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Welcome to the final discussion of The Mysterious Benedict Society. 

Did you enjoy the ending of this book? What parts did you think were the best? I think one of the best parts was the scene where Kate realized that she wasn’t an orphan after all. Weren’t you glad at the end of the scene? Were you surprised? I was glad when everyone was able to get their happily ever after at the end. It was great that Sticky’s parents realized the error of their ways and wanted to be reunited with him. Weren’t you glad, too, when Reynie and Mrs. Perumal were able to be together at the end? I think she will be a great parent for Reynie. Do you think Constance will enjoy living with Mr. Benedict? He seems to be patient with her and appreciates who she is, so that bodes well. 

What did you think about Constance in this section? It was nice to finally realize why she was a part of the team. Could you believe she was able to resist in the Whisperer for so long? She was so brave! What did you think about the fact that she was only 2 years old during the book? I was shocked! I guess that explained why she was so grumpy and sleepy all the time! She definitely definitely displayed toddler tendencies throughout the book, but I just didn’t realize that’s why she was the way that she was. 

I was glad when we finally got to see Mr. Curtain’s plan for the world. He wanted to become the Minister and Secretary of all of the Earth’s Regions (M.A.S.T.E.R), and he’s using the Emergency to scare people, and then he’s using his messages to soothe the people. And, he wants to create an amnesia epidemic and will put people who oppose him in The Institute. Did you expect this to be his plan all along? I definitely thought that he was doing something to make sure that he could take over the world. It made sense that he was causing a panic and then was going to provide a solution. I think people have used that tactic to get power and control many times. 

I think Kate was my favorite part of this last section. She was so brave to climb everywhere, and she was so smart to evade detection! What did you think when she was able to lasso the flag tower and send Constance flying through the air? I could not believe that someone so young was able to do so many things. I guess that was her circus training coming through. 

Did you know that Mr. Curtain’s trigger for his sleeping spells was anger? I was so glad when the kids were able to figure that out and use it for their advantage. I don’t think they would have been able to overthrow Mr. Curtain otherwise. At the end of the book, Mr. Curtain escapes, though, so I’m sure that he is not completely defeated. What do you think he’ll be able to do now since the Whisperer is disabled? I’m sure he will figure out something. 

We assume that Mr. Benedict was able to restore everyone’s memories–what do you think the people thought when their memories were restored? I bet they were incredibly confused by everything that had transpired. 

Are you glad you read this book? If you enjoyed The Mysterious Benedict Society and would like to read similar items, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you checked out anything on the list. 

Before you go, check out the video below if you’d like to see the cast of the series talk about some funny moments on set. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3Zl0DJzxms

I hope you’ll be able to join us again next month as we read The Shining. I can’t wait to hear all of your thoughts in the comments!

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Do you feel like you understand more about what’s going on at The Institute after reading this section? At least we understand what messengers do, and we get a brief introduction to the Whispering Gallery.

In this section, Reynie learns that Mr. Curtain hopes to bring about “The Improvement.” He doesn’t specify what that will look like, but he promises to bring happiness to all. He also mentions that he’s going to eventually phase out the Messengers and have Executives. What do you think is going on? Later on in the section, the kids are able to get a look at Mr. Curtain’s journal, and they figure out that Curtain is wanting to gain control–is he wanting control of the whole world? The kids also learn more about his system of “brainsweeping.” I think the idea of brainsweeping is really terrifying. And, it was really sad to me that the long-term side effect of the sweeping was sadness. Could you believe the fact that he thought removing all mirrors would really make sure that no one had their memory triggered? I was first confused about Reynie and Mr. Bloomberg, the man who helped the kids realize that people were getting all of their memories stolen. I thought that Mr. Bloomberg was a character we had met at the beginning of the book, so I kept flipping back and forth to find where he had originally made an appearance. I was glad when Reynie provided the explanation as to how he had known Mr. Bloomberg. What did you think of that part? Did learning about the “brainsweeping” help you understand Milligan better? 

Were you surprised that the kids were able to be so sneaky and were able to read from Mr. Curtain’s journal? I couldn’t believe that they were able to figure out a way to do that. They were sure lucky that Sticky had such a great photographic memory. Can you imagine what it would be like to have that sort of memory? The kids did several sneaky, potentially dangerous things throughout this section. I couldn’t believe when Reynie climbed to look through the gym window, and I couldn’t believe that the kids had the whole cheating scheme to help Kate and Constance get better grades. I was sure they were all going to get in horrible trouble so many times. They were really lucky. Were you nervous for them at all throughout this section? 

At one point, Sticky gets caught cheating and gets sent to the “Waiting Room.” What do you think happened to him there? Why was he so dirty when he came back? That section made me really stressed and sad for Sticky. He was such a nice boy, and I just hated to think that he had been uncomfortable. 

Were you glad when Sticky and Reynie were promoted to Messengers? I was glad to learn more about what was happening at The Institute, but I didn’t like that Reynie and Sticky had to be hooked up to the machine. Were you surprised that Reynie did so much transmitting? Did you understand all that was happening when the kids were transmitting? I kind of thought that Reynie would be able to resist anthing that Mr. Curtain wanted him to do. It was a surprise to me that he transmitted at all. 

Do you have any guesses about what will happen at the end of the book? How are the kids going to get out of the school without being in horrible danger? How are they going to outsmart someone as brilliant as Mr. Curtain? 

Interested to learn more about the author, Trenton Lee Stewart? Check out the video below, then read this article. Doesn’t it seem like he is the perfect person to write stories for children? 

I hope you’re excited to read the next section! Hopefully, the book ends the way you want it to! I’m looking forward to reading your comments about this section!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Mysterious Benedict Society.

Did you enjoy the beginning of the book? I thought it was such a interesting and engaging start to a story! I was so intrigued about the tests and the children. I definitely wanted to keep reading, so I could know more. 

Throughout this section, we meet four very different children, Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance. Wasn’t it interesting to see how each child responded differently to the tests and challenges? I thought it was interesting to see how they each had such a different approach. Do you think you had a character that you enjoyed reading about the most? I loved Kate and her bucket. I loved how she was able to do so many things with the items she kept in there. Why do you think Constance is so different from everyone else? How do you think she will fit with the team? 

Weren’t you so curious about the tests and their purpose? Everything just seemed so random and not like any test I have ever experienced. Do you think you would have made it across the floor without touching a blue or black square? What about the written test? I definitely don’t think I would have been able to make it through the house without getting lost. Check out the video below to see how the kids navigated the room test in the Disney + adaptation. 

What do you think of Mr. Benedict? I think I don’t really understand what the Emergency is. He explains that people are receiving messages unconsciously, and this is causing a panic, but I don’t really understand all the specifics. Near the end of this first section, we realize that Mr. Benedict and Mr. Curtain at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened are twins. Was that a surprise? Why do you think Mr. Benedict is good, but Mr. Curtain is evil? 

Do you think it was wise that Mr. Benedict sent four children away to be secret agents? I know they know morse code and aren’t supposed to do dangerous things, but still, it’s hard to imagine sending children into a potentially harmful place. What do you think of The Institute? It’s such a weird place. There aren’t a lot of rules, but you can tell that kids are supposed to do things in certains ways. The Messengers seem to have a lot of power, and the classes seem very odd. Do you think the kids have a good plan in place? Do you think it’s wise to want to become Messengers? Will that allow them to figure out all of the secrets of the place? 

What do you think will happen in the next section? Are you excited to get some more answers about all of the mysterious elements? 

Thanks for checking the blog this week! I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the first section! Make sure to read the next 13 chapters for next week. 

Welcome to Week 1 of the Online Book Club discussion of The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. 

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

The Mysterious Benedict Society is an adventurous story about four children who are recruited into a secret society. Their mission is to infiltrate a school for gifted children to try to stop an emergency from taking over the world. Can four children really help to save the world? 

When I picked this book for the Online Book club, there was a series version on Disney+. However, it appears to have been taken down. Check the trailer above to see what the series was like and cross your fingers that it shows back up online or in DVD form! 

We’ll read the first 13 chapters for next week, so make sure to read those before checking the next blog post! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Welcome to Week 4 of the Online Book Club discussion of Killing Floor.

Did you enjoy the end of the book? Did it finish like you thought it would? The book definitely kept me reading until the very last pages! I couldn’t believe how much action there was right until the very end. 

I think I was surprised by how much violence there was in this last section. It was almost too much for me to read. The scene where Jack sneaks up on the five men and kills them one by one was chilling. I think it was even more chilling because he was using that sap weapon thing. I had never heard of such a weapon, and I honestly could not believe that a weapon like that could inflict so much damage. I also couldn’t believe how cold and detached Jack was able to be. I know the men he attacked were really bad people, but he took them out like they weren’t human beings. It was really hard for me to read that chapter. Did you struggle, too? If you’re curious about what a sap is, check out this article. I really can’t believe that this kind of weapon could do so many horrible things. 

What was the most shocking betrayal in this section? The fact that Baker, the police officer had been working with Teale all along and had been passing along information from Jack and his gang or the fact that Picard was in on the whole deal and was not, in fact, holding Charlie at a safe house? I really couldn’t believe that Picard was in on all of this. It seemed so incredibly random that he was involved. I didn’t see that coming at all. Did you? I also couldn’t believe how hard it was for Jack to kill Picard. He seemed invicible. I about fell over when he showed up at the warehouse at the end, all bloody and gross. That was crazy to me. It reminded me of Aaron in the The Knife of Never Letting Go. He kept showing up, even after it seemed like he had been mortally wounded. 

Jack is eventually able to figure out the whole counterfeiting scheme by looking at Hubble’s bookshelves. I actually had a hunch that they were using 1 dollar bills as the paper for their fake money. It just seemed to fit with Hubbles old job at the bank. And, it makes sense to use money as paper when they were unable to buy any new paper. I was glad when we finally figured out what “Pluribus” was all about. It made sense once we realized “Pluribus” went with “E Unum Pluribus” or “Out of One Comes Many.” I thought that was actually pretty clever. Out of the one dollar bills came a lot of money. 

Were you shocked that Hubble was alive? I didn’t think he had the wits or bravery to be on the run, but it looks like I was wrong. I was glad for him and his wife that he was ok. And, he kind of redeemed himself at the end when he used his car as a battering ram. That ended up being pretty helpful. What do you think Hubble will do after the book is finished? What is life like after a person experiences such trauma? I can’t even imagine going back to regular life. 

Are you surprised that everyone in the main protagonist group made it to the end of the book? The warehouse scene at the end was pretty touch and go. I thought Roscoe or Jack or Finlay could have been killed at any moment. I was glad that the kids were taken to safety right at the beginning of that scene because I don’t think I could have handled them being a part of the violence. That would have been really hard to read. 

I still can’t believe that Jack walked away from all of his misdeeds without any consequences. I just can’t imagine that there isn’t even one person who would be curious about all that he did. But, he’s a professional, so I guess I have to trust that he knew what he was doing when he covered up all of the evidence. Do you think it’s realistic that he could just leave the town without having anyone question him? 

Do you think you’ll read any more Jack Reacher books? Did you enjoy the story? Do you like Jack Reacher as a character? If you liked this book and are interested in reading and watching similar titles, check out this list I created. Make sure to let me know if you check out anything on the list! 

Before you go, check out this interview with author, Lee Child. I really enjoyed what he had to say about Jack Reacher as a character. 

Thanks for joining us this month! I hope you’ll leave a comment to let me know how the end of the book treated you! Make sure to join us again next month as we read The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. 

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Killing Floor by Lee Child. 

I did not enjoy the way this section started. The murder of Chief Morrison and his wife was incredibly violent and gruesome, and I did not enjoy reading about it. Were you able to read about his murder scene, or did you skim over all of the details? 

After Chief Morrison is murdered, the town has to decide who the new chief is going to be. It seems like it should be someone who is already in the police department, but no, the new chief is going to be the mayor, Teale. That’s suspicious, right? Why would he want to be the mayor and the chief of police? Is he hiding something? 

What do you think is really going on with Hubble? Reacher is convinced he’s dead, but no one else seems convinced. Charlie, his wife, wants to hire Jack to investigate. Weren’t you relieved when Charlie and her kids were moved to a safe house? I hope they are able to stay safe and out of the clutches of the evil people in the town. 

Roscoe’s house was broken into, and it seems like the killers were hoping to kill Roscoe and Jack in the same manner they murdered the chief and his wife. Do you think Jack could have kept them safe if they had been home when the attackers came? He’s an incredible fighter, but I don’t know if he could have fought off four attackers in the middle of the night. 

We realize, throughout this section, that there’s something going on with counterfeit money. Jack’s brother was investigating a special project with the Treasury Department and was looking into international counterfeiting. What do you think is really going on? Molly Beth Gordon reassures Jack several times that there isn’t printing of fake money in the United States anymore because John Reacher took control of all of the sales of the ink and paper needed to do the printing. So, then, what kind of operation could be going on? We find out that Hubble was laid off from his bank job over a year ago, but when he worked at the bank, he was responsible for tracking down cash. How is he using those skills and expertise to help with the illegal activity that’s going on in the town? We realize, by the end of the section, that the Kliner Foundation is a hoax, and there has to be some sort of money moving happening, but I really don’t understand exactly what’s going on. Do you think you understand all of the illegal activity going on in the town? 

It was really sad when Molly Beth Gordon was killed in the airport. It seemed like her death would stop the investigation, but Jack was able to keep going by using the computer print out in his brother’s shoe. And, they used the files from the former police chief, who now, appears to not have killed himself and was instead murdered. How are all of the details going to come together? 

At the end of this section, Roscoe goes with Picard to the safe house. And, Jack is ready to finish up this case. Do you think he’ll be able to solve the case before anyone else gets killed? Do you think Jack is ever going to have to face any consequences for the killing he’s been doing? Again, it’s really weird to read a book in which the protagonist is willingly killing people. 

Check out the video below if you want to learn more about the actors who play Roscoe and Jack Reacher in the series adaptation on Amazon Prime!

I hope you’re excited to finish the book for next week! I can’t wait to hear from you in the comments!

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Killing Floor by Lee Child. 

This book sure started with a bang, didn’t it? What a way to start a story! The book started with so many questions–Jack Reacher is such a mysterious character! 

Why in the world did the police force look at Jack for the murders when he just got in to town? Did you notice at the end of the first chapter that Jack thinks to himself that he’s never been to the town before and he hasn’t killed anyone…recently. That made me pause. It’s not often that characters say from the get-go that they have killed before. I have to admit that I was suspicious of Jack at the beginning of the book. He stayed completely silent in front of the police, and I just didn’t trust that he wasn’t hiding something big. It was weird to me that he didn’t want a lawyer when he was questioned by the police initially, and I didn’t understand why he didn’t have any form of I.D. on him. It all just seemed too suspicious. 

What did you think once Jack revealed some details about himself? He explains that he used to be in the military, he used to be Military Police, and he used to do homicide investigations at his old job. Did you start to trust Jack once he divulged those details? I felt a little more confident in him at that point, but I still couldn’t understand why he came to the town in the first place, and I didn’t understand why he would want to walk the roads alone. 

From the beginning of the book, it seemed like the Chief of police in Margrave had it out for Jack. When Jack is brought in for questioning, the Chief says that he saw Jack at the warehouse. How could he have seen Jack there? Doesn’t it almost seem like the chief wants Jack to be charged with the murder, whether or not he actually did it? It’s like he just wants to tie up loose ends and move on. Why would he want that? 

What did you think once Hubble entered the story? He seemed like a nervous wreck–why in the world would he confess to the murder? Didn’t you just feel his despair once the pair was sent to prison? I couldn’t understand why they both had to go to prison, even though Hubble was the only one to confess. I hoped their prison experience would be bearable, but, of course, it wasn’t. Could you even believe how bloody and violent the prison chapters were? I did not enjoy reading them. There was the fight in the cell and then the horrible fight in the bathroom. Why did those prisoners target Jack in the bathroom? Why did Spivey mess up the orders and put them on that dangerous floor? 

I couldn’t believe that Jack didn’t face any reprucussions for killing one man and blinding another in jail. Did you think that seemed realistic? Later, at the end of this section, we realize that Jack was attacked in the bathroom because he was the one wearing glasses, not Hubble. It made more sense to me that someone would want to attack Hubble in prison since Jack didn’t really know anyone in the town. 

Were you shocked when you realized that the investigator that was killed was Jack’s brother? I was shocked. I felt sorry for Jack that he had to find out in such a callous way. He didn’t really have time to process the information privately. That made me feel sorry for him. 

At the end of the section, we believe that Hubble has been killed, but then we find out that it’s actually Chief Morrison. Did that surprise you? Where do you think Hubble is? Do you think the police will be able to keep Hubble’s family safe? 

What’s the deal with the town? Why is it so nice? And, why are the Kliner’s so suspicious? The Kliner son seems like a really unsavory character. Do you think they have something to do with what’s going on in the town? I just don’t understand why this little town in Georgia is so nice. And, I don’t understand why Jack’s brother from the Treasury Department would be in the town. Do you have any ideas about what’s really going on? 

Are you curious about Lee Child and the reason he began writing the Jack Reacher series? Check out the video below to learn more about the series and the author. 

 I hope you enjoyed this section and are excited to keep reading! I hope to hear from you in the comments section, and I hope you’re able to read the next 11 chapters for next week. 

Welcome to Week 1 of the Online Book Club discussion of Killing Floor by Lee Child.

The Online Book Club, if you’ve never joined us before, is a book discussion group that takes place entirely online. Each week, I write a new blog post that talks about different aspects of the book, and you can interact directly with me and other readers by leaving your comments. Check back each week and see what new topics we’re talking about.

Killing Floor is the first Jack Reacher novel and introduces the character to readers. After leaving the military, Jack Reacher decides to travel around the United States, reveling in his new freedom. However, at one random stop, he is arrested for murder, and slowly, he begins to discover that this sleepy, small town isn’t all that it seems. This book is full of action and adventure–you’ll have a hard time putting the book down as soon as you start!

If you want to follow along with us but you aren’t interested in reading the book, you can always watch Reacher , the television series, or the movies starring Tom Cruise. Check out the trailer above for the television adaptation if you want to get a feel for the series. Feel free to still leave comments on the blog posts, even if you’re only watching the series and not reading the book.

We’ll read the first 11 chapters for next week, so make sure to read those before checking the next blog post! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts in the comments!