**I share a blog with my friend Katie (KatieMarie on here, although she NEVER POSTS! hint!) where we post music, book and movie reviews, and every Wednesday a poem by a teen! Please contact me if you're interested, btw. hannah W. and paperpoet have both been featured. :) I digress. Here are two book reviews I wrote for the blog that I thought I'd share here.**

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities?

    Reynie, Kate, Sticky and Constance –four incredibly gifted children who answer the above ad in the newspaper– have no idea that the "special opportunities" are to be secret agents at a special school. Mr. Benedict, the man whose advertisement it was that brought them together, has found out that strange messages are being planted in people's minds all over the world. Few know it, but these messages are causing political and economical chaos everywhere. And Mr. Benedict has discovered the location of the sender of the messages. The villain is the founder and director of L.I.V.E.: Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. The children are sent to the school as newly enrolled students, and they quickly discover all sorts of strange things. For one thing, at this school, there are no rules and many rules; especially good students become "Messengers", but no one knows what the Messengers really do, and strangest of all: Mr. Curtain (the Sender) looks just like Mr. Benedict!

    This is The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Well-written and creative, it's a wonderful adventure with endearing characters, villains you love to hate, great brainteasers and no small amount of danger! Not only is it great fun, it touches on deeper subjects as well; fear, self-doubt, friendship and family, courage, and integrity. I highly recommend this book to absolutely anyone. Good luck trying to put it down.

    Just as excellent is its sequel, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey. Mr. Benedict has been taken captive! And the children must embark on a path of clues that takes them overseas to Europe to find him. And don't forget the latest chronicle of the Society's adventures, The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma. I only recently found out about it, and now I can't wait to get my hands on it!
All considered, it's 6 stars out of 5 for The Mysterious Benedict Society!

Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange

   It is a truth universally acknowledged that Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is one of the most fawned over fictional men in the history of literature. I'll admit to having done my own fair bit of swooning. But there are such gaps in Pride and Prejudice where we hear nothing of him. Have you ever wondered what he was up to during those times? Ever wanted to have a peek at what was going on in his head, and more importantly, in his heart?

   Now you can, thanks to Amanda Grange and her wonderful book Mr. Darcy's Diary. It really is his diary, and in it everything is revealed. It begins the summer before Bingley takes Netherfield, and ends a few months into his marriage to Lizzy. It is accurate, often with lines taken directly from P&P. Miss Grange knows the characters inside and out; every piece of dialogue is precisely how I think Jane Austen would have wanted it. We come to know the Bingleys better, as well as Georgiana Darcy. Darcy's intervention in the Wickham and Lydia problem is explained in full detail. And of course, Miss Elizabeth Bennet is ever present in his thoughts. All his struggles and feelings are there, beautifully laid out on paper right in front of you. Probably the part most worth getting excited about is the last few chapters, where we get to see a bit of Lizzy and Darcy after they're married; and let me tell you, they make an adorable couple.

    This book is a must-have for every fan of Jane Austen. It really is perfect; it made me love Mr. Darcy even more, if that's possible. I also loved getting to know Mr. Bingley better. Mr. Darcy's Diary is officially one of my all-time favorite books, and I highly recommend it to anybody, provided they're familiar with P&P.
I think if Jane were alive today she'd applaud Amanda Grange on a job very well done. For this reason, it has a place of honor in my bookcase right next to it's parent book, Pride and Prejudice.