The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict

Very entertaining, read it as a youngster, read it again really enjoyed it

I met Trenton Lee Stewart after a concert in central Arkansas several years ago. It was a funny experience because I had not read much of the Mysterious Benedict Society (if any of it) and I knew he was famous for it but couldn't think of anything to say to him. I wanted to smack my forehead afterward because it was silly to have a chance to rub shoulders with a literary celebrity but waste the opportunity by several moments of silence. Anyway. I read the MBS series and thought they were good. A little hard to get into sometimes, but my sons love them and have read them multiple times. But then they persuaded me to set aside my grownup fare and read THIS book, insisting it was Stewart's best yet. I read the first chapter and found that I couldn't put it down. It has a narrative pace that is much more compelling than the MBS books. Its characters are more real. Its plot has neatly executed intricacies that satisfy. Its message is uplifting and inspiring. I agree with my sons -- this is Trenton Lee Stewart's best work thus far! And now if I were to meet him again, I would have plenty to say to him, including to express my hope that it has been submitted to the Newbery committee. It is every bit as good as Louis Sachar's "Holes"; in fact I like it even more because of its power to make me want to be better, kinder -- to use my gifts to help those I care about, like Nicholas Benedict.

Very interesting, the best in the series no doubt

I love to read.. the main character in this book is intriguing.

Good book

This is a really great book to read if you love mystery or just want to read a really good book. The Trilogy of books that make up the Mysterious Benedict Society leave you wondering, what got Nicholas Benedict into loving mystery in the first place? Reading the book about Nicholas when he was a child clears some things up about parts of the other three books and makes me dig deeper into the text. It also made me recognize the important qualities that Nicholas has. Nicholas as a child was very handy and resourceful, having moved from orphanage to orphanage must have been tough not to mention the narcolepsy and very scary nightmares/ hallucination. He had a perfect memory and could remember everything. This helped him throughout the book to out smart people such as the Spiders to say out of danger. This a a spectacular book with twist and turns at every corner.

I read this with my 11 yr old. We were both so sad for this poor kid, who was so jaded and skeptical by age 9 that he took it as a matter of course that there were no decent grownups on the planet. For anyone who's dealt with abuse/neglect, this could be a hard book to read, but stick with it till the end. Journey with Nicholas as he finds that there *are* decent people out there, and he realizes he wants to grow up to be one of them. Possible that most other people are reading this and seeing a treasure hunt and stuff, lol, but for me, the story was about soul-healing.

I absollutely love Mr. Stewart's books! I own all the Benedict Society books and jumped at the opportunity to buy this one. It was a remarkable book that shone a different sort of light on Mr. Benedict. It uses words like "ebullient" but for me, this was not a particularly difficult read. I finished it in one sitting and was extremely sorry to see it end. I adore books with geniuses in them and love to see how the genius' mind works. Mr. Stewart must be a genius himself, for he has every single step of the story coming together beautifully for a spectacular ending! He enraptured me with his desciptions of how Nicholas worked his mind through different obstacles, including "setting up his room" the first night. His constant outwitting of the bullies left me admiring and chuckling. BRAVO, MR. STEWART!