Trenton Lee Stewart Quotes

We've searched our database for all the quotes and captions related to Trenton Lee Stewart. Here they are! All 100 of them:

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You must remember, family is often born of blood, but it doesn't depend on blood. Nor is it exclusive of friendship. Family members can be your best friends, you know. And best friends, whether or not they are related to you, can be your family.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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May your adventures bring you closer together, even as they take you far away from home.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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Rules and school are tools for fools! I don't give two mules for rules.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Oh, here’s a clever one. Do you remember this question from the first test? It reads, β€˜What’s wrong with this statement?’ And do you know what Constance wrote in reply? She wrote, β€˜What’s wrong with you?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Is this what family is like: the feeling that everyone’s connected, that with one piece missing, the whole thing’s broken?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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And please don't call me that." I didn't call you 'that', I called you George Washington.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Every great thinker keeps a journal, you know.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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The missing aren't missing, they're only departed, All minds keep all thoughts - so like gold - closely guarded,
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Children are capable of such open rudeness.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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One problem with being a leader, is that even among your friends you are alone, for it is you -- and you alone -- to whom the others look for final guidance.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Now listen, we need to be quiet as mice. No, quieter than that. As quiet as . . . as . . .” β€œDead mice?” Reynie suggested. β€œPerfect,” said Kate with an approving nod. β€œAs quiet as dead mice.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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Poor Kate,” said Constance, β€œshe’s lost her marbles.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Remember, children. For every exit, there is also an entrance. ~ Milligan, The Mysterious Benedict Society
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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Grow the lawn and mow the lawn always keep the TV on, brush your teeth and kill the germs, poison apples, poison worms.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Why, then, do you think the white player might have done it?” Reynie considered. He imagined himself moving out his knight only to bring it right back to where it started. Why would he ever do such a thing? At last he said, β€œPerhaps because he doubted himself.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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What is life without laughter?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Daddy, will you take me to the mill, again?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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The gym is always open, except when it's closed.
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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Reynie's fce fell. 'It's not funny, Kate.' For a moment - a fleeting moment - Kate looked desperately sad. 'Well, of course it's not funny, Reynie Muldoon. But what do you want me to do? Cry?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Remember the White Knight.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Was it worse for him, Reynie wondered, to have felt loved and then rejected? Or was it worse to have always felt alone?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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She announced her age right away, for children consider their ages every bit as important as their names.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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You've read half the books in this house? This whole house?" "Well, approximately half." Sticky said. "To be more accurate, I suppose I've read more like" - his eyes went up as he calculated - "three sevenths? Yes, three sevenths." "Only three sevenths?" said Kate, pretending to look disappointed. "And here I was prepared to be impressed.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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The answer to this riddle has a hole in the middle, And some have been known to fall in it. In tennis it's nothing, but it can be received, And sometimes a person may win it. Though not seen or heard it may be perceived, Like princes or bees it's in clover. The answer to this riddle has a hole in the middle, And without it one cannot start over.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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She was a thin woman in a mustard-yellow suit, with a yellowish complexion, short-cropped rusty red hair, and a stiff posture. She reminded Reynie of a giant walking pencil.
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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I hope you haven't given up on the S.Q.'s of the world, Reynie. As you see, there are a great many sheep in wolves' clothing. If not for S.Q.'s good nature, we'd never have escaped.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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Everything is as it should be.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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For every exit, there is also an entrance.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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'Is that really the best you can say? An average-looking boy? An awful lot of boys are average-looking, S.Q.!' And poor S.Q., he just kept arguing that 'this boy was especially average-looking.' " ~ Kate Wetherall, The Mysterious Benedict Society
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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Milligan! Come and tell us why you're so dreadfully glum!" ~ Constance, The Mysterious Benedict Society
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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I can't say for sure, because I have no experience, but -- well, is this what family is like? The feeling that everyone's connected, that with one piece missing the whole thing's broken?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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They stared out their window at night enough to know where the darkest shadows lay, and it was to the darkest shadows they kept.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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No one seems to realize how much we are driven by FEAR, the essential component of human personality. Everything else - from ambition to love to despair - derives in some way from this single powerful emotion.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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I'm an orphan!" Constance cried gleefully. "I'm an orphan!" ~ The Prisoner's Dilemma
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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Good grief! They're going to call us inside soon, and Sticky hasn't even met Madge yet!" "Who's Madge?" Sticky asked. "Her Majesty the Queen!
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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You know what i like about buttons? They're very small things that hold bigger things together. Awfully important, buttons - little but strong.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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Books had been her means of escape; now they would be her refuge.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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Au contraire..." "What?" Constance demanded. Curtain blinked. ~ The Perilous Journey
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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Kate seemed to have doubled in size. She had drawn back her broad shoulders and set her jaw, and something in the stance called to mind the contained ferocity of a lioness. But it was the fierceness in Kate's bright blue eyes that had the most striking effect. The sort of look that made you thankful she wasn't your enemy. "It's not going to be over," Kate said firmly "Until we say so.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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Don't thank me,' Mr. Curtain called as the door slid closed. 'Impress me!
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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If we're just trying to be accurate, then how about 'The Doomed to Fail Bunch'?" said Constance. "Honestly! We can't even name ourselves.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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You are the smartest children i know. You just don't beleive it.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Did the men steal the papers?" Reynie asked, fearing her response. No, because they are fools," Sophie said bitterly. "They demanded to see the papers, and when I did not answer fast enough -- they were very frightening, you see -- they hurt me so that I was not awake. . . . When I opened my eyes they were still trying to find the papers. They did not understand how we organize the library, you see. They were angry and creating a bad mess. . . . The police were coming and the men decided they must leave. I shouted at them as they left: 'It is a free and public library! All you had to do was ask!
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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I've only just arrived, Kate. It may surprise you to learn that you were my top priority.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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It just supports my personal opinion that he's a wacko
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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Listen, just do what you think is right, and we'll support it." ~ Sticky Washington, The Prisoner's Dilemma
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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So what's your team called?" asked Kate, twisting her legs into a pretzel-like configuration, "We're called the Winmates because we're inmates who win." Kate looked back and forth at Reynie and Constance, searching their expression for signs of delight. "You gave yourselves a name?" asked Constance. Now it was Kate's turn to be baffled. "You didn't? How can you have a team without a name?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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Something about this made Reynie uneasy. Had he done so badly? Was this meant to test his courage? He did as he was told, closing his eyes and bracing himself as best he could. "Why are you flinching?" the pencil woman asked. "I don't know. I thought maybe you were going to slap me." "Don't be ridiculous. I could slap you perfectly well with your eyes open. I'm only going to blindfold you.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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At this, Constance sat down on a rock and covered her face. She seemed smaller than ever now - so small the harbor breeze might catch her up like a scrap of paper and carry her away, carry her into nowhere.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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So began one of the fiercest and strangest battles ever fought, a battle that involved all manner of business supplies, elegant clothing and accessories, and no shortage of trickery and taunts.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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It's not going to be over until we say so.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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In other words, you are our last possible hope. You are our only hope.
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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…I see that something’s are hard to do, but that you can’t live with yourself if you don’t do them. I see that the best way to help myself is to help the people I care about. The rest will sort itself out. It has to, right?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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There are empty rooms, and then there are rooms that feel crowded, corner to corner, with absence.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #4))
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Even if he did explain it, no one would believe him because no one would understand him. That's the downside to being a genius - just because you understand something doesn't mean anyone else will.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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There’s a difference between remembering and thinking,
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society)
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No sooner had he thought this than he realized what was anchoring his happiness. It was purpose. He knew what he wanted to do. He knew the way he thought things should be, and Mr. Harinton was proving that other people--even adults--could feel the same way. Nicholas had something to aim for now. He might not know what he wanted to be when he grew up, but he knew with absolute certainty how he wanted to be.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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And I realize there's no shortage of wickedness in the world," said Mr. Benedict, with a significant look at Reynie, "but is it not heartening to know that so many are willing to fight for the good?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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He said that he doesn’t believe we become different people as we age. No, he says he believes that we become more people. We’re still the kids we were, but we’re also the people who’ve lived all the different ages since that time.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #4))
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Oh dear,"cried Rhonda just then, for Mr. Benedict, awash in strong emotion, has gone to sleep.with a sudden loud snore he toppled forward into the attentive arms of Rhonda and Number Two, who eased him to the floor. "What's wrong with him?" Constance asked. "He has narcolepsy," said Kate. "He steals a lot?" "That's kleptomania," Sticky said. "Mr. Benedict sleeps a lot.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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It was occurring to Reuben that people, especially adults, are rather quick to dismiss small mysteries, to assume that they have simply misunderstood or failed to observe something, and to go on about their business.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Secret Keepers)
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In the candle's flickering light, the library's thousands of books emerged from the shadows, and for a moment Nicholas could not help admiring them again. During free time he had almost never looked up from the pages he was reading, but now he saw the books anew, from without rather than from within, and was reminded of how beautiful they were simply as objects. The geometrical wonder of them all, each book on its own and all the books together, row upon row, the infinite patterns and possibilities they presented. They were truly lovely.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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Nicholas Benedict did have an exceptional gift for knowing things (more exceptional, in fact, than most adults would have thought possible), and yet not even he could know that this next chapter was to be the most unusual-and most important-of his entire childhood. Indeed, the strange days that lay ahead would change him forever, though for now they had less substance than the mist through which he ran.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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There was a unique pleasure in knowing a friend so well, Reynie reflected, rather like sharing a secret code.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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Would you ever have thought I might choose a lie for the sake of my own happiness? The Whisperer's version of happiness is an illusion -- it doesn't take away your fears, it only lies about them, makes you temporarily believe you don't have them. And I know it's a lie, but what a powerful one! Maybe I'm not who I always thought myself to be. Maybe I'm the sort of person who will do anything to hear what I want to believe...
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Mr. Benedict: "After I woke up and composed myself, however, I realized the flowers must certainly be yours, Constance, to do with as you please. At any rate -- " Mr.Benedict broke off, for just then Constance jumped to her feet, snatched the bouquet from his desk, and hurled it into the wastebasket with all the force she could muster -- so hard that flower petals flew up out of the wastebasket like tiny pink butterflies. Then placing her hands against the wall to steady herself, she stomped one foot repeatedly into the wastebasket as if trying to put out a fire. "I see we are of the same opinion," said Mr. Benedict as Constance returned to her seat, and the others congratulated her on her judgment.
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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Somhow those Ten Men -- at the time they were called Recruiters, of course -- discovered that Constance had been at the library. Most likely one of their informants saw her come out, because it was on that very day that the brutes showed up and threatened the librarians. Who told them nothing, incidentally.' 'The same thing happened in Holland,' Kate reflected. 'You'd think these guys would learn their lesson -- librarians know how to keep quiet.' 'It helps to ask politely,' said Mr. Benedict
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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Go on, Kate. I don't want to have fallen four stories for nothing." - Milligan
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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Distracted by emotion, she was drying her eyes with a slice of bread.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society)
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But you have said it too often, Mr. Benedict!" said Mrs. Perumal in an imperious tone that was quite out of character. "And if you continue in this vein, I'm afraid we'll be compelled to cut our visit short. Surely there are other establishments that would host an entire troup of guests - indefinitely and without reward - and not feel obliged to apologize for it!
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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It's a journal, Reynard. Every great thinker keeps a journal, you know.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Kate laid her hand against his cheek. "Why do you keep doing this? Why do you keep getting hurt?" "Bad habit," Milligan mumbled.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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For it is a curious fact about secret meetings that a bond almost always forms among the participants, a bond that can feel both mysterious and powerful.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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Indeed, confident assurances and promises of fortune, when whispered into the right ears, often serve as substitutes for thinking at all.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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And when I do crave privacy, I have only to flip the "Closed" sign on my shop door until I'm feeling sociable again. Everyone should have such signs on their doors, don't you think?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Secret Keepers)
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If Nicholas Benedict truly had been able to see the future, his own would have startled him to sleep at once, for he would have seen that he was destined to do things far greater than he ever could have imagined – that wonderful and amazing people would one day be drawn to him like metal to a magnet; that together with Nicholas they would form a most unusual kind of family; and that together, during one of the world’s darkest, most dangerous hours, they would change the course of history… For now he was simply a little boy on a cot, trying to fight off sleep as he had done countless times before…
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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Mr. Harinton was real. There were adults in the world who would actually make sacrifices for others - not just for their own families but for anyone who needed help. Nicholas had always had the impression that families looked after one another, and he had come to understand that, on rare ocassions, children would do the same... But this was different. What Mr. Harinton was doing certainly helped Nicolas - but it also simply felt right to Nicholas. It made him want to be exactly like Mr. Harinton himself.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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And yet, in certain ways, the Institute did remind them of other schools: Rote memorization of lessons was discouraged but required; class participation was encouraged but rarely permitted; and although quizzes were given every day, in every class, there was always at least one student who groaned, another who acted surprised, and another who begged the teacher, in vain, not to give it.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society)
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In his mind's eye, he saw his dream of a new life drifting away like a lost balloon. And for some time he sat there, hating to see it go. But then it was gone, and he began to invent a new dream, and he began to feel better.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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Remember the white knight." Though it seemed so long ago, he well remembered their conversation about the chess problem. The white knight had made a move, changed his mind, and started over. "And do you believe this was a good move?" Mr. Benedict had asked. "No, sir," Reynie had answered. "Why, then, do you think he made it?" And Reynie had replied, "Perhaps because he doubted himself.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Sorry it took me so long, Katie-Cat," said her father.
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Trenton Lee Stewart
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Shall I tell you what I’m thinking, Mrs. Ferrier?” β€œHeavens no, Nicholas! That would take hours, and we have only moments.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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The laces had broken and were so short that tying them was like performing surgery on an insect.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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Every unfamiliar trail is an invitation,
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #0))
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The missing aren't missing, they're only departed.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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It’s not going to be over,” Kate said firmly, β€œuntil we say so.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey)
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ARE YOU A GIFTED CHILD LOOKING FOR SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Milligan now acted as if he were the happiest man alive - and perhaps he was. Having so long ago exited his life as a father, he had now, at long last, entered it again.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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But special people tend to go and do special things,” he continued, β€œand one must accept it as best one can. Whenever I miss old friends, I remind myself that this very act makes them a part of my life. We may be separated by time and distance, and very often by the lack of hours to write each other proper letters, but we remain friends, and I remain grateful.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Riddle of Ages)
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Out from behind the desk where he’d been sitting, hidden by the piles of books, appeared a bespectacled, green-eyed man in a green plaid suit. His thick white hair was shaggy and mussed, his nose was rather large and lumpy like a vegetable, and although it was clear he had recently shaved, he appeared to have done so without benefit of a mirror, for here and there upon his neck and chin were nicks from a razor, and occasional white whiskers that he’d missed altogether. This was Mr. Benedict.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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You were brave to do what you did," he said slowly. "And I know you did it out of live for our friends. But if you ever do something like this again, I can promise you that Ten Men and Executives are going to be the least of your worries- do you understand?" His espression was very severe, his jaw was set, and his words were clipped and terse as if spoken with much suppressed anger. Kate burst out laughing. "Milligan," she said, "I'll bet you scare the wits out of bad guys, but as a dad you don't scare anyone very much." "She's right." Constance said. "I can tell you aren't really angry." Milligan frowned and looked at Reynie, but Reynie averted his eyes to avoid disappointing him- for he, too, had been unfazed by Milligan's stern admonition. Only Sticky, furiously polishing his spectacles in the back seat, showed the effect Milligan had hoped for. But Sticky was easily unnerved and could hardly be used as a measure. "Well," Milligan said, his face relaxing. "At least I tried." "... Speaking of which, the boys weren't actually touching the breifcases in the trunk, I hope?" Wondering how Milligan knew, Kate stuck her head out the office door and gave Reynie and Sticky a warning look. They nodded and tried to close the trunk as quietly as possible. "They aren't now anyway." "Good," Milligan said, picking up his duffel bag. "I'd hate to have to speak sternly to them again. It embarasses me to be so ineffective.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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You must understand something, George. The world's leaders create catastrophes and resolve them-- all at their own whimsy-- every single day. It is how the world runs. Lacking anything else to believe in, common people need to believe in their leaders' abilities to save them. It's true! Their emotional well-being-- and yes, their fate-- depends on the intelligence and skill of those who manipulate the days' disasters. And it should go without saying that the one who succeeds in taking the reins of leadership-- by whatever means-- is the most intelligent and skillful, and therefore most qualified to lead.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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And where most people see mirrors, you, my friend, see windows. By which I mean there is always something beyond the glass. You have seen it and will always see it now, though others may not. I would have spared you that vision at such a young age. But it's been given you, and it will be up to you to decide whether it's a blessing or a curse.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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Sights, smells, temperature changesβ€”all sorts of stuff. We notice it without consciously thinking about it. He says we may not be paying attention, but our brains are recording and processing it all the same, and these… these observations, or whatever you want to call them, make up a pattern. So if you’re good with patterns, the way Mr. Benedict says I am, you can sometimes predict things.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey)
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but is it not heartening to know that so many are willing to fight for the good? Think of that young librarian, Sophie, who made certain you escaped. Think of S.Q., who risked my brother’s wrath to make me more comfortable. Think of Captain Noland, and Joe Shooter, and all the others – even strangers – who were prepared to sacrifice their safety, perhaps even their lives, on our behalf. That’s something, is it not?
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #2))
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It’s natural that you feel as you do, Reynie. There is much more to the world than most childrenβ€”indeed, most adultsβ€”ever see or know. And where most people see mirrors, you, my friend, see windows. By which I mean there is always something beyond the glass.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey)
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Sometimes, Reynie, trouble itself is the key. - Mr. Benedict
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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With perfect clarity he remembered Reynie saying, β€œI need you here as a friend.” The effect of those words, and of all his friendships, had grown stronger and stronger, untilβ€”though he couldn’t say why he didn’t feel mixed up nowβ€”at the most desperate moment yet, he knew it to be true. There was bravery in him. It only had to be drawn out.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))
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Have you ever had a dream in whig, having spied a deadly snake at your feet, you suddenly begin to see snakes everywhere - suddenly realize, in fact, that you're surrounded by them?" Reynie was surprised. "I have had that dream. It's a nightmare." "Indeed. And it strikes me as being rather like when a person first realizes the extent of wickedness in the world. That vision can become all-consuming - and in a way, it, too, is a nightmare, by which I mean that it is not quite a proper assessment of the state of things. For someone as observant as you, Reynie, deadly serpents always catch the eye. But if you find that serpents are all you see, you may not be looking hard enough.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner's Dilemma (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #3))
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It sounds like there are no rules here at all,” Sticky said. β€œThat’s true, George,” said Jillson. β€œVirtually none, in fact. You can wear whatever you want, just so long as you have on trousers, shoes, and a shirt. You can bathe as often as you like or not at all, provided you’re clean every day in class. You can eat whatever and whenever you want, so long as it’s during meal hours in the cafeteria. You’re allowed to keep the lights on in your rooms as late as you wish until ten o’clock each night. And you can go wherever you want around the Institute, so long as you keep to the paths and the yellow-tiled corridors.
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Trenton Lee Stewart (The Mysterious Benedict Society (The Mysterious Benedict Society, #1))