Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?

Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities... or a not-so-gifted adult looking for a special book?

Brilliantly written by Trenton Lee Stewart and graced with adorable artwork by Carson Ellis (in fact, it was the illustration on the front cover that initially caught my attention), The Mysterious Benedict Society is the first children's book that I have ever read in my adult life.

The writing on the back of the book reads:
"Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?" When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission that only the most intelligent and resourceful children could complete. With their new-found friendship at stake, will they be able to pass the most important test of all? Welcome to the Mysterious Benedict Society.

A rip-roaring tale of adventure from the get-go, four children of seemingly different backgrounds were brought together by a series of tests conjured by an enigmatic and an equally gifted Mr Benedict, only later to find themselves hanging on to each other in an unexpected mission to save the world!

For a child, the book is a reminder of the virtues of loyalty, true friendship, trust, self belief, and selflessness, among others. And for everyone else, it also delves into the deeper issues of racial tolerance, gender equality and respect for other people.

I enjoyed it so much so that I already bought the other sequels except the new one, The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (I'm waiting for the paperback to come out, hehe) for future reading. A good read indeed!