perseus Jackson--if you wish it--you shall be made a god.' . . . I glanced back. Annabeth was trying not to meet my eyes. Her face was pale. I flashed back to two years ago, when I'd thought she was going to take the pledge to Artemis and become a Hunter. I'd been on the edge of a panic attack, thinking that I'd lose her. Now, she looked pretty much the same way. . . . 'No,' I said. . . . The gods were glaring at me, but Annabeth had her hands over her mouth. Her eyes were shining. And that kind of made up for it."

"Then [Annabeth] laughed for real, and she put her hands around my neck. 'I am never, ever going to make things easy for you, Seaweed Brain. Get used to it.' When she kissed me, I had the feeling my brain was melting right through my body. I could've stayed that way forever, except a voice behind us growled, 'Well, it's about time!'"



Overall: I highly recommend Percy Jackson and the Olympians to anyone who loves Harry Potter, Greek/Roman mythology, young adult fantasy novels, or anyone who just wants to read something with a lot of action and a happy ending.

Welcome!

Before I start posting book reviews, I wanted to share some pictures of literary stuff Jordan and I saw/did on our honeymoon! We spent 3 weeks traveling around the United Kingdom and Ireland, and of course we had to stop to do some bookish-type things. :)

Dublin:
Although St. Patrick's Cathedral was quite impressive, I have to admit that my favorite part of Dublin was the Oscar Wilde statue in Merrion Square. :) Oscar Wilde has always been one of my favorite authors. Here he is:


Dublin:
While we were in Dublin, we also stopped at the Irish National Library to see an exhibit on the life and works of W.B. Yeats. I loved these stained glass windows featuring literary greats such as Homer, Chaucer, and Shakespeare:


And this shows a bunch of Yeats' manuscripts and notes, although it is a bit blurry:


Stratford-upon-Avon:
Here we visited Shakespeare's childhood home, which was exciting for me, in a very nerdy sort of way. It was a bit pricey to enter the house, and it wasn't really all that interesting...except for the fact that the flooring was made of the original stones! It ended up being worth it for me to say that I walked on the same floor that Shakespeare did! No pictures were allowed inside, but here's a view of the outside:


Grasmere:
We also visited the childhood home of William Wordsworth and even saw his grave (a bit morbid perhaps, but it was really awesome to be there):


Cliffs of Moher:
This is a bit of a stretch for literary greatness, but the Cliffs of Moher were the filming location for the Cliffs of Insanity sequence from The Princess Bride and we couldn't pass up a visit! :) This is my favorite image that we took of the Cliffs:

Wales:
I'll end this with our visit to a town in Wales that has one of the longest placenames in the world: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. :) Although it's not an actual Welsh word, it was still fun to visit.


Check back later for book reviews!

-Samantha