The Ersatz Elevator (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 6)

Rating:
Summary: Different than others
Review: The earlier books in A Series Of Unfortunate Events were funny (especially book 2), but this one simply did not have the same amount of comedy. On the plus side, it did have more suspense and excitement, which is why I gave it a 4 instead of a 3.

Rating:
Summary: The best yet!!!
Review: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are yet again staying with yet another relative, and this time it's just a walking distance from their mansion which burned down in book #1: The Bad Beginning. Esmé and Jerome Squalor are their new legal guardians, and Esmé said upon their arrival that all their friends will be sick with jealousy because they have three real live orphans in their home. Orphans are "in", explains Esmé. They would have adopted the children right after the terrible fire that started all their bad luck, but orphans were out at the moment and that'd simply never do. The 71-bedroom penthouse apartment the Baudelaires now live in (or should I say, lived in) is so enormous that they can scarcely find anything. There are dozens of bathrooms, ballrooms, sitting rooms, standing rooms, kitchens, living rooms, and rooms which appeared to serve no purpose whatsoever. One interesting thing about this book is that many things are not what they seem. Count Olaf, for example, in his new disguise is not what he seems. A certain elevator is not what it seems. A certain person turns out to not be what this person seems to be (this person becomes another threat to the Baudelaires' lives and their fortune, along with a new associate to Count Olaf). V.F.D. is not what it seems. And a large red herring is not what it seems. As you can see, this book's mysteries will befuddle you until the very end, and some of them won't be discovered until much later. I recommend this book for any fan of the first 5 books in this wretched yet wonderful series. Also for fans of Finnegan Zwake Mysteries and Harry Potter. But be careful when you buy them, because Count Olaf and his assistants are watching you.

Rating:
Summary: The Best One Yet!
Review: The Baudelaire orphans this time go to live with the sixth most important financial advisor in the city and her husband. Stairs are "in" and elevators are "out", so they have to walk to the penthouse on the sixty-sixth floor, the average of 48 and 84. But when they encounter Count Olaf, they realize that their explanation of where the Quagmire triplets are is right under their noses! But alas! Don't be fooled by this review! THis story is part of the unfortunate events series! They neverhave a happy ending. But still, it's reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelly good.

Rating:
Summary: Great Book!
Review: This book is amazing! It has all the suspense, humor, andmystery of the other books. The Quagmire twins reappear again, aperson they trust betrays them, and everybody does a lot more in thebooks. Violet has more inventions, Klaus puts his thinking power to anew level, and Sunny is more involved. Also, the book gets youthinking and questioning. More mysteries appear like a charactermentioning Beatrice stealing, a secret passage that leades to a placethe Baudelaire orphans know well, and, again, the mysteriousinitals. Everything is done to the max. I strongly recomend readingthis book.

Rating:
Summary: The Baudelaire orphans' miserable adventures continue.
Review: After the series of disastrous events at Prufrock Preparatory School, and the kidnapping of their only friends, the two Quagmire triplets, the three Baudelaire orphans have been sent to live with the wealthy Esme Squalor and her husband Jerome in their seventy-one bedroom penthouse at 667 Dark Avenue. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are happy to be returning to the city where they were born, but they fear for the capture Quagmires, who are at the mercy of Count Olaf, and naturally, they fear Count Olaf has yet another dastardly plan to steal the Baudelaire fortune. And their new guardians aren't doing much to ease their fears. Jerome is kind but naive, and Esme only cares about what's fashionable and what's not. As usual, it's up to the Baudelaires to save themselves from the clutches of the evil Count Olaf and his dastardly accomplices. This was one of my favorite books in A Series of Unfortunate Events. I reccomend this darkly funny book to all fans of the series.

Rating:
Summary: The best book I ever read
Review: This book is unlike any other book i've ever read.It is hard for me to say if I like Violet or Klaus more.Beacause they both really help geting away from danger (or Count Olaf).I recomend this book entirely.

Rating:
Summary: READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Dans ce tome 6, les trois orphelins Baudelaire débarquent chez le couple d'Eschemizerre, Jérôme et Esmé, dans le quartier huppé de leur ville d'origine. Cette fois-ci, Violette, Klaus et Prunille vont s'initier aux rouages de ce qui est in et out. L'épouse de Jérôme est inconditionnelle là-dessus. C'est elle qui organise, d'ailleurs, les ventes aux enchères In - moment crucial de la fin du livre où rebondissements en tout genre vont survenir. Mais avant la fin, les orphelins vont une nouvelle fois se frotter à leur ennemi, le comte Olaf, toujours déguisé d'un accoutrement qu'ils sont les seuls à détecter et démasquer. Décidément, les adultes chez Lemony Snicket ne sont qu'une bande de zozos incapables et grotesques. Les enfants Baudelaire, par contre, brillent d'intelligence et de courage. Cet "Ascenceur pour la peur" illustre magnifiquement ce propos ! Aussi, dans ce tome 6, j'ai notamment apprécié que des éléments déterminants, révélés en fin de tome 5, soient repris dans ce récit, tentés d'êtres dénoués et décryptés. Dès lors, je trouve que la série des Orphelins Baudelaire adoptent un virage de plus en plus palpitant. Mystères et secrets pointent leur nez, pour le plus grand plaisir des aficionados !

Rating:
Summary: Hilarious!
Review: I'm an adult, and I still find "A Series of Unfortunate Events" a very enjoyable read. I love the author's style, and I think it's a great book for kids as well, especially the way he defines big words that he doesnt think they'll understand. Each book gets better as they go along, and the best thing of all is that it's a realisic children's story. as a friend of mine pointed out, he said "The author points out that even though bad things happen, at the end of it you're generally still okay." very lovely series, quick reads also :)

Rating:
Summary: Crazy series
Review: In what is probably the best book yet in the series, the Baudelaires find themselves just a few blocks away from their old mansion home. Their new guardians, the extravagent Esme Squalor and her non-confrontational husband Jerome, live on Dark Ave., which is located near the old Baudelaire mansion. Esme is obsessed with things that are "in", or popular. Since orphans are currently "in", she decides to adopt the children. However, Count Olaf quickly shows up yet again, this time disguised as an auctioneer.
Although, despite his early appearance, Count Olaf does not play a major role this time around. Instead, suspense is built as the Baudelaire children frantically try to discover his plan while still trying to discover the location of their missing friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, who may be closer to them than they think.
In this book, numerous twists and revelations are revealed, all of which serve to make the story better and better. Hopefully, the rest of the books will continue to increase in quality, and will keep the twists coming.

Rating:
Summary: The Baudelaire's Miserable Journey Continues
Review: It is not easy being an orphan, and this bit of information is best known by the three Baudelaire Orphans, Violet (14), Klaus (12), and Sunny (an infant), as they have experienced life as orphans ever since their beloved parents were killed in a mysterious fire, which left them in the care of various crazy relatives. However, perhaps no relatives are like Jerome and Esme Squalor, for they are truly one of a kind. Esme is overly obsessed with what's in and what's out, and insists on doing only the "in" things. Hence, the elevator is removed from her posh apartment building, as elevators are so out, and the poor Baudelaire's are forced to walk up over 50 flights of stairs. Then there's Jerome, who is quite the kind man, if only he weren't so much of a pushover, as he finds arguing to be a hassle, and does only what others tell him to. Yet life with the Squalor's isn't terrible. That is, until Count Olaf shows up again, and the Orphans realize that their missing friends, the Quagmire Triplets, could be close by, and surely need their help.

I recently said that THE AUSTERE ACADEMY was the best book in the SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS collection, but after reading THE ERSATZ ELEVATOR, it appears that I have to eat my words. Lemony Snicket's sixth book has surely taken the cake for my favorite SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS book so far, as the adventure found on every page is utterly hard to resist, and the pleasure of seeing the Baudelaire's with kind Jerome for even just a short while was quite a treat. Fans of the previous books in the series will be unable to put THE ERSATZ ELEVATOR down until the very last page is read, as it is an unforgettable thrill ride.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper