The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, Little, Brown and Company, 1976. Genre: Mystery novel.
The Mysterious Benedict Society is a novel that is very intriguing and interesting. I would say that there are a lot of big characters but the main protagonist is a boy named Reynie Muldoon. The setting is a city called Stonetown near a port called Stonetown Harbor. The conflict is that an evil genius is trying to take over the world by brainwashing people's minds. Four kids try to stop him by going to an institute which the evil man owns in order to get close to him and find out what he's up to.. The whole book is about trying to stop him and save the world from being brainwashed.
The people from Booklist say, “Like the Potter books, his story goes beyond mere adventures, delving into serious issues.” I agree with Booklist because when I read this book, I couldn't put it down and I would always have to read one more chapter. This book is like the Harry Potter series because both make you want to read another chapter or page. Then you always hate when the book ends.
Reynie Muldoon took three consecutive tests in Stonetown and aced all of them. The trick to each test was that you didn't really need to know the answer, you needed to find a pattern in the test. Reynie meets three other people who passed the tests, and they become really good friends. One of these friends, however, is really stubborn, which comes in handy at the end. All four friends go to this Institute run by an evil genius to try to stop him from taking over the world. This story reminds me of Nancy Drew books because they're both mysterious and her clues are usually patterns just like these clues. The writing in The Mysterious Benedict Society is in third person omniscient because the author knows what's going on in everyone's mind.
A quote that gives a sense of the writing style is on page 338, “The wall swung closed behind them, and immediately a light came on overhead.” This tells you that there are a lot of secret things happening in the book because usually a door would open, but in this case, the wall does. It also indicates that the place they're in is very high tech because the lights turn on automatically. This shows that the man who owns the institute must be smart in order for the lights to work this way. This quote might grab readers who are interested and like mystery books.
I really like this book because some of it is scary, funny and very interesting. I like any kind of mystery, but ones that make you figure out patterns are especially cool. I also like how the author develops everything in the story and has really good diction. He uses rich vocabulary and even includes Morse code so that you learn along with the characters. Since Trenton Lee Stewart is such a good writer I'm going to read the next book in the series. It's called the Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. I hope it's as good as the first one.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
The band cell
The band cell RoseDennis
10/1/08
B block
Ever wish that you could be a billionaire and own a mansion with a pool and many cars? Well only an extremely tiny fraction of the people in the world are billionaires and it's very hard to become one so good luck succeding. Even though we can't buy a great amount of things that are really valuable and expensive, we still have the things that have much value to us. This might be a stuffed animal, a poster, or even something really old that will crumple if anyone touches it. These are the poeple who can't be filthy rich valuables. Now you might be asking yourself right now, “What's the most valuable thing to me?”
My most valuable thing that I could buy is my cell phone that I just got for 8th grade graduation. It's very special to me because it's my first one and it's a new level of responsibility that I have to take on. My mom picked it out for me but I did give her hints. My parents tried to keep it a secret but I could tell something was up. It's a green Rumor that slides upwards to reveal a keyboard. My mom got me an awesome plan that has unlimited texting and good minutes. I charge my phone every night when I go to bed and keep it off until the next day when school is over. I text a lot of people everyday and call someone at least 5 times a week. There is a website where you can see how many texts you have so far in the month. Last month I had 1,546 texts! I have already figured out all the gadgets and gizmos on it. I know how to use the camera really well and I can even play demos of games(mostly tetris) that they want me to buy.
I pick up the lime green rectangle and throw it up in the air and... whoops! I missed. It only has a microscopic sratch so no one will notice. I do this repeatedly waiting for someone to answer. Finally someone texts back and I know it's Marissa because her ring tone is blasting from the speaker. I put it on level 5 for the volume because I was playing my drum set downstairs. I have just asked her if she's going to band and she said yes. For me, one conversation with her usually uses up about 20 of my texts. I'm not aloud to text during dinner so I find time for it usually before dinner. When I'm done with my conversation with Marissa I start to play Tetris. Tetris is a game on my phone that I don't really have so I can't play forever but I do have the demo. I get 14 pieces until my demo is over and then I usually press the exit button and start a new game of it. I have other games on there but Tetris is more fun than poker, pac man, tornado mania, and pool.
I can also use the phone for family reasons such as calling my mom to pick me up after practice. I even taught my mom how to text. She has gotten pretty good but I'm still much faster than her. I also use the calendar in it so I won't forget any of my relative's birthdays. I take my phone every where I go including band competitions. After we have performed and the judges announced the scores, I text my mom and tell her how we did. On the bus, I call my parents to let them know when I'll be back in the high school parking lot. My phone is very valuable to me because I can use it anytime I want except at school. It also connects me to the most valuable thing that I can experience which are my band competitions.
Our South Hadley marching band travels to different schools in New England almost every weekend to compete against other bands. Each year our show has a theme and this year it's witches and warlocks. So far we have won every competition! I play the marimba, vibraphone, bells, and chimes in the pit. We don't have to march but we do have to make sure that everything we need is in the Penske Pit Truck before we leave and we have to memorize all our music.
Band competitions are really fun because you get to play all your songs and hang out with your friends. After I perform I load the pit truck, with the three other people in pit, so it can take all the equipment back to the high school. Then we catch up with the rest of the band who are in the stands. Every place we go, they have food and beverages that we buy. One place even invented a food that's called the walking taco. It is fritos, chili, and cheese in a fritos bag. It's really good. We bring our band jackets because it's usually cold at night because we perform in October and November.
I love all the tension in the air when the judges are about to announce our division and what place we got. The last three competitions we got first, best percussion, guard, music, and visual effect. The pit doesn't have shakos(hats) that the marchers wear so people on the bus french braid our hair to make us look nice.
Both my cell phone and the band competitions are suspenseful to me because with each one you are waiting for someone to say something. When I'm texting I wait for someone to text back and at the band competitions I'm waiting to hear what we got from the judges. They are also very different because one I can hold and one I can only capture the moment when it happens. My cell phone has a price for it and it's the most expensive thing that I own but the competition is priceless to me. My cell phone helps me communicate with others. I value both things a lot and it would be hard for me to live without any one of them. As you can see, I have two valuable things that I can't live without. What's the most valuable thing to you?
10/1/08
B block
Ever wish that you could be a billionaire and own a mansion with a pool and many cars? Well only an extremely tiny fraction of the people in the world are billionaires and it's very hard to become one so good luck succeding. Even though we can't buy a great amount of things that are really valuable and expensive, we still have the things that have much value to us. This might be a stuffed animal, a poster, or even something really old that will crumple if anyone touches it. These are the poeple who can't be filthy rich valuables. Now you might be asking yourself right now, “What's the most valuable thing to me?”
My most valuable thing that I could buy is my cell phone that I just got for 8th grade graduation. It's very special to me because it's my first one and it's a new level of responsibility that I have to take on. My mom picked it out for me but I did give her hints. My parents tried to keep it a secret but I could tell something was up. It's a green Rumor that slides upwards to reveal a keyboard. My mom got me an awesome plan that has unlimited texting and good minutes. I charge my phone every night when I go to bed and keep it off until the next day when school is over. I text a lot of people everyday and call someone at least 5 times a week. There is a website where you can see how many texts you have so far in the month. Last month I had 1,546 texts! I have already figured out all the gadgets and gizmos on it. I know how to use the camera really well and I can even play demos of games(mostly tetris) that they want me to buy.
I pick up the lime green rectangle and throw it up in the air and... whoops! I missed. It only has a microscopic sratch so no one will notice. I do this repeatedly waiting for someone to answer. Finally someone texts back and I know it's Marissa because her ring tone is blasting from the speaker. I put it on level 5 for the volume because I was playing my drum set downstairs. I have just asked her if she's going to band and she said yes. For me, one conversation with her usually uses up about 20 of my texts. I'm not aloud to text during dinner so I find time for it usually before dinner. When I'm done with my conversation with Marissa I start to play Tetris. Tetris is a game on my phone that I don't really have so I can't play forever but I do have the demo. I get 14 pieces until my demo is over and then I usually press the exit button and start a new game of it. I have other games on there but Tetris is more fun than poker, pac man, tornado mania, and pool.
I can also use the phone for family reasons such as calling my mom to pick me up after practice. I even taught my mom how to text. She has gotten pretty good but I'm still much faster than her. I also use the calendar in it so I won't forget any of my relative's birthdays. I take my phone every where I go including band competitions. After we have performed and the judges announced the scores, I text my mom and tell her how we did. On the bus, I call my parents to let them know when I'll be back in the high school parking lot. My phone is very valuable to me because I can use it anytime I want except at school. It also connects me to the most valuable thing that I can experience which are my band competitions.
Our South Hadley marching band travels to different schools in New England almost every weekend to compete against other bands. Each year our show has a theme and this year it's witches and warlocks. So far we have won every competition! I play the marimba, vibraphone, bells, and chimes in the pit. We don't have to march but we do have to make sure that everything we need is in the Penske Pit Truck before we leave and we have to memorize all our music.
Band competitions are really fun because you get to play all your songs and hang out with your friends. After I perform I load the pit truck, with the three other people in pit, so it can take all the equipment back to the high school. Then we catch up with the rest of the band who are in the stands. Every place we go, they have food and beverages that we buy. One place even invented a food that's called the walking taco. It is fritos, chili, and cheese in a fritos bag. It's really good. We bring our band jackets because it's usually cold at night because we perform in October and November.
I love all the tension in the air when the judges are about to announce our division and what place we got. The last three competitions we got first, best percussion, guard, music, and visual effect. The pit doesn't have shakos(hats) that the marchers wear so people on the bus french braid our hair to make us look nice.
Both my cell phone and the band competitions are suspenseful to me because with each one you are waiting for someone to say something. When I'm texting I wait for someone to text back and at the band competitions I'm waiting to hear what we got from the judges. They are also very different because one I can hold and one I can only capture the moment when it happens. My cell phone has a price for it and it's the most expensive thing that I own but the competition is priceless to me. My cell phone helps me communicate with others. I value both things a lot and it would be hard for me to live without any one of them. As you can see, I have two valuable things that I can't live without. What's the most valuable thing to you?
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