Not favorite book in the series thus far, but still entertaining. I did enjoy it, just not as much as some others. I'm looking forward to see what happens in the next book. I would recommend this. 4 out of 5 stars. ( )

1

4/5

This book was interesting for me specially because it delivered on many aspects that I felt were lacking in this series.

First of all, no more new-tutor for starting this story. The Baudelaire are fugitives from the police after being framed for murder and are being forced to use any and all methods they can to avoid being captured. That by itself is pretty amazing to me, since it's quite a big break in the status quo for the series.

Due to that, the Orphans end up being much much more the masters of their own destiny and are forced to choose what they'll do next, instead of just being dragged around and forced to survive. Now we actually get to learn more about the three of them, since they can actually be responsible for their actions. And they are visibly growing up throughout all of this. Sunny can actually say a bunch of complete actual words now, that alone just feels like a huge development.

Also, in this book, although Olaf is present and a threat, still going after the Baudelaire, he never really gets to show up before them, all of his actions are to give order to his lackeys and the rest of the hospital staff. This also feels more interesting, since he feels more like a looming indirect threat this time.

There's also a bunch of other relations between the Baudelaire and the author, I feel like I can see a picture forming and almost guess some of what's about to be revealed in the next books, but I don't force too much on stuff like this.

The morality aspect of this book is somewhat on the nose, with the three protagonists vaguely wondering if they are bad people for tricking and being duplicitous to people. It's a pretty silly point, in my humble opinion, since they are in absolutely insane situations and the adults don't really care at all about them, but it's a children's book, I get that and won't really complain.

The book ends with the three actually being taken to the hideout of Olaf's gang, not captured, but of their own volition in order to escape an angry mob and a fire. Again, an amazing ending in comparison for the usual "Olaf gets away and the orphans end up with another bad tutor", which makes me hopeful the next one will shake things up even further. I'm hyped. ( )

“There are two reasons why a writer would end a sentence with the word “stop” written entirely in capital letters STOP.”

Of course, STOP is written to mark the end of a sentence in a telegram. But Lemony Snicket is really stressing on the second usage of the word STOP to his readers when he opens up this book. He is asking his readers, quite emphatically, to STOP reading the tale of the three Baudelaire orphans. There is no surer way to guarantee that a reader, after reading such a warning, will plunge into the book at full speed.

The Baudelaires have been moving from one bad situation to a worse one, ever since the a fire consumed their parents and house. They were placed in the care of Count Olaf (Book #1), only to find out that he was a criminal who only wanted to steal the Baudelaire fortune. Since then the three children have moved on to different guardians, living with Uncle Monty who loved reptiles (Book #2), stayed with Aunt Josephine who was mortally afraid of almost everything (Book #3), worked at a mill (Book #4), worked at an academy (Book #5), lived with the Squalors (Book #6) and finally fled from a village of fowl devotees (Book #7).

Being hopelessly lost, the Baudelaires fall in with the Volunteers Fighting Disease and end up at the Hiemlich Hospital where they finally stumble upon a piece of information that is about to change who chases whom. The existence of a “Baudelaire file” puts the children at grave risk, and they stumble upon a single photograph that contains a clue that the orphans (or not?) must decipher. But before they can get anywhere with the information, they once again fall into the hands of Olaf’s associates.

I grew to enjoy this series, when I first began reading it a decade ago. The tricks of the villain aren’t too innovative or jaw-dropping but Lemony Snicket writes with a dry, clever wit, that keeps you wanting to read ahead. By this point, the series has dragged out pretty far, and there are still 5 more books to go! It’s a good thing they are quick reads, or the reader would the run the risk of giving up in the middle of the series.

More than the Baudelaire story, I’m curious about Lemony’s. I love how he drops those subtle hints about Beatrice in his dedications at the start of every book

For Beatrice –
Summer without you is as cold as winter.
Winter without you is even colder.
…or how he writes to his “editor” at the end of every book, telling him where to find the next “manuscript of the Baudelaire story.”

Don’t miss the Jim Carrey, on-screen version of the first three books of this series, titled “A Series of Unfortunate Events”. It is funny, colorful and a good watch for the youngsters. ( )

Mystery