Rating: 
Summary: ooooh! how delightful
Review: I really wasn't sure that I was going to like this book at all, but my friends all said I had to read the series! So I trudged to the bookstore and bought _The Bad Beginning_ (read the title with a dark, raspy voice--it makes me laugh). I didn't really love the series until I read the second and subsequent books, but they truly are delightful! Yes, they're rather dark and somewhat morbid, but they're also funny and lighthearted at times. The wonderful relationship the three Baudelaire children have with each other is something I'd like to see more often in siblings. They work together, and they apologize when they say mean things unintentionally. And they're smart, to boot! No longer is there a stigma attached to smart children who enjoy reading or inventing or biting things! No one else sees these hobbies as unsual or abnormal, so the reader doesn't either. I especially like how Mr. Snicket defines words that most children will understand (though the definitions are excellent if the reader doesn't know what the word means), yet he leaves even more complicated words untouched. The idea leaves me reaching for my dictionary every once in a while.
For me, the books only take about an hour to read, so they're a brief respites from classes and exams even while I only have a short break!
I truly wish I could make this review separate from the series as a whole, but I'm afraid I can't--the books just go together.
I don't feel that the plot is overly dark, but I'm also not 10 years old. I can see quite plainly what is happening, and I can understand without being told that the circumstances have nothing to do with reality as it pertains to me. For me, the point is NOT that the Baudelaire Orphans are being chased by an evil, treacherous villian--the point is that the children are intelligent, witty, and are using their resources to overcome the obstacles in their path. Consider, Sunny teaches herself how to speak! The Series of Unfortunate Events is an excellent series!
Rating: 
Summary: Despicable
Review: I purchased this book to read before giving to my grandchild. Glad I did. This is the worst piece of children's writing around and the author should be taken to task - in court - for perpetrating this on the public - and children in general.
Rating:
Summary: The Bad Beginning
Review: Even though I've only read the book one time, but it is my all time favorite. Violet, Klaus and Sunny are very unlucky kids. Their parents die when their mansion is burned down. It happens when they are at Briny Beach. Mr. Poe comes and tells them the sad news. Then they live with him, his wife and two chilren. Then Mr. Poe makes arrangements for them to live with a distant relative on the other side of town. His name is Count Olaf. Count Olaf is a strange man that lives in a shabby house. His next-door neighbor Justice Starus has a beautiful home though. Count Olaf is a tall wart faced man that hardly ever home. He has a eyeball tatoo on his ankle. He gives the children 1 bed to sleep in. So Violet and Klaus take turns sleeping in it. They make Sunny a bed out of curtains.
I'm sorry if I gave a lot of the story awaay but it is so exciting. Read it! It is a great book.
Rating:
Summary: The Bad Beginning
Review: I've only read this book 1 time but it is my favorite book. The Baudelaire children, Violet(14) Klaus ( a bit older then 12) and Sunny (2 and a half) were very unfortunate since their parents died when their house gort burned to a crisp. They had to live with Mr.Poe for a while since they had no where to live. They hated it there. Then they went to Count Olaf's( there distant cousin) house to live. Read the book ( or give it to someone) because I'm not telling you anything else. Very good for children around the age of 9. This a very good book. Suspence, action and some happy parts.
Rating:
Summary: Great series!!!
Review: I realy like this series. Almost as much as I like the Left Behind series. These books are very imaginative. The Author is has a very big imagination, and that is what you need to right books. When I first read the back of the book I thought I've GOT to have this. It is great for children and Adults alike. I work in a bookstore so I know books. This is very good.
Rating:
Summary: The Coolest Book
Review: The Bad Beggining I think is one of the best books in the world so are the other ones ( The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Austere Acadamy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital and The Carnivorous Carnival.) I swear they are amazingly good books. Count Olaf the villian comes up with all sorts of disguises trying to get the Baudelairs' Fortune.
Rating: 
Summary: Terrible events and a Not-So-Marvelous Marriage
Review: Devastated and puzzled, the Baudelaire orphans are left with but a speck of hope of ever living happily again. At the beach the three orphans were thinking, skipping rocks and biting things, when a dark shadowy shape emerged from the fog. It was Mr. Poe, who had come to tell them that their parents had just been killed in an tragic fire. Their house had just been burned to the ground, along with all their possessions. After this terrible event, the Baudelaire orphans are forced to go live with an unknown relative. They didn't have anything to pack so they were supplied with some old ripped clothing. They piled into a car and drove off to meet their unknown relative. They pulled up to a giant house and a beautiful garden. (Don't get to excited because...) After just
getting their hopes up and meeting the wonderful owner, Justice Strauss, their thoughts were smashed into thousands of pieces. They were told that they were at the wrong house and that their unknown relative, Count Olaf,lived in the next house down. While looking at Count Olaf's house, I think their hearts must have stopped in disgust. His house was old and it had a leaning tower on the top left hand side. The house looked like it had never been cleaned. After they knocked on the metal doorknocker, the door opened and a tall, skinny,dark-shaped figure stood in the doorway. The Baudelaire orphans examined his...(I guess, person) and noticed that he had just one eyebrow and a tattoo of an eye on his ankle. Also from looking around they noticed a carved eye on the door, as well as many other pictures and figures of eyes. Mr. Poe left the children with Count Olaf and drove off in his car. While they were trying to figure out what was going to happen next,Count Olaf introduced himself and showed them to their room. They took one look at the room and immediately determined that indeed this house had never, EVER been cleaned. The children had arranged it so that Violet (being the oldest) and Klaus(being the second oldest)would take turns sleeping in the one bed. They had ripped off the curtains to make a bed for Sunny (being the little biting baby). One day after a terrible night, they would be left with a list of chores to be done during the day. They would also be left with a pot of hot oatmeal burning on the stove.
One day on the list, Count Olaf told the orphans to make dinner for his theater group. Not knowing how to cook, they searched Count Olaf's house for a cook-book, but were not successful. They remembered that Justice Strauss (Their next door neighbor) had said they were welcome to come over any time. The orphans went over to her house and asked if they could borrow a cook-book. She agreed and helped the orphans. They found a pasta sauce that looked easy to make, so with the money Count Olaf left them they bought the supplies needed. When Count Olaf and his theater group arrived, they came storming in through the kitchen and sat down at the dining room table. They were served their wine and then immediately started screaming and pounding on table like a pack of wild animals wanting their food. Count Olaf questioned them on what they had cooked for them, he began raging with madness when he found out that they hadn't cooked roast beef. After this went on for a while, Count Olaf decided to come to breakfast and invite the Baudelaire orphans to one of his plays, titled: The Marvelous Marriage. Klaus would play someone in the congregation and,although she really didn't want to, Violet had to be the bride Count Olaf got to marry. He held Sunny captive to make sure nothing went wrong in his evil plan to steal their fortune. The children now knew that Count Olaf must be stopped. The children put the clues together and did a lot of research and found out what his plan was and how to stop him. I ask you now if you really want to know how he plans to steal their fortune and if he even gets away with it? If so read this strange and mysterious book: The Bad Beginning. I found this book extremely strange and it may be frightening for younger children. I think a lot of people would enjoy this book as I myself didn't want to put the book down.
Rating:
Summary: Unique. Unusual. Depressing!
Review: This is a story with bite! It's sarcastic, it's witty, it's sad, it's funny. (The funniest thing is the description of the author at the back.) This author doesn't write "down" to kids. I kept thinking, as one horrible thing after another happened to these kids, that the book was too strong, violent, and scary for kids. But then I remembered how violent fairy tales are, how sad and scary "Bambi" and "The Lion King" were. Kids can take it -- in fact, they love it! I can't wait to read the rest of the series of unfortunate events.
Rating:
Summary: Best kids' book series I know of
Review: Every night I read to my 3 kids in bed. This series is the one that all 3 get something out of and also does not drive me completely insane. My 3 kids are of ages 8, 5 and 2 1/2. I am now on book #4. IMHO - Far superior to the endless drivel of Harry Potter.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best book ever
Review: This book was very suspenseful and exciting. I am now hooked on the rest of the series. I think people of all ages would like this book and series.It is the best. Count Olaf is a great character. He is so evil and clever.
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