Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society Series
You don't often find a series in which the author won't dumb-down his writing for the younger audience. Trenton Lee Stewart does more than that with The Mysterious Benedict Society; his books nourish the minds of children eager to learn and think. We often refer to this series as "intelligent," full of puzzles and clues of the author's own creation. The story is populated by a cast of bright children eager to uncover the truth.
And it's clean. It's absolutely clean. HUZZAH!!! No tacky love triangles, no adult humor slipped in for no apparent reason, no adolescent crushes. Incredibly refreshing. 9-12-year-old kids (especially boys) don't want to read about that kind of thing; Trenton Lee Stewart is just writing for the kids.
The Mysterious Benedict Society series features Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance: four children with unique and extraordinary abilities. Reynie is a brave, hard worker, Sticky has photographic memory, Kate is a fantastic athlete and Constance has a willful, stubborn mind. Gathered together by brilliant, narcoleptic Mr. Nicholas Benedict, the children solve puzzles and maneuver tough situations as they seek to thwart the despicable Mr. Curtain.
Throughout the books there is some mild violence as the bad guys beat up the good guys. Mr. Curtain has gloves that send electric shocks into whoever he touches, and his henchmen are nasty. The Ten Men are called as such because they can kill people in ten different ways. Disguised as business men, the contents of their briefcases are far more deadly than they appear; they hold pencils that act as darts, chloroform-soaked handkerchiefs, deadly laser pointers and much more.
In The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey, Reynie experiences a frightening hallucination at night. A hag, creepily illustrated at the beginning of the chapter, crouches at the foot of his bed and he is paralyzed. Earlier in the book, Mr. Benedict relates to Reynie a couple of the hallucinations he experiences with his narcolepsy, one of which is the Old Hag. This conversation most likely brought on Reynie's own hallucination, which I found to be absolutely terrifying. Granted, I was 10-years-old and had personally seen something similar while sick. Nerd #1 only found this scene mildly creepy.
In addition to the main trilogy, Trenton Lee Stewart also recently published a prequel about Mr. Benedict's childhood: The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict. There is also this really fantastic book of mind-boggling puzzles called Mr. Benedict's Book of Perplexing Puzzles, Elusive Enigmas, and Curious Conundrums, which is based on the trilogy. We highly recommend both!
All in all, these are incredibly wholesome books. Trenton Lee Stewart nurtures a love of thinking with his puzzling series, and while the books will be found equally entertaining by adults, they are not above the reading level of your typical 10-year-old.
“May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home.”
Trenton Lee Stewart, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey