18. 12/7/09 The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey by Trenton Lee Stewart (440 pages)

I read the ARC of the first book in this series before it came out, and it was a decent read of the Harry Potter school (although it really had more in common with a Series of Unfortunate Events); there was a happy ending and the kids had personalities. The second didn't blow my mind, it was too much like the first one, and I'm not sure there was any character development at all. The four children struck off on their own and used their wits and ingenuity to thwart the bad guy and rescue the adults. Ta da! The series is ok, but I prefer Artemis Fowl or Percy Jackson.