A review by kjersten
The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages by Trenton Lee Stewart
5.0
** spoilers **
First off: I wish I had known that you were supposed to read The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict before reading this one. There were definitely nods to characters I hadn't heard of in the other books, and though it wasn't a huge deal if I could do it all over again I'd save this for last.
The original three books in this series are so charming. I was excited to read up on what the society has been up to many years after their initial adventures, and was not disappointed! You can't beat the originals, but it was fun to revisit the universe nonetheless (think HP Cursed Child / HG Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes vibes). Though the main plot twist did catch me by surprise, the original plots seemed to capture my attention more. This one also treaded along at a bit of a slower pace.
I do kind of wish that Stewart had let the characters go at the end of the book to demonstrate how people can still remain close and pursue their own interests. The nods to growing up and the characters not wanting to move on were sweet, but I think they would have been more impactful if it had lead to them finding a healthy way to still stay close but also take a step forward.
Overall it was worth the read, but I was hoping for more fresh faces / a more original adventure. The nostalgia of bringing back so many old characters / settings / etc was fun though.
First off: I wish I had known that you were supposed to read The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict before reading this one. There were definitely nods to characters I hadn't heard of in the other books, and though it wasn't a huge deal if I could do it all over again I'd save this for last.
The original three books in this series are so charming. I was excited to read up on what the society has been up to many years after their initial adventures, and was not disappointed! You can't beat the originals, but it was fun to revisit the universe nonetheless (think HP Cursed Child / HG Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes vibes). Though the main plot twist did catch me by surprise, the original plots seemed to capture my attention more. This one also treaded along at a bit of a slower pace.
I do kind of wish that Stewart had let the characters go at the end of the book to demonstrate how people can still remain close and pursue their own interests. The nods to growing up and the characters not wanting to move on were sweet, but I think they would have been more impactful if it had lead to them finding a healthy way to still stay close but also take a step forward.
Overall it was worth the read, but I was hoping for more fresh faces / a more original adventure. The nostalgia of bringing back so many old characters / settings / etc was fun though.