Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

5 reviews

orchidlilly's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

If there's something I love, it's found family and mystery, and this story has both! the relationships are touching and feel very real, and the mysterious plot is gripping the whole way through

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Body shaming, Cursing, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism

skudiklier's review against another edition

adventurous emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was one of my favorite books as a child, but my copy got lost after loaning it to someone, and I've been waiting for years to get a new one so I could reread it. I really enjoyed it! I was surprised by how much I remembered. And like, it's true that some things about the book are problematic and on-the-nose (liking books isn't inherently good, TV isn't inherently bad, there's the ableist trope of

the bad guy getting up from the wheelchair

, and there's so much to unpack with all the "gifted" stuff). But still, I can't help adoring this book. I'm excited to reread the rest of the series! 

Also, spoiler:

I can't believe Constance is TWO?! I remembered that she was actually very young, so the whole book I was paying attention to how she spoke and acted and stuff, and in my head I was like "there's no way she's like four what the heck she's the most advanced of all of them." But I thought she was like four or five, not two!!! Wild.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Torture, Violence, and Abandonment

Minor: Animal death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

margotcolville's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I read this book as a child; I loved it then and I loved re-reading it! A tender, yet lighthearted exploration of what it means to feel and be alone, found family, teamwork, and courage. However!! Bad news bears, the ableist concepts are ~painful~ and unnecessary. 

When we first meet Mr. Curtain, resident evil man, the first thing we learn about him is that he's in a wheelchair. In fact, we learn this before we even meet him, "For a long expectant pause, they heard nothing except a sort of distant whine, but the whine grew louder by the moment, giving way to a tremendous grind and screech...and into the room shot a man in a motorized wheelchair, moving so quickly and with such apparent recklessness that every child in the room scooted backward in fear of being struck." This wheelchair serves as the distinction between benevolent (and able-bodied) twin Mr. Benedict, and evil (and apparently disabled) twin Mr. Curtain. Uh oh. Throughout the remainder of the story, Mr. Curtain's chair continues to build the idea of evil surrounding Mr. Curtain as he chases children down and rams through doors in his motorized wheelchair. The chair itself is even described as wicked at least once.

 

Here's the big, BiG, BIG problem with this, especially as a middle-grade novel. He is the only character throughout the entire story who uses a mobility device and it is an active symbol for his evilness. "The deformed body giving face to the deformed heart" (Amanda Leduc, Disfigured). When this is part of minimal exposure a child has to disability, which is by far the average if not above average experience in America, that generalizes with or without the child realizing it. So, when they go to school and have a new classmate that uses a wheelchair, for example, they associate that child and their wheelchair with Mr. Curtain, how he used his chair, how his chair was described, and his status as the villain. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I remember this fondly from when I was younger, and I still enjoyed the anti-authoritarian, pro-kid plot. But the stakes never felt as big as we were supposed to believe they were, and plot details came and went really quickly.  

I also forgot this is a prime example of the "villain is faking having a physical disability" trope, and I absolutely did not like it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, and Abandonment

shomarq's review against another edition

lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism and Fatphobia