Rating: 
Summary: It grows on you...
Review: After reading the first couple chapters of this book, I started getting the feeling that the book really was completely bleak and depressing with no happiness whatsoever. Life just kept getting worse and worse for the three Baudelaire siblings. Bad enough their house burned down, killing their parents. Then they have to endure itchy clothing, cold oatmeal, and an evil greedy villian after their money. I started to think that perhaps I should heed Lemony Snicket's warnings, and put down the book in favor of something light and happy. However, the closer I got to the end, the more the story grew on me. Even though horrible things happen to the Baudelaires, there are some bright spots. I found myself anxious to read more, just to see if maybe they triumph over their misfortune. It's not entirely fun, but it's fascinating. And I think it has a great underlying message about the strength of family. Well, that's not entirely true since the evil Count Olaf was part of their family. But the siblings rely on each other and love each other very much, and that made me feel all warm and fuzzy.
Rating: 
Summary: Spellbinding, terrific, wonderful, etc.
Review: After reading tremendous reviews of "A Series of Unfortunate Events", I purchased them from Amazon.com. Was I impressed? You bet! From the beginning chapters, when the parents of 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus, and the newborn Sunny were killed in a monstrous fire, I was enthralled. The orphans were taken to live with the horrendous Count Olaf, who hit them, made them work, and tried to steal their fortune. Among the aspects that amused me was one of Sunny saying a nonsense word which the author described as meaning something relevant, such as "Gack" meaning "Look at that mysterious figure emerging from the fog." Some parts truly are sad, and some are morbidly funny. Unlike some of the reviewers on this website, I have an imagination and I thoroughly enjoyed this book and its sequels. I am eagerly anticipating the release of #5: The Austere Academy. Read these books and I guarantee that, if you have any sort of imagination, you'll love them!
Rating:
Summary: Series of Unfortunate Events: The Bad Beginning
Review: Title: The Bad Beginning
By: Lemony Snicket
Reviewed by: B. Arihara
Period: P.1 The Baudelaire children Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are all wondering the beach when they receive terrible news that their parents have died in a fire which began in their house. Mr. Poe, the person to give them the news took care of the children until they were taken to their new father, Count Olaf. Count Olaf is a horrible evil man who is just interested in trying to get the Baudelaire fortune. He thinks of a scheme to receive the money, which can only be used by Violet when she is old enough to inherit it. Klaus eventually figures out Count Olaf's plan and tries to stop him, but instead gets them into more trouble. Olaf is going to have a play where he is the groom and Violet is the Bride. Justice Strauss, a neighbor who happens to be a judge, is the one who performed the wedding ceremony. Once they both say their "I do's" and sign a piece of paper in front of a real judge, they will be officially married, which everyone thinks is just part of the play. Once they are married, Count Olaf will be able to take the Baudelaire money and dispose of the children. Unfortunately, everything has gone as planned and Violet and Count Olaf officially married as Olaf had thought. When Violet signed the piece of paper, she signed it with her left hand when she was right-handed, which means the document is invalid and they are not married. Justice Struaff arrested Count Olaf along with his assistants, and the Baudelaire children were taken away after saying their good-byes and thank-you's. One of the reasons why I liked this book was because the author explained, as he went along, the difficult words to understand. He saved some time for me by telling me what the words mean, so i don't have to take time and look them up in the dictionary. "The word nuptial means relating to marriage" is an example of his unique type of writing and so is "The word standoffish here means reluctant to associate with others." Also i like how Sunny always says those baby words like "yeeka" or "odo yow." I disliked this book because there was constantly bad things happening again and again. One after another terrible things happened to the Baudelaire children. They always got into trouble and when they thought of a plan, it was always ruined by Count Olaf or his assistants. Sometimes too many unpleasant happenings make a book not very enjoyable to read. There should be a little more happiness throughout the book.
My favorite part of the book is in the very beginning when Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are walking along the beach shore. The way the author described it made me remember all the fun times I had at the beach. I remember running in the shallow water looking for sea-shells and playing in the water trying to catch small fish with my hands or a net. The beach is probably my favorite place to go in the world. Whenever i think of the beach i think of happiness, joy, fun, and good times.
Rating:
Summary: Hmmm, What Is This?
Review: On the surface, this is the tragic story of three children, who are orphaned at the start of the story, and then things gets worse. The book is listed as having a reading level of 9-12, and the size of the book, as well as the vocabulary, agree with that. However, the entire book seems a tongue-in-cheek parody of children's books. The three orphans face so many tragedies and misfortunes, that the tragedy becomes absurdity. The narrator of the book has a habit of occasionally stopping the narration to define a word for the reader, as an adult would while reading a book to a child. However, some of the explanations have definite tones of dark humor, while others are perplexing, as the narrator will explain a moderately complex word nestled amongst several more complex words. The plot revolves around children, but includes death-threats, schemes to defraud the orphans out of their fortune, and a sham marriage of an adult to a minor by using legal loopholes. I enjoyed this book, and will likely move on to number two in the series. My advice to a perspective buyer: read the back cover, which Amazon.com helpfully includes in its excerpts; if you like the writing on that back cover, you will likely enjoy the book. But, please take that back cover seriously, as the author means what he says there.
Rating:
Summary: A Fortunate Beginning for Great Reading
Review: I purchased this book for my son (11). He gobbled it down in a day, and proceeded to books 2 and 3 in the next two days. I also read each of these books after he'd finished with them. The rapid series of unfortunate events makes this a real page-turner. I've heard no requests for extra TV time for the past three days. What better way to make reading a habit, vs. a forced exercise? I don't think these books are NEARLY as frightening as say, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. While they may not be appropriate for children 8 and under, I think children above that age can appreciate this kind of outlandish misfortune for what it is. Unlike other readers, I appreciated the author's explanations of unfamiliar words and phrases, and wish that more children's books would introduce unfamiliar vocabulary in this way. While this may be distracting for adults, and it's true that children could just as easily look the words up in a dictionary, how many children will actually stop to do so? My son was more likely to ask me the meaning of words after reading this book, vs. "barreling on through."
Rating:
Summary: This is no fairy tale, but it is great anyway
Review: Even though this is a book targeted to kids by its publisher, I think that the author wrote it considering a much broader audience. I would say that as Rowling did with "Harry Potter", Snicket will captivate people of all ages. A word of warning though, the author clearly states that this is an unhappy story and that if you do not like this you should not try to read it. He is not joking! The story is sad and every time there is a glimpse of hope, it is quickly quenched. The three Baudelaire siblings are the main characters in this unhappy story. Violet is a fourteen-year-old who loves to think constantly about possible inventions. Klaus is twelve, intelligent and enjoys reading all kinds of books. Sunny is the little infant that is going through a biting stage and will go at anything with her four teeth. Everything starts out wrong right from the beginning, when the Baudelaire siblings, now orphans, find out that their parents died in a fire. They have a huge fortune, but they will not have access to it until Violet reaches adulthood. In the meantime, Mr. Poe, the executioner of the estate will manage the funds and take care of finding a place for the orphans to live in. Violet, Klaus and Sunny end up living with Count Olaf, in a house that is a disaster and has a weird feeling about it. Also, they quickly realize that the Count's only interest is in the money they have and in nothing else. The kids are forced to take care of the house chores and only find solace in their friendly neighbor, Justice Strauss. But any glimpse at happiness is quickly extinguished by new terrible events. We even get a second warning by the author halfway through the book: "...people who hate stories in which terrible things happen to small children should put this book down immediately". However, my recommendation is: keep reading, you will not be disappointed. The start of the series left me hooked and I will read the following books in the near future. I like the story, even with its sad tone, and enjoy the author's style. He has a humorous way of writing, defining obvious words and explaining some things that do not need explanations, even for kids. I think this is his way of satirizing some children's book that treat kids as if they were unable to comprehend simple matters. Moreover, there is a point in which he will start defining words using other words he defined before. I am extremely satisfied with the experience of trying out this new author and would highly recommend it to people of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Not you Winnie-the-Pooh!
Review: Quoting from the opening of Chapter 7: "There are many, many types of books in the world, which makes good sense, because there are many, many types of people, and everybody wants to read something different. For instance, people who hate stories in which terrible things happen to small children should put this book down immediately." And they certainly do. The Baudelaire children -- fourteen-year-old Violet, twelve-year-old Klaus, and their infant sister, Sunny -- are off at the beach one day when Mr. Poe the banker comes to tell them that their loving parents have perished tragically in a fire and that their mansion has been utterly destroyed. They will have to go and live with Count Olaf, their (geographically) nearest relative, until Violet is old enough to inherit. He's a horrid, dirty, smelly, scheming, dangerous man, and an actor to boot. Their life there is terrible, even with the kind Justice Strauss and her lovely library next door. And then Count Olaf begins making plans to get his hands on their fortune. The author (whose real name is Daniel Handler) is obviously perverse and possibly deranged, and I love his work; it's hard to tell, sometimes, whether he's really writing for kids or for weird adults. This is the first of a projected thirteen volumes, and all of them are going on my Edward Gorey shelf.
Rating:
Summary: the first in a great series of books
Review: Lemony Snicket's the bad beggining is a great book, did anyone say that a book needed a happy ending to be great? No one that I no of! This maybe a sad story, but the story it self is really good. If anyone reading this likes the series they might be pleased to know that there releesing a movie about the series
Rating:
Summary: Mixed Feelings
Review: It's difficult to say whether I liked or disliked this book. Mainly, on the surface, the book seems too unrealistic and ridiculous, but when looking closer, Snicket conveys true, honest feelings and really loves his characters. He often goes on for a few pages, expressing thoughtful, deep thoughts, that I truly appreciated. It's funny...at times I find myself thinking that the books are a little too far fetched...but cant find myself putting the books down! The books appeal is how different it is. Snickets writing is so original, it is difficult to know what he is thinking most of the time. What can I say? The books are so unique...they're addicting!
Rating: 
Summary: Depressing Trash
Review: I read them all and I wouldn't let my kids read them if I had children. Every book starts out with the author saying "For Beatrice - my love for you lives on even though you don't..." It's all a joke about these themes...the death issues, the disasters that happen to sweet children, and it is central to cruel people. I often get the impression that the author doesn't really like kids at all. There are better books like C.S. Lewis for children. SKIP THIS TRASH
|
