The Mysterious Benedict Society (by Trenton Lee Stewart)

They are sent to a boarding school on an island, The Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened, to find out all they can about the school's director, Ledroptha Curtain. Posing as students, they discover his plan to take over the world using mind control. But in his carefully controlled island fortress, stopping him seems impossible, even for four very gifted children.

In the post-J.K. Rowling age, many children's authors and editors have lost their sense of proportion. At nearly 500 pages, THE MYSTERIOUS BENEDICT SOCIETY would have been a much better book at half the size. Ignoring the issue of its length, though, and the long draggy sections that could have been omitted, this is a clever and suspenseful story. Cross Lemony Snicket with Blue Balliett and you'll have a good idea of the tone: a code- and puzzle- filled mystery wrapped in an over-the-top melodrama.

Every character is delightfully eccentric, there are plenty of twists and turns, and underlying it all is a wicked but understated sense of humor. Reluctant readers will be put off by its size and uneven pacing, but bright, avid readers will love it.