The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey- Trenton Lee Stewart

The Mysterious Benedict Society was one of my inaugural posts on this site, so it comes as no surprise that I would be eager to review its sequel, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey.

The Perilous Journey picks up about a year after the first book ends. All the members of the society are enjoying considerably better circumstances (Reynie has been adopted by Mrs. Permual and her mother, Constance has been adopted by Mr. Benedict himself, Sticky has been happily reunited with his parents, and Kate is living on a farm outside of Stonetown with her secret agent father, Milligan.), but they haven't seen each other in nearly a year, and are, despite the traumas of their initial adventure together, bored.

A reunion is planned at Kate and Milligan's farm, and Mr. Benedict has arranged a world wide, all expenses paid scavenger hunt as a reward for the society and all of their hard work.

He and his imaginatively nicknamed assistant, Number Two, will travel ahead of the society, leaving the next clue for the kids at varying exotic European locales. Unfortunately, Benedict's nefarious and scheming twin brother, Leodopthra Curtain, rears his ugly head and kidnaps Benedict and Number Two. Now, instead of a luxurious European tour full of fun and challenging clues, the Society is faced with matters of life and death. They must solve each clue in order to find and rescue their beloved benefactor.

What follows is a thrilling, labyrinthine journey from Stonetown, to Lisbon, to Holland, to a mysterious, uncharted island in the North Sea. One very interesting theme that interweaves the entire story has to do with human nature. Are people basically good or basically evil? Mr. Benedict's efforts to get Reynie to trust people and see the good within them reminds me a lot of Dumbledore's espousing of the power of love in the Harry Potter books.

What is Curtain up to? Why has he kidnapped his brother? Will the Society be able to save him in time? Read on to find out.

There will be a third book, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma, due to be published in October 2009. Look for details and other fun facts and information, puzzles and codes at the Curiosity Chronicle, the official website for these books. Very well done and worth your browsing time.

The Talented Clementine- Sarah Pennypacker

Byline- June 18th, 2009

It will be a race between this and The Mysterious Bendedict Society and the Perilous Journey to see which will be the first sequel I review here at Anbaric Lights. I'm currently in the middle of both of them right now, but seeing as MN let me borrow this book MONTHS ago, I feel that I owe it to her to finally finish it and get it back to her.

As you may remember, I reviewed Clementine her a while back, and found that I loved it. Clementine is more than a worthy successor to Beverly Cleary's Ramona (beloved by me as a wee lad) and the book Clementine was consistently laugh out loud funny, a trait all to rare in books these days.

In The Talented Clementine, Clementine returns to confront the daunting prospect of a "Talentpalooza" talent show at her school. Not only does she not think she has any "good" talents (seeing things from fresh angles, making her brother laugh, pruning, ivy, thinking of things-lime jello- to put on toast, and being empathetic, just to name a few, don't count), but her arch nemesis and upstairs neighbor, Margaret has talents (accordion, clarinet, baton twirling, acting, horseback riding, singing, tap dancing, etc...) to spare. Margaret agrees to teach Clementine one of her many talents, and the sequence where Margaret tries to teach Clementine to tap, and the lengths Clementine goes to to create tap shoes of her own might be the funniest chapter I've ever read.

However, one of the previously listed not "good" talents ends up inspiring Clementine to create the Talentpalooza Act to end all Talentpalooza acts. To describe it in any greater detail here would be doing you, the potential reader, a great disservice, but trust me when I write that you will not want to miss what Clementine gets up to at the climax of The Talented Clementine. If you liked the first volume, then you'll love the sequel. Highly recommended.

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street-Jeanne Birdsall

Today's extra special guest blogger is a another returning hero, Ephos Sapphire. They have decided to focus on the sequel to Jeanne Birdsall's delightful tale of summer vacation and adventure, The Penderwicks. Read on to decide if the followup is worth your time...

-Sir Readsalot

The Penderwicks on Gardam Street is a thrilling must-have for everyone. However, you should read the first book: The Penderwicks before you start its follow-up. The plotline is about a hysterically funny family named the Penderwicks who have just gotten back from a family vacation to Arundel in the Berkshires. The four girls are Rosalind, Skye, Jane, and Batty. Rosalind, or Rosy, is a sweet 13 year old who took over for her mother. Skye is a soccer-loving tomboy who hates babies and cats. Jane is a creative writer who is fixated on her book series: Sabrina Starr. Fourth and finally comes Batty (Elizabeth) who is funny and cute. Four and 1/3 years before the book begins, right after the fourth sister, Batty, is born, their mother gets very ill. The doctors are sure she won’t live long. The day before she dies, she writes a letter to her husband. It’s about dating. She feels that he may get lonely. When giving the letter to her sister, Mother tells her to deliver it to him when she feels the time is right. When Batty is almost five, the sister, or Aunt Claire, gives the letter to the father, Martin. While eavesdropping on their father, the four girls hear about the dating. In order to discourage a potential step-mother, they plan terrible dates for their father. These only make him come home mad and muttering Latin swears. Their father seems to have a growing interest with the astrophysicist next door, Iantha. Will Skye outgrow her feelings and learn to like Iantha’s son and cat, Ben and Asimov? Will the sisters end up with a step-mother or will Martin stay single forever? Read this new, hilarious, and compelling book and you will be amazed at how wonderfully Jeanne Birsall spins her words.

Jeanne Birdsall's Website

Scat- Carl Hiaasen

Scat is Carl Hiaasen's third foray into children's fiction after the delightful Hoot, and the unread (at least by me) Flush. Ordinarily he writes adult crime fiction as well as a regular column for the Miami Herald. Very few writers can create a tangible sense of place the way Hiaasen describes the ins and outs, the oddballs, the beauty, and the corruption of his beloved south Florida, and Scat is no exception.

In Scat, Hiassen deftly weaves several seemingly disparate story lines into a compelling mystery that involves (among many other things) an endangered Florida Panther, a missing teacher, a certifiably insane substitute, the redemption of a juvenile delinquent, the Iraq war, crooked oil companies, and the environmental movement. Hiaasen deserves special props for his shout out to Edward Abbey's proto- Earth First! classic The Monkeywrench Gang. (Read it when you're older kiddies.)

Nick and Marta endure the daily tyranny of Bunny Starch's biology class, suffering through pop quizzes and being called on randomly. Mrs. Starch has the reputation of a witch, and it is rumored that her home contains any variety of venomous creatures, which she uses for her own nefarious ends.

Then, on a field trip to Black Vine Swamp, Mrs. Starch disappears during a forest fire. Despite this sudden departure, Nick and Marta continue to see her car around town, and are convinced that there is more to the situation than the "family emergency" that everyone uses to explain her sudden absence.

Throughout their investigations, they run afoul of the local pyromaniac (Duane, but he likes to be called "Smoke"), and a corrupt oil company. Soon their research begins to overlap with an extremely endangered Florida panther, an environmental activist, illegal oil drilling, roadside bombs in Iraq and the politics of an elite private school.

Despite these seemingly disconnected plot elements, Hiaasen does a masterful job of tying everything together. He paints a picture of grassroots environmental action, and never lets the reader forget how one person can make a difference when it comes to protecting the world around us. Highly recommended for mystery fans, lovers of the environment, or connoisseurs of original, offbeat and hilarious characters.

Carl Hiaasen

Stormbreaker- Anthony Horowitz

Today's extra special guest blog comes to us courtesy of Hot Water. He/she is reviewing the James Bond Junioresque adventures of Alex Rider in the popular series by Anthony Horowitz. Synchronize your watches and make sure you've got your pen laser securely hidden before reading on...

Sir Readsalot

Stormbreaker written by Anthony Horowitz is an exciting book. It is the beginning of a series called “Alex Rider.” Stormbreaker’s main character is a fourteen-year-old boy named Alex Rider.

In the story, Alex suddenly finds his Uncle, Ian Rider (who never liked the title Uncle), dead in a car accident. Alex doesn’t think that his Uncle dead in a “car accident” after he sees a gun hidden behind the jacket of the funeral car limo driver.

Alex’s curiosity over-takes his senses and before he knows it, Alex finds himself at the junkyard where his uncle’s car went after he died. Seeing bullets in the windshield confirms his suspicions.

Suddenly, after a series of events, Alex finds himself working for the M16, Britain’s intelligence agency. The M16 thinks the same as Alex and they send Alex on a dangerous mission to try to save the world. Read Stormbreaker to see what happens to Alex.

Twilight- Stephanie Meyer

Today's extra special guest blog comes courtesy of AS. He/she has graciously agreed to tackle the cultural juggernaut that is the "Twilight" series. To me, vampires are bloodthirsty, soulless, monsters that want nothing more than to devour us, not sensitive souls who just want to find love. But hey, who am I to stand in the way of the zeitgeist? Enjoy.

-Sir Readsalot

Lions, tigers, and vampires? The first book, Twilight, in the hot new saga by Stephanie Meyer, features Edward, a mysterious vampire slowly falling in love with Bella, a normal human with an aversion to blood. Can this secret love work out? Can a vampire be with a mortal girl?
Primarily, Bella is clueless of Edward being a blood-sucking immortal, who would live forever unless killed. Soon, she fits together the puzzle and comes to the conclusion that Edward is a vampire.
Edward finds himself being drawn toward Bella and protecting her from the dangers of other vampires and even other humans. But being a vampire has made Edward and his siblings stop the ageing process. As Bella grows older she longs to stop maturing so she can be with Edward for eternity.
Throughout this book, there is suspense and romance, danger and anger. It is nearly unpredictable and every turn of a page could be Bella’s death.

The 39 Clues: Book 1 The Maze of Bones- Rick Riordan

OK, I've had the link to the website posted since the earliest days of this blog waaaaay back in the late summer of 2008, so I guess it's finally time I tackled the multi-platform, epic in the making, Internet tie ins galore, collectible trading cards included Juggernaut that is The 39 Clues.

Volume I (Apparently each volume will be written by a different author), Th Maze of Bones, was written by Rick Riordan whose work on the "Percy and the Olympians" series (The Lightning Thief, Sea of Monsters, etc...) I admire, so I decided to crack it open in search of the answer to that all-important question, "But is the book any good?"

The answer? A surprising yes. You all know how I feel about most series, and this one seemed more soulless and prepackaged than most, but by the end of The Maze of Bones, I had decided to read further, something I certainly can't say for all Volume I s I encounter.

Well, it starts out with the line "Five minutes before she died, Grace Cahill changed her will." OK, I'm in. Death, last minute will alterations, world-wide ramifications, those are definitely ingredients that can be baked in to a compelling yarn.

The afore-mentioned Ms. Cahill is changing her will to offer a Westing Game style scavenger hunt to her considerable number of heirs. The main two are Amy and Dan Cahill, and they also seem to be the only ones actually named Cahill. At the reading of the will Amy, Dan an many other heirs (of all ages, genders, and nationalities) are informed that they may either accept one million dollars, or participate in a hunt for 39 clues around the world. The team that finds the final clues will become the most powerful and influential Cahill ever.

Apparently all famous figures throughout history were Cahills of one sort or another: Thomas Jefferson, Pablo Picasso, Mozart, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Napoleon, etc... To further complicate matters, the Cahills have been split into four feuding and competing factions- The Janus, Ekaterinas, Tomas, and Lucian. All of the current heirs competing for the clues are from these different divisions. The branches of Grace Cahill as well as Amy and Dan are not mentioned in the first volume.

Once Amy and Dan agree to accept the challenge (Of course they've been orphaned as small children, so they are being raised by a dowdy and overbearing aunt.) they are immediately plunged into life-threatening danger. Without revealing too much, they barely escape the reading of the will with their lives, and are soon on their way to Paris on the trail of Benjamin Franklin, who was apparently a member of the Lucian branch.

Intrigue, explosions, codes, hidden messages, catacombs, double crosses, triple crosses, and and other high adventure follows shortly thereafter. Dan and Amy have to use their wits (Amy is very bookish while Dan provides a keen number sense and a head for codes and patterns) to stay in front of their murderous competitors, both their own distant relatives, and some other shadowy figures whose presences are never fully explained in The Maze of Bones.

Overall, the tension and excitement are maintained throughout. Since this is a preconceived series, Volume I wrapped up in a relatively tidy fashion. Volume II sees Dan, Amy, and the rest of the Cahills on the way to Vienna in search of a clue concerning Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.


After finishing the book, the first thing I did was head to 39Clues.com in order to register myself. After picking a username (SirReadsalot of course), I was prompted with a series of questions in order to determine what family branch I would be. I wasn't sure why I would need to do this, but I certainly did not want to deny myself even the tiniest bit of the 39 Clues experience.

After answering a series of questions as truthfully as possible ("Remember, we can TELL if you are lying" I was warned at one point), I was the presented with the following message:

Excellent!

You’ve been identified as a member of the Ekaterina branch. We’re sure it’s a relief to understand why you’re so much smarter than everyone you know. You’re related to the most brilliant scientists and inventors in history – Albert Einstein, for instance. The other branches don’t stand a chance!

OK, so I'm an "Ekaterina," whatever that means. I wonder if that is a good thing? Moving on...

It remains to be seen whether or not the website and trading cards will either add to, or take away from the reading experience, but I'll let you all know after I take in Volume II: One False Note, by Gordon Korman.