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persephon_e's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
andotherworlds's review against another edition
5.0
i reread this book for the reading rush 2019 challenge!
this is an absolute classic that i could recommend to anyone and feel assured that they would find something they like in it. although directed for younger readers, i could read this book at the age of ninety and still feel satisfied and humored by the brilliance of both the writing and the plot of this masterpiece. if you haven't already, please go check this book out (start on the first one of course)
this is an absolute classic that i could recommend to anyone and feel assured that they would find something they like in it. although directed for younger readers, i could read this book at the age of ninety and still feel satisfied and humored by the brilliance of both the writing and the plot of this masterpiece. if you haven't already, please go check this book out (start on the first one of course)
goss's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
eesh25's review against another edition
4.0
A Series of Unfortunate Events, as you know, follows three orphans, and an evil man, Count Olaf, who wants to get his hands on their inheritance. In every book, Count Olaf comes up with a plan, bad things happen to the kids, but they manage to stop him. Temporarily.
The newest guardian for the Baudelaires is Aunt Josephine, who's a sucky guardian because she's afraid of everything. But the children are still trying to make do and, what do you know, Count Olaf shows up again. Obviously, none of the adults are any help because they refuse to listen to kids so they're on their own, trying to escape Count Olaf's clutches once again.
It's the same formula with every book, but not in a bad way. It's like Phineas and Ferb. They make something awesome (and usually impossible), Candace tries to bust them, Perry goes off to fight Doof. Perry succeeds, Candace fails, onto the next episode. It works.
The thing that, for me, improved in this particular was that it was more clever. The solution to the problems wasn't obvious. You could see that the Baudelaire orphans are genuinely clever kids and it was really fun to see them trying to outsmart Olaf and save themselves. What wasn't fun was the baby, Sunny, saying a one or two-syllable non-words a few times every chapter and the author telling us what she meant by them. For example:
I didn't mind it at first, but it's gotten more frequent and also, annoying. And I still think the tone of the novel is a little patronizing, which is not helped by the frequent explain-the-meaning segments. I like this series and I'm eager to find out what will become of the kids, I just think there are some things we could do without. But those things do not include the alliterative names. I love those.
The newest guardian for the Baudelaires is Aunt Josephine, who's a sucky guardian because she's afraid of everything. But the children are still trying to make do and, what do you know, Count Olaf shows up again. Obviously, none of the adults are any help because they refuse to listen to kids so they're on their own, trying to escape Count Olaf's clutches once again.
It's the same formula with every book, but not in a bad way. It's like Phineas and Ferb. They make something awesome (and usually impossible), Candace tries to bust them, Perry goes off to fight Doof. Perry succeeds, Candace fails, onto the next episode. It works.
The thing that, for me, improved in this particular was that it was more clever. The solution to the problems wasn't obvious. You could see that the Baudelaire orphans are genuinely clever kids and it was really fun to see them trying to outsmart Olaf and save themselves. What wasn't fun was the baby, Sunny, saying a one or two-syllable non-words a few times every chapter and the author telling us what she meant by them. For example:
“Delmo!” Sunny offered, which probably meant something along the lines of “If you wish, I will bite the telephone to show you that it’s harmless.”
I didn't mind it at first, but it's gotten more frequent and also, annoying. And I still think the tone of the novel is a little patronizing, which is not helped by the frequent explain-the-meaning segments. I like this series and I'm eager to find out what will become of the kids, I just think there are some things we could do without. But those things do not include the alliterative names. I love those.
paigespages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
4.5
nadineeeeeee's review against another edition
4.0
the narration >>>>>>> i love lemony snicket (20.5.24)
bittersweet_symphony's review against another edition
3.0
This will be the last book I will read of the series.
Its templative episodes of bumbling adults is not enough to keep me. Snicket has a fun and clever prose that keeps you reading, but the books are not very satisfying. It is like a sitcom in that the main characters do not change from book the book. They go through the same story of being placed with a naive new caretaker, who is killed by Count Olaf. Then Olaf escapes only to plot another way to kill their next caretaker in hopes of getting the children's fortune. Seen Scooby Doo much?
All my complaints aside. I think these are great books for children. They provide a fun way to learn new vocabulary, and to laugh about the many unfortunate things we experience in life.
It is nice to see someone follow in a tradition similar to the children's books of Roald Dahl.
Its templative episodes of bumbling adults is not enough to keep me. Snicket has a fun and clever prose that keeps you reading, but the books are not very satisfying. It is like a sitcom in that the main characters do not change from book the book. They go through the same story of being placed with a naive new caretaker, who is killed by Count Olaf. Then Olaf escapes only to plot another way to kill their next caretaker in hopes of getting the children's fortune. Seen Scooby Doo much?
All my complaints aside. I think these are great books for children. They provide a fun way to learn new vocabulary, and to laugh about the many unfortunate things we experience in life.
It is nice to see someone follow in a tradition similar to the children's books of Roald Dahl.
bjlongchamps's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5