The Vile Village (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 7)

Rating:
Summary: This Story Is Vile - The Best Book in the Series Thus Far
Review: As a fan of this series is aware, in the last story, "The Ersatz Elevator", the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny, had just lost their last home as it was proven that one of their guardians was in league with the awful Count Olaf. On the theory that it takes a village to raise a child, Mr. Poe, the children's supposed guardian, takes the children to V.F.D., a village populated by crows and really weird people in the middle of nowhere.

The children's fortunes have not improved from their last home. This time the children are forced to do chores for the town, all day long. Further, many of the people for whom they do chores little appreciate what the children do. Lastly, the children and everyone in town must follow an extensive list of incredibly ridiculous rules.

Soon after the children arrive in town they find a note (a rhyming couplet) from their previously kidnapped friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, kidnapped two books ago by Count Olaf. As time proceeds, the children find more couplets written by Isadora Quagmire. The children hope and believe the couplets will lead them to the location of the Quagmires so that they might be rescued.

As always happens to the Quagmires, Count Olaf shows up again, and as usual, he has assorted followers that are with him, including one surprise returning character (I'm not telling!). This time Count Olaf shows up as a detective to solve a murder that occurs in the village. The victim will be an amazing surprise to every reader (and I'm not telling you that one either!).

Of course the story climaxes in a way that might lead the reader to believe that the Baudelaire's will escape. Well, the children do get away from town, but when they do they are being hunted for a crime they didn't commit. The ending of this story neatly fits into the beginning of the next book, "The Hostile Hospital", where the children continue to be on the run from the law.

It seems like each book in this series is better than the last. While the violence in these books is a lot more than traditional books for this age range, these books clearly distinguish right from wrong and good from bad. Additionally, there are strong educational messages as the children typically have to rely on their own resources and abilities to escape from Count Olaf, typically using their reading skills and innovative abilities to improvise and overcome. Sometimes the educational messages are very strong, such as when the author explicitly defines the meanings of words within the stories.

I thought this story was intriguing in a variety of ways, and the author manages to introduce a touch of science fiction or fantasy in the story in the method the children try to use to escape. Lemony Snicket manages to improve his creativity with every story. Because of the mild violence, I would recommend this book for 9 year-olds and above, but, as always, you should know your child and his or her ability to handle the material in this book. Another five star book in this series!

Rating:
Summary: Mysteries and Murders
Review: By now, prospective guardians for the three Baudelaire orphans have grown weary about taking them in since they have had six previous homes and guardians, and in each place they've been, trouble has followed. Sadly for the orphans, the trouble was never their fault, but the evil Count Olaf tends to make things seem as if Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are the causes of the numerous deaths, disturbances, and discomforts that have followed them. So when Mr. Poe can't find a new guardian, he decides to send them to a town participating in a new program revolving around the idea that "it takes a village to raise a child". When the siblings notice that one of the towns is called V.F.D., they believe that they have found the key to solving their troubles with Count Olaf, and will find their missing friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire. Sadly, though not unexpectedly, their hopes turn out to be false (for the most part), as V.F.D. stands for Village of Fowl Devotees, and the villagers are completely obsessed with the crows that inhabit the town, as well as 50,000 rules (I am not exaggerating this) that all have the same penalty for being broken: death by fire at the stake.
Things start out bad for the Baudelaires, and they only get worse after they are wrongfully imprisoned for murdering a man that everyone believes to be Count Olaf (turns out, the guy's name is really Jaques S.).
These books continue to improve in quality due to the increase in interesting plot twists and new methods of story telling. Unlike the first few books, even though Count Olaf is still a major player in the grand scheme of things, he is becoming more and more of a background character who manipulates events without anyone knowing instead of trying to rush in and capture the orphans. Can't wait to start the next book, The Hostile Hospital.

Rating:
Summary: The Vile Village
Review: How's this for a rule? If you wear unwieldy, unfashionable (whether it's in or out) and revoltingly ugly hats, you have to be burned at the stake. Sound ridiculous? Not in this book.

Here the poor Baudelaire's are placed with the Village of Fowl Devotees, and when they learn the name of the village, they hope that perhaps they might get some answers to VFD. Mr. Poe is operating here under the aphorism, "It takes a village to raise a child", but as usual he's completely off base and out of touch with reality, because the village he's sending these kids to is, well, if I were to pay them a compliment, off-kilter.

For example, the RULES. They are absurd, but absurd in a hysterical fashion that leaves you laughing and wanting to hear what the next pointless rule is.

"Rule #920 clearly states that no one may talk while on the platform [at the council of elders] unless you are a police officer." To further enforce this point, an elder states: "You're orphans, not police officers, so shut up."

Rule #19,833 "states that no villains are allowed within the city limits.

Rule # 67 "clearly states that no citizen is allowed to build or use any mechanical devices." Poor Violet!!

Those are only a few, but here's the worst part of it all: the punishment for breaking any of these rules, regardless of the rule, is to be burned at the stake!

We learn things in this book, as usual, such as the migratory patterns of crows. There is a Neverland Tree, and a fountain shaped like a fish. There is also, I'm sorry to say, the appearance of some people who break Rule #19,833, but due to "mob rule", those people convince the village elders that the real villains are the Baudelaires, and they face the most ignoble, not to mention terrifying and life threatening, likelihood of being burned at the stake.

Creativity abounds, especially in the form of the lost Quagmire triplets. But I'll zip it and say no further on that.

There are lots of surprises in this book, and it was an example of the books just getting better and better. As I have stated in other reviews, The Miserable Mill was a bit of a low point for the series, but after that it is picked up with the energy of a locomotive, if not that of Superman, and is barreling straight ahead.


Rating:
Summary: Really,really,really,really good book!!!!!!(VILE VILLAGE)
Review: I've read 9 books but I own this one.This is a gazilion star book.It's about three orphans whos parents died in a fire and are sent everywhere and now there sent to a village.The village is V.F.D. and they think the Baudelaires are murderers.I recommend this book for kids and adults but they never have happy ending.
REALLY,REALLY,REALLY,REALLY,AWESOME,GREAT BOOK!!!!!!!

Rating:
Summary: Still Going Strong
Review: In the "Vile Village" the three Baudelaire orphans become part of a new program based on the saying 'It takes a village to raise a child.' Under this program, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny's newest guardians will be all the residents of an entire village. In the hopes of solving the mystery of 'V.F.D.,' the children choose a village by that name as their new home. They are sent to live with a kind man named Hector who has a library of forbidden books. V.F.D. is run by the Council of Elders, who have made tens of thousands of ridiculous rules that the citizens of the village must follow or risk being burned at the stake. When the Baudelaires are falsely accused of murder and imprisoned, they must escape from the jail and find their friends the Quagmires, who are hidden somewhere in the village.

Enjoyable romp with a bit of a different antagonist being the village elders. I like the way the author keeps finding new and interesting situations to put the kids in.


Rating:
Summary: Harry Potters Nightmare
Review: It's comforting to know (For those Potterholics out there) that when Harry potter is over and done, You can always turn to this series. It's supposed to be depressing (The author always tells you on each book cover, Put this book down, it's far too depressing) but this, and the other six ooks in the series, are pure comedy. I espicially loved the part in THE REPTILE ROOM where Snicket fills up an entire two pages with just the word Never.

The Vile Village is very well done, and captures the spirit of the series: The Baudelaires, once again, are sent to an awful place, in this case, the village of VFD, where the Council is god.

And, once again, the Baudelaires are tracked down by Count Olaf, who is always disguised, though I must say, I have always been able to pick out Olaf when he is introduced in each book, but you really can't tell until the end who Olaf is. Anyway, he tries to kidnap them, of course, and they get away. That sums up the series, but the humour of Snicket makes each book different and each one worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Sean's review
Review: Parvenue au Tome 7 des Désastreuses aventures des Orphelins Baudelaire, je leur accorde désormais beaucoup de crédit ! En toute honnêteté, Lemony Snicket adopte une tournure captivante, optant pour quelques grammes de mystères qui étoffent agréablement le récit. Dans "L'arbre aux corbeaux", Violette, Klaus et Prunille ont décidé d'être adoptés par la ville de VDC - la lecture des précédents ouvrages vous fera comprendre la motivation de ce choix. Cette ville, alias Villeneuve les Corbeaux, n'est hélas pas accueillante pour les trois enfants, en fait chargés d'accomplir les basses besognes de toute la communauté. Laquelle est dirigée par un Conseil des Anciens qui édicte des règles très strictes interdisant pratiquement tout ! Pour le trio Baudelaire, la menace du Comte Olaf demeure présente, sous quel masque se dissimule-t-il ?.. Sans compter que des vindictes populaires voient le jour, menant à des hérésies, à des condamnations au bûcher et aux mouvements grégaires. Fichtre, on ne s'ennuie pas. D'un côté le secret du comte Olaf s'épaissit, les orphelins Beauxdraps sont dans les parages, une nouvelle énigme voit le jour en la personne d'un dénommé Jacques... Moi qui jugeais les premiers tomes assez répétitifs, je dois reconnaître que depuis un ou deux livres les aventures des Baudelaire ne cessent d'être pimentées ! Je me surprends d'être très attachée à cette série, en fin de compte !

Rating:
Summary: A Miserable Birthday for Klaus
Review: Thanks to the evil Count Olaf, all of the Baudelaire's distant relatives refuse to take them in, for fear of being dragged into some unfortunate demise, like the rest of the distant relatives who opened their homes to the Baudelaire's. Hence, the three Baudelaire Orphans - Violet, 14; Klaus, now 13; and Sunny, a baby not much larger than a watermelon - have been enrolled in a program where they will be raised by an entire village, due to the saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." The children quickly choose the village "V.F.D." as their new home, for it is these three initials that the Quagmire Triplets shouted to them before they disappeared once again. However, the Baudelaire's are quite let-down by what they find in "V.F.D." They are forced to live with Hector, a man who has a secret library, a secret inventing studio - they are secret because the "V.F.D." Council of Elders have made them against the law, along with thousands of other rules; if broken you will be burned at the stake, or imprisoned - and loves to cook Mexican food. While he's very kind to the Baudelaire's, when they are accused of murder and thrown in jail, he doesn't defend them or even give them an alibi. Now it's up to the three Orphans to use their strength to escape from jail and find their friends the Quagmires, before it's too late.

As always, Lemony Snicket has done a fabulous job in creating yet another miserable adventure for the Baudelaire Orphans. Even as the three Orphans do chores for the entire town of "V.F.D." and spend time in jail, they never stop thinking, and trying to find a way to make their lives better in any possible way. We are treated to seeing the Baudelaire's happy for just the slightest time in THE VILE VILLAGE, and also have the opportunity to see Klaus turn 13-years-old. Even though his birthday is not a pleasant one. Snicket is on a miserable streak, and I know that it will continue in the next book in the series THE HOSTILE HOSPITAL.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Rating:
Summary: The Vile Village
Review: This book was very exciting,funny, and has many miserable characters.Atleast Violet, Klaus, and Sunny have someone who cares for them, even though that person is not much help.This is the best book I've ever read. I hope other people enjoy it, too.