The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, 2) Paperback – Illustrated, May 1, 2009

I quite enjoyed the first installment of this series, and I believe I gave it four stars; a respectable rating expressing enough like to bother getting the second. I'm very glad I did so, for this little darling earned five full stars from me. Past the necessary restraint of introducing characters "The Perilous Journey" plows full-forced into a more exciting and engaging plot than the first book. I was absolutely delighted.A year after the first book ended, the Society is brought together for an emergency. What was supposed to be a fun little spy mission has gone wrong when Mr. Benedict vanishes.The characters have grown since the last book, and I found them much more realistic, flawed, and lovable--all within the fun range of children's literature characterizations. I actually had trouble figuring out the plot of the first book, but this one is clear, exciting, and indeed perilous. There is plenty of heart and action, all told through endearing prose.I can't wait to get my hands on the third.

The Mysterious Benedict Society, a group of four children created to thwart the plans of the evil genius Ledroptha Curtain, is fresh off their great victory. The "brainswept" are slowly having their memories returned and everything seems like it should be getting back to normal. It should be the perfect happy ending, yet happy endings are rarely so simple...All is not well for the Mysterious Benedict Society. Reynie, still shaken by the previous adventures, finds himself having nightmares of being surrounded by snakes. A conversation with Mr. Benedict did little to ease his growing fears that wickedness is something to be generally expected of people. Kate has been living largely on her own wits for the past six months (Milligan largely off doing secret agent work) and Sticky has had trouble convincing his parents that he should be allowed to go to college. As for three-year-old Constance, she continues to struggle with being a young child genius, while the government refuses to even properly acknowledge her existence so she can be adopted by Mr. Benedict.The group comes together again with the promise of experiencing a great surprise created by Mr. Benedict, but then learns something horrifying. Both Benedict and Number Two have captured by Curtain and his minions -- now going by the name "the Ten Man" -- for the ten different ways they have of torturing people. The only solution may be to follow through with Mr. Benedict's surprise -- an adventure he planned for them that may now be their only way to save him. So, once again, danger and thrills are promised, but also a great read and satisyfing adventure.The book jacket states that the author, Trenton Lee Stewart, is a graduate of the Iowa Writer's Workshop. If his works are any indication, then they may just have something special there. The jacket also offers a review comparing the style to that of Lemony Snicket -- but I never could quite bring myself to fully enjoy Snicket's mode of writing. This book, however, has been the most anticipated for me since "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" and I'm delighted to say that it satisfies. Pick up a copy for yourself and find out what adventures are in store for this intrepid quartet.

After reading The Mysterious Benedict Society my eight year old son and I were too anxious to get this second book to wait for it to come in the mail, so we downloaded it onto the Kindle and got started reading before the hardback arrived. We read a couple of chapters before bedtime every evening. I'm a librarian and I like to make this time special by finding books that are fun and exciting, but also of a high enough quality to be thought provoking and to spark meaningful interaction between myself and my son. The Benedict Society books are just the ticket. The children's characters are carefully constructed so that they represent specific types that readers can either identify with, or recognize from their own experience. Their problems and concerns are realistic and believable enough to create empathy in young readers, which thereby allows them to better understand themselves and others. The word puzzles and clues are fun, but not so difficult that the average kid can't figure some of them out before the answers are figured out by the characters. Not all eight year olds could read these books themselves, but the language is accessible to most children older than six if the reader is patient enough to stop and explain occasionally. Overall, for children interested in adventure, this is a pretty sure thing.

I loved this book! New themes start developing in this gripping sequel. As the children are growing up, they are developing their abilities and coming to grips with the fact that they have to act nobly and do the right thing in order to prevent themselves from becoming just as evil as Mr. Curtain, his executives, and the Ten Men. The children have internal (and external) conflicts with each other just as best friends tend to do, but of course they all end up saving each other's necks and being grateful that they have each other. The only thing I was disappointed by in this book in that it did feel so much like the first. I understand where this is a little bit necessary, in order to make way for a third installment of the story, but for me it seemed too predictable. I have to realize this story is a children's book, though, and I should not be so critical on the last couple of chapters. Overall, I was captivated by the story, and I do plan on reading the 3rd!

It is a very good book and I would recommend it. The cover came a little bit bent, but other than that it was not damaged in shipping. I have read all the books in the series except Mr. Benedict’s Book of Perplexing Puzzles and they are very good. Would Recommend.