The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

While this book is more clearly a children's book than others I've been reading lately, it offers a delightful story that I know I would have loved as a child. Four children, who, for various reasons, find themselves alone, answer an ad in a newspaper, and, after passing a series of tests, begin spying to thwart an evil man from taking over the world by brainwashing its people and making them think that there's an Emergency. The dystopia plot lines fell a little flat for me, but I loved watching the children's ingenuity as they solved problems, worked together, and learned to be a team and a family of their own. I am looking forward to reading the next books in this series.