Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart

3 reviews

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

this was my favorite book as a child. revisiting it was a trying time. i had thought of myself as Nicholas (and the boy i had a crush on in gymnastics as John), and now i realize just how annoying Nicholas was, and how annoying i must have been too.

it is crazy long, especially for a middle grade. it took until the last fifth to reach and sustain an engaging pace.

but that last fifth… i forgive many of its faults just for the wonderful ending. and in my headcanon, unsupported by The Mysterious Benedict Society, Nicholas and John grow up to be high-society recluse lovers à la the Rothschilds.
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mobymaize's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I have found myself listening to The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict more than the rest of the series as I think this book is very good as a standalone novel. I had a good time with this and we love neurodivergent representation :)
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thomasmannia's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I honestly don’t think I can judge this in the context of the other four MBS books. The vibe, plot, and characters are completely different (as it only makes sense for them to be). That being said, it’s a wonderful, entertaining, brilliant book, and the author miraculously managed to incorporate the problem-solving of the main books into this one. It has a great message, superb writing, and a fascinating and intriguing setting and conflict. My only complaint is that the deus ex machina employed towards the end is completely wild and unrealistic, even more so than a lot of the luck that Reynie, Sticky, Constance, and Kate experience in the main books. I didn’t like that very much, but overall it’s a book definitely worth reading, even if you disliked/aren’t a huge fan of the other books in the series. I view it as a standalone, and it differs in a lot of significant ways. I wouldn’t say I like it more than the first MBS book, but only because it has a different sort of charm about it, and, again, I view them with different lenses.
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