Rating: 
Summary: A Good Book
Review: I would recommend this series to anyone, but I think this one is one of the best! You should read it first anyway to get a idea of what happens to the orphans in the first place, but this is REALLY good! The orphans are intelligent, funny, and are very good at solving problems! In this book, Violet, Klaus, and Snny have to live with the villian himself. This book is a good one for anyone to read, despite their age!
Rating:
Summary: Author's name - lemony- and book subject are a perfect match
Review: Whoever put this in the children's category? This is adult humor at its absolute best! Thank you Mr. Snicket, for the definitions of so many words that I needed a precise rendering of. I truly loved this book. I am a school librarian, and will be curious to see if students take to it as much as I did! Also, fans of this book, you must check out the website - it, too, is delightful.
Rating: 
Summary: "Pucker Up And Puke"
Review: Dear Readers,If you have ever wondered what happens when writers spend too much time in grad school reading theory, then you have an idea of what to expect from this author's texts. All I can say is that if you like to read books with shallow characters, thin plots, unredeeming and perverse themes, and more self-conscious "Lemony" prose than will fit in one's pitcher, then these books are for you. Perhaps you can find a way to make lemonade with them. I'm on a new low-acid diet myself. I am bound to record that these tales are better classified as "when post-modern meets camp meets ...." Robert McCloskey showed us in LENTIL that people often want to suck lemons. In this case, it is the lemons that suck.
Rating:
Summary: Very Funny, Not Scary
Review: ... I am and avid reader and read everything from Sweet Valley to Harry Potter to Animorphs (and everything in the middle). I purchased this book for summer reading, after reading the great reviews here. I was 10 then, the same age as K.Weill's son. The books are not scary, believe me. This book ilustrates some of the most tragic things in the world, yet I was not scared, as it is ilustrated in the funniest way possible. You can't help yourself cracking up in the middle. Anyway, that's my two cents.
Rating:
Summary: Very Funny, Not Scary
Review: I would like to comment on K.Weill's review. I am and avid reader and read everything from Sweet Valley to Harry Potter to Animorphs (and everything in the middle). I purchased this book for summer reading, after reading the great reviews here. I was 10 then, the same age as K.Weill's son. The books are not scary, believe me. This book ilustrates some of the most tragic things in the world, yet I was not scared, as it is ilustrated in the funniest way possible. You can't help yourself cracking up in the middle. Anyway, that's my two cents.
Rating:
Summary: Out of the Ordinary, but not Great
Review: When I picked up this book I was full of great expectations. The children were talented, and I especially liked the biting part. THe book gradually dropped off, however, due in part to the authors obsession to share the meanings of everyday words. I found the plot to be lackluster, and predictable. I've read books 1,2, and 3 in the series, and each one shares pretty much the same plot. I would suggest that if you have an urge to read these books you should check them out at the library. The author points out in his letter on the back of the book that his novels are not ordinary novels, but contain only awful mishaps and no happy times. His words are true, but the unhappy quality in his books is the only thing that sets them apart.
Rating:
Summary: Great fun - a cross between Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl
Review: This first `Unfortunate Events' books is just plain fun. Life for the Baudelaire takes a horrible turn to start the short novel when their parents are killed in a tragic fire. Placed in the care of Count Olaf, they enter a new and horrible phase of their existence. The deceitful Count tries any number of ways to cheat the children out of their inheritance in a wonderful deceitful series of misadventures. This book is just plain fun. It's extremely quick reading and well-worth the time. It's a clever contrast of the Victorian world of Edward Gorey and the crazy, twisted mind of Roald Dahl.
Rating: 
Summary: The Bad Beginning Review
Review: I think "The Bad Beginning" is to frightening for children under the age of fifteen or sixteen. This book draws you into the fear and the anxiety the children feel from being helpless and left in a dreadful environment. The book made me want to continue reading to see what was going to happen next to these three helpless orphan children. The descriptions of the friends that Count Olaf had, the lifestyle the children were made to live in and the neglect and torture that was inflicted upon them, by Count Olaf and his friends, was to tremendous for me. Mr. Poe and Justice Strauss, the two people the children thought they could count on, let them down because of their own selfish ambitions and what was important to them at the time, instead of recognizing the children. In addition there was the possibility of a wonderful ending, after the children were deprived from the life they were accustomed to living when there parents were alive. The book didn't give the children the opportunity to be happy when the possibility arose. The man with the hooks for hands is unceasingly engraved in my memory. I wouldn't recommend this book for young children, unless you have a child you need to scare straight. The message I received was for children to count on themselves and not trust the adults. Children shouldn't have to figure out their problems on their own. I don't think young children should be given the message that no one has time and adults are only concerned about their own work, problems, and interests. I don't feel this literature is appropriate for readers under the age of fifteen or sixteen.
Rating: 
Summary: The Reptile Room
Review: Lemony Snicket creates yet another dark but clever tale in the series of unfortunate events.The Baldelaires enter a new home and hope that the evil Count Olaf does not track them down.A book that starts and ends in totally different ways. The book does not need a dictionary at hand because the author has provided definitions for young readers. Abook for all ages.
Rating:
Summary: Miserable little book
Review: The author oh so cleverly warns you this a dark, dreary book where bad things happen. Believe that. It's not cute and it's not clever. It's a depressing book. The whole selling point of this book is that it's short and fun. It's short, yet too long, because it is not fun. One reviewer says the series improves. I'll never know because I definitely will not waste my time trying to find out.
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