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.