Why all the commotion? Because a misunderstood mastermind, Mr. Benedict needs some kids to go to a school because Mr. Curtain, who owns the school is trying to brainwash people. But it's more complicated then that, he's using televisions and radios to do it, making some people hear voices and act different. Eventually, he'll be able to control the world. The only problem is that no one believes Mr. Benedict, so he decides to send the children out to the school as spies.
Good Points: The characters all support each other, they even make an attempt to support Constance who seems to always be tired, cranky, annoyed and/or feisty. *SPOILER ALERT!* It turns out that she's actually just a two-year-old, which accounts for most of it. *END OF SPOILER*. Reynie is told by Mr. Benedict that he is a leader, and he tried to live up to that role even though it's hard for him. One of Mr. Benedict's workers, Miligan, though his mind is already emptied by Mr. Curtain, still tries to save the children and is very brave. *SPOILER ALERT!* It's revealed that he is actually Kate's father. *END OF SPOILER*. All the characters try to do the right thing, even though it's obvious that they are tempted to do otherwise. They would all die for each other if necessary. In addition, they are all orphans or runaways and they find family in each other and in Mr. Benedict and his workers, it shows that you don't have to be related to someone to be family.
Bad Points: There really isn't much bad to say about this book. One of the 'executives' who attends the school and works for Mr. Curtain is subject to a lot of harsh teasing. There are a lot of people in the school who are very rude to the kids. As a punishment for some things, the kids who attend the school have to go to The Waiting Room, which is a place that traumatizes the people who go there. It seems to be little more then a long, dark mud bath. The four kids end up cheating to try to get promoted to find things out for Mr. Benedict.
Other Notes: This book is well written, it took me a couple tries to get into it, but I did eventually. The only problem I have in terms of the plot is that it seems like the author was drawing it out a little bit. The book is 485 pages long, I think that some of it could have been cut out without altering the outcome of the book. The writing style is interesting, inside the book it says that it's similar to Roald Dahl (Charlie and the Choclate Factory), Blue Balliat (Chasing Vermeer), Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortuate Events) and J.K Rowling (Harry Potter). Surprisingly enough, I've read books from all those authors. I can't say that I fully agree of disagree with the statement, I don't think the writing is as quirky, but I did enjoy it. The characters themselves were a little bit flat, it might be because it's the first book in the series, I had the same impression with A Series of Unfortunate Events, but by the end I loved them.
Conclusion: I would give this book **** (4) out of ***** (5) stars. I will definitely be reading the rest of the books, because now I'm interested in it. I would say that the age groups for reading aloud is any age, the story isn't hard to follow and the words aren't too difficult. If you wanted to read it alone I would say probably 8 and up, because it's a long book and can get slow in parts.
If you want to find out the ending, go read the rest of the book!
My dad was actually the first one in my family to read this book and he loved it! :D
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