Rating: 
Summary: A Series of Unfortunate Events
Review: The book is about 3 kids, Violet, who likes to invent things, Klaus, a book worm, and Sunny, who likes to bite things and say baby words like "Leepo". They inherit the Baudelaire fortune after their parents die in a fire. They are sent to live with a man named Count Olaf who is after their fortune. He comes up with a plan so he can inherit the fortune. He wants Violet to marry him in a play, but since a legal document is involved, Violet is really Count Olaf's spouse. The children read up on the Law and get help from a judge named Justice Stauss. Violet concocts a way so the marriage is invalid. In the end Count Olaf gets caught, but he vowed he would be back to steal their fortune. This book was cleverly created by Lemony Snicket. It deserves 5 stars because it has a great plot and is a great books for kids from 9 and up.
Rating: 
Summary: These books are intelligent and humorous.
Review: This book (and indeed, the whole series so far) doesn't have marvellously complex, or clever plotlines. What makes these books stand out, is the wonderful way that Mr "Snicket" narrates them. Most books these days seem be narrated from an objective, third person point of view. This means that the author, or rather, the persona describes only the action as it unfolds, with little or none of his/her own voice coming through. But the persona of "Lemony Snicket" comes through on every page. He frequently digresses from the story, to define words, provide analogies of similar situations, and to talk about "Beatrice" his lost love, apparently! This does not detract from the book. Instead, it adds to it, since "Snicket" is very very, funny. I know that several of the reviewers have criticised this book for being too dark, or for having inappropriate subject matter. But the book is dark in a over-the-top, humorous kind of way. And the inappropriate matter (which I take to refer to when Count Olaf tries to marry 14 year old Violet) is presented in an absurd fashion, and highlights just how dastardly the bad guys are!! I would recommend this book to anyone over the age of 8. Younger kids might take it too seriously, as these books play on every kids worst fears eg Parents dying, other adults not believing you when you tell the truth, having to do heaps of chores, etc. A highly entertaining read!
Rating:
Summary: Are You Sure You Want to Read This Sad Scary Book?
Review: When three childrens parents die in a fire at their big manshion, the children must stay with blustering Count Olaf who seems nice at first, but beware!, because Count Olaf is a greedy sicspisios man that is a old fool with a big brain trying hard to get the poor orphans forchain.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!!
Review: This is a great book. It's a sad, sad story but it's still a good book. There pretty much aren't any happy parts in this book, but The Bad Beginning is an awesome book. The three Baudelaire children (the main characters) are orphaned when their parents are killed in a fire that burns their house down. The Baudelaires are sent to live with a far-away relative named Count Olaf. Count Olaf is a very mean man who is only after the children's money left to them in their parents' will. This is a great book that will keep you reading until the last word...
Rating:
Summary: book review
Review: I think you should read this book because it is an awesome book. That's only if you like sad endings. There's a lot of action. It's also sad though because some poeple die in it. So the kids have to live with their relatives. But they get in a lot of trouble.They didn't like who they were living with. They were offered to live with someone else but they weren't allowed. They had to live with a different person and the old person went to jail.So please read the book. It's awesome!
Rating: 
Summary: Inappropriate for children, distasteful for adults
Review: I am so glad that I read this book just before giving the set as a present! The first chapter or so and book description gave the impression of the kind of droll humor I love. However, I actually found the contrast between the light tone and the sadistic aspects of the story disturbing. Given the allusions to pederasty, and the torturing of a baby, I would say this book is wholly inappropriate for children, young adults, and anyone with any sensibilities. Time to shop for a replacemnt present!
Rating:
Summary: Exciting!
Review: Being a children's author myself I know how hard it is to write an exciting book that appeals to both kids and adults. Well Mr. Snicket has done it. The adventures of these wonderful children is like Oliver Twist times three. If you are a parent your kids will not only love the writing but learn quite a lot. Lemony has a very clever way of teaching new words. And he does this at the same time he keeps the story compelling. Thank you for a great read.
Rating:
Summary: Dry wit, dark humor.
Review: If you like dry wit, wordplay, and dark humor, this is your book. The basic plot is not terribly original: Orphans forced to live with a mean relative who is only interested in their money. It's the way this story is told that sets it apart. Several reviewers claim that there is nothing positive in this book. Not true. These children are very smart, and they use their intelligence to overcome (sort of) the obstacles they face. There is a lot of emphasis here on education and reading. There is also a lot of emphasis on family. The children clearly care about each other, and go to great lengths to protect each other. At one point, the evil guardian does slap one of the children. And the guardian's nasty friends do make comments about the oldest girl's looks. Contrary to some comments in other reviews, these incidents are not handled in a graphic way. If your child is (or you are) hyper-sensitive, or very easily frightened, this may not be the best book for either of you. If your child is (or you are) intelligent and imaginative, you'll have a great time with this book.
Rating:
Summary: Worst book ever!
Review: Ugg! This was the most awful book I've ever read in my entire life! NOT!!!!!!!!!! This book is a very very great book. None of the endings are happy ones. But let me warn you parents, the 2nd book has two curse words in it. (Their one page 94 and 96). Just to let you know. Please be cautious. I won't even let my little sister read that book until I cross out those nasty words.
Rating:
Summary: Morbidly Funny --- Just the Thing for an 8-10 year old
Review: As soon as I finished this book, I immediately ordered the next 4 in the series. I have read many children's books in which a horrible mess or bad event takes place and through an impossible, over-the-top, unbelievable, sugar-sweet course of events (Holes by Louis Sachar, for example), everything turns out hunky-dorey, right-as-rain, golly-gee-great in the end. The Bad Beginning turns that sap around 100% and offers an hysterical Series of Unfortunate Events, in which Murphy's Law prevails at every turn. The characters are delightful, the story-telling is fantastic, and the tone, especially the running vocabulary lessons, is light-hearted and personal. Now I have to stop writing this review so I can go start the second book.
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