Rating: 
Summary: VERY GOOD
Review: THIS BOOK IS VERY GOOD. READERS OF ALL AGES WILL LOVE THIS BOOK. IT MIGHT BE A LITTLE UNPLEASENT BUT IF IT IS PUT IT DOWN AND DO SOMETHING PLEASENT. BUT FROM MY PIONT OF VIEW I THINK THAT THIS BOOK IS A GOOD BOOK AND SO IS THE REST OF THE SERIES.
Rating: 
Summary: Clever, Dark, and Funny!
Review: The Bad Beginning, the first book in the "A Series of Unfortunate Events" can be classifed as clever, dark, and funny. At the beginning of the book when the author says don't keep reading if you hate bad endings he is quite right. First the Baudelaire children get the most horrifying news from Mr. Poe, a guy who can't seem to stop coughing, that their parents had died in a horrible fire. They have a fortune but they learn the unfortunate news that they can't have it until the oldest Violet who is 14 becomes adult age. So their lawyer Mr. Poe takes the three children Violet, Klaus, and Sunny to the horrible guardian Count Olaf who will stop at nothing to get their fortune. The three orphans seem defensless against Count Olaf's evil plans as he traps Baby Sunny in the forbidden tower until Violet would marry him. However Count Olaf seems to have underestimated these smart children! This book was really really funny. In many ways it has the humor and darkness of Harry Potter and even more. This is a great start to the books about the Baudlaire orphans but firsthand let me warn you: If you hate unhappy, unfortunate, bad ending stop reading now!
Rating: 
Summary: only ok
Review: So, I decided not to buy this for my classroom. The horrible and awful things that happen in the story are genuinely awful (sexual and physical abuse, for example) and are never resolved or portrayed as as bad as they are. If the reader were from a background where these things had never happened to them the book could be read from a position of privelege and ignorance and could be enjoyed more than if read by a survivor who might just sit there struck by the protagonists' inaction. So, it was kind of fun, but I had this constant feeling as I was reading it that these kids should have gone out and done something about what was happening to them. This is not a book I would want to put in the hands of my students.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor writing, poor plot, poor characters - don't bother!
Review: This is one of the worst books I've ever read. Not only is the plot dull and uninspired, but the writing is horrible. One of the most annoying aspects is the authors irritating way of taking time out of the story to define words! An example would be "in a rickety cart - rickety here meaning..." I prefer when writers allow me to decide which words I know or don't know and decide when to use a dictionary. I like the idea of a "gothic" children's series with dark and dangerous mysteries, but this is certainly not it. Save your money. This book is terrible.
Rating:
Summary: Very original
Review: First off, let's start by saying that the entire Series of Unfortunate Events has a plot that is so original I can't compare it to any other books, so I'm not going to. It has original characters, plots, themes, settings, and an overall ambiance that can be found nowhere else. Lemony Snicket, or whatever his name is, has quite an imagination. One thing, out of many, that I love so much about his books are that there are NO happy endings. There is almost NO sympathy for the characters. Hardly anything good every happens to them. The books are so... morbid. And yet the author manages to make them hilarious at the same time. I've laughed every single time someone's died. I have come across ONE other book with the ability to do that to me. The author has, in short, talent. A lot of it. If you haven't already read these books, you should. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: The Bad Beginning
Review: This book is about the three Baudelaire children Violet, Klaus and Sunny.Their fortune began to weaken when their parents died in a fire that destroyed their house as well.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most horrible books!!
Review: I checked this book out of the library because I'd read a lot of good reviews on it but still didn't want to spend nine bucks to buy it. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made! Though the Baudelaire children do not display any charisma (they are slow and dim-witted), Snicket nevertheless pulls readers in by making us care for them because they are poor orphans. This is a clever ploy by Snicket, because I wanted to finish the book to see if the Baudelaires ever do become happy. But true to form, they do not. Even more slow and dim-witted than the Baudelaire children are the adults around them, who realize too late that the menacing Count Olaf is evil. This book is frustrating to read because all of the characters are so bumbling and stupid. Unless you like to read books about children who are in an endless circle of misery and are too dumb to get themselves out of it for longer than five minutes, do not read this book.
Rating:
Summary: excelent and exciting
Review: This book was full of suspense and problems. The vocabulary was exelent for young kids. It had a little wierd touch of fairy tale in it a bit like harry potter. This book had exciting event after exciting event. The author says not to read this book if you like cheerfull books. Persoanoly I think you shouldn't read this book if your looking for a book to get you asleep. You can't get it out of your hands!
Rating:
Summary: Awfully wonderful...
Review: I purchased the audiobook "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket just recently and have already listened to it twice. It is wonderful. I have always been a big fan of Tim Curry and his renditions of Count Olaf and the hacking Mr. Poe are right on target. This is one audiobook worth listening to again, and again, and again.....
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding and Entertaining Book for Intermediate Readers
Review: This book hooks you right on the first page. Read through to see how the Baudeliaire children go through tough times and unluckiness. Their witty and brilliant minds help them survive the wrath of Count Olaf.
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