Middle Grade Madness! discussion

Rules on spoilers:
*All spoiler for this book DO need to be hidden in spoiler tags.*

TMBS stands for The Mysterious Benedict Society, it's just such a long name for the discussion page title that I abbreviated it.

Let's go!! First book in the series! I'm so excited to read a mystery book, I haven't read one for ages it's crazy! Also it seems like there's a dash of superpowers or inhuman abilities which I love and am excited to see.

Who else is excited to start this one?

Me! Been swamped the past couple months, but this book has been on my TBR pile forever. Was jazzed to see it here on the readathon. What better reason to finally read it? Thanks!

@Brian same! I'm so busy with books right now but this one has been on my TBR since 2018 and it's high time I get around to it. And it's been far too long since I read an mg mystery so excited for this👏🏻

@Ina can't wait to discuss it with you! I'm planning to start it tonight!

So I started this book this morning and I'm on the start of chapter 3. Here are some of my thoughts so far:
(view spoiler)[
I find the formal writing style a little... jilted and the many long sentences don't make for really easy reading but I've gotten kind of used to it now.
I totally guessed that Rhonda was part of their test. I don't know what made me guess that. But I guessed it and it ended up being true!
It's sad that Reynie is an orphan but actually he has a pretty good life for an orphan. There are books where an orphanage won't spare resources to help a smart child like Reynie. And the orphanage owner guy was quite nice when he spoke to Reynie. Maybe this isn't the kind of book to get super sad.
(hide spoiler)]

@Dee It'd be cool to see what you think of this one! So far I'm 15% in but I'm putting it on pause so I can start a buddy read and I'll pick it back up later on...

just finished this book and quite liked it... I agree with you @Kadi on getting involved with the characters and feeling sad or happy was not what this book did for me too... and some twists were obvious... but I was invested in storytelling and liked it for that

Got the book early but had to finish what I was reading first. Started last night and so far, so good. I might need to make notes so I can write a review when I'm done. >:)

I started reading this book today. The writing definitely reminds me of Lemony Snicket (which I like). Why does the narrator voice in my head speak with a British accent?

@Sameeksha I’m glad you liked it!! That gives me more hope now that I’m planning to pick this back up tomorrow. I stopped right before they (view spoiler)[ meet Benedict for the first time (hide spoiler)] so I’m really curious to see what the conversation they have is and what happens next and hopefully enjoy the mystery!

@Autumn feel free to share some of your thoughts as you go along! I probably will😊 I rarely make notes myself but I always highlight quotes that I think sound great or are poignant moments or ones that really make me laugh! Then I sometimes use those but mostly I remember the book well enough to not need to. Some people take loads of notes which is really dedicated and cool! Kinda makes me feel like I’m studying the book though, like I’d do for school (back in the day) which kinda sucks the fun out of reading for me😂

@Mary oh yeah I can totally see the similarity with Lemony Snicket except maybe not as many jokes/puns. It’s the writing style that makes it feel similar. Formal and long sentences, an old storytelling kind of narrative voice. That’s also what makes it seem like it’s British even though it’s clearly set in America. At least that’s what I think!

@Dea😭 I hope you're feeling better now! It's like that for me when I'm really really sleepy and read at night. Like I'll get through pages but I won't actually comprehend what I'm reading. When that happens there's no point pushing yourself to keep reading. Just rest up and continue it later!

@Deeksha it's never too late to join in with a readathon and wow you read this in a day, no, in half a day? Round of applause everyone! That's so epic wow I wish I could do that! Even if I spent all that time reading (which I have totally done before) I wouldn't be able to start and finish it in that time so well done!

Also pfft tell your family there are worse things to be obsessed with! I totally relate though. My family used to (and still do) say that I read too much, but how much is too much? And I'm happy choosing to read over choosing other things, it's stimulating for the brain and I learn things from what I read. So I conclude that reading is a good hobby to have!
Anyway, are you planning on reading the next book? We're reading it next month!

@Ina I'm glad you're enjoying it! It feels like classic tale kind of dramatic story telling doesn't it?