Rating: Summary: The Bad Beginning Review: The first book of A Series of Unfortunate Events is called The Bad Beginning. As you will find out in the very first chapter, the Baudelaire children (Violet, Sunny, and Klaus) experience a very unfortunate event. I will not specifically tell you what happens because I don't want to ruin it. Besides, you'll find out soon enough! Because of this unfortunate event, Violet, Sunny, and Klaus are forced to live with a relative. Mr. Poe, a man that will utterly annoy you later in the series, helps find their relative. The Baudelaire children end up living with Count Olaf, a very, very, distant relative. I can't begin to describe what he looks like or what he acts like because it would hurt you both physically and mentally. It would also ruin the fun of this book. If you are interested in reading a popular series with humor and tragedy, I would highly suggest this series.
Rating: Summary: A Promising Start Review: A quick, fun read that even a thirtysomething can enjoy. The packaging is beautiful, the illustrations are nicely drawn, and the story is dark and dastardly as can be. Though slight, "A Bad Beginning" is the perfect read for a rainy afternoon or a lazy summer day. Not quite up to par with JK Rowling or Philip Pullman, but nevertheless another worthwhile effort in a string of novels aimed for children but with more than enough appeal for imaginative adults of all ages.
Rating: Summary: Funnily Horrible. Review: A book where nothing ever comes out right. Horrible, you must think! Well, er, yes. The Series of Unfortunate Events is just that, but it's part of the appeal. These books are amusing horror stories geared toward children in elementary and middle school, and though at times terrible, they still manage to sustain a queer quality that attracts readers.
Rating: Summary: Still holds up to a second reading! Review: The book that started it all is still fresh years, tears, and more tomes later. If there are 'tweenagers out there who haven't read it yet, oh! what dreadful pleasures await. Grownups, once they get over the fact that stories, like life, don't always have happy endings, will also find some amusement and mirth. Snicket well establishes the resilient personalities of his young protagonists here as well as the drolly wickedness of his vile villain. For wordplay, unflinchingly intelligent prose, and subtle, entirely anti-pedantic morality, nothing compares to this amazing little book and its siblings. Lemony Snicket, along with J. K. Rowling, Jane Yolen, Jon Scieszka and others, are changing the literature of youngsters, especially for this age group, and thankfully so. A brilliant start to an incredible series.
Rating: Summary: The Bad Beginning Review: Very good. Not as good as the books that follow it, but still a good read. I definitely recommend this to any young adult who doesn't mind a truly depressing and devastating storyline. However, the depression and devastation is entirely overshadowed by the humorous and resourceful characters (Namely the Baudelaire orphans), the obvious talent Snicket has in writing, the wonderful surprises and the timely plot. Once you read this, you won't stop with the series until you're finished!
Rating: Summary: Awesome!!!!!!READ THIS BOOK!!!! Review: I Love this book! it is really good i am 14 years old and i am in love with this book it is filled with misery, humour and everything! You will LOVE IT!!!!
Rating: Summary: Warped fun Review: The poor Baudelaire kids. First, they are orphaned, then sent to live with the awful Count Olaf and his evil group of henchmen (and henchwomen, and one who seems, well, genderless). Soon they find he's after one thing: the fortune left to them by their poor departed parents, and he'll do anything to get it. But the kids are not without resources of their own. Violet is a clever inventor, Klaus has extensive book knowledge, and baby Sunny can chew through just about anything. Will they escape the horrible fate planned for them? Of course, but as the series title suggests, there's always another unfortunate event awaiting them...Kids and adults will likely enjoy this oddball, off-the-wall mix of grim humor, bad puns, plays on words, and literary playfulness, a blend of Dahl, Dickens, and Charles Addams. There are unpleasant aspects to the story, and death seems to loom on every other page, but the resourceful and clever Baudelaire children always escape just in time--and kids will like the fact that they usually do so relying on their own talents. Although this has been touted as a companion to Harry Potter, there are remarkable differences between the two, most notably in style and humor. Kids who like the "darker" aspects of the Potter books may relate to this, but those who have read the aforementioned Dahl will find it easier to enjoy.
Rating: Summary: Very Good, But A Little Annoying Review: Although this is an excelent book, with a good plot and belivable charachters, I almost put the book down when I saw the description on the back. I mean come on! Lenomy Sniket made me feel that people that like happy endings wouldn't like this book. I am one of those poeple, but I LOVED it! A must read for Harry Potter fans, and everyone else.
Rating: Summary: A rare children's book Review: This is the rare children's book that will probably... er, definitely be enjoyed more by adults than by children. It's true, the story of the Baudelaire children is depressing, but once you get passed that, Snicket has a Douglas Adams-like wit which results in a lot of dark humor. There's also a good supply of plot twists to keep anyone over 12 occupied. The kids emerge alright in this one and survive to move onto another story. What will happen in the next book? I don't know, but no doubt it will be filled with doom and gloom and impossible situations that the Baudelair orphans will escape by their wits for a short time before their next terrfying ordeal begins. Lemony Snicket is actually Daniel Handler, by the way. I saw him play his accordion with the Magnetic Fields in concert once, and you'd never expect something this good from some guy in the background. Good job, Daniel.
Rating: Summary: The Bad beginning Review: it's just great....this book opens up the best of the worst that could ever happen.
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