They each have really different personalities (Sunny is my favorite), and each add something special to the story. The relationships between the children are so great. He’s controlling and creepy and obviously a villain. There are a lot of dark moments: the children are placed with a guardian who pretty much treats them like free labor.

I liked this book a lot, but it’s really weird thinking back on my experience reading it. And lately, to be honest, I’ve just needed the pick-me-up that cheeky middle grade books can be. Ha! That’s writing success right there.Īnyway, so I kind of knew the rest of the story because she and I had talked about it, but I’d never read the whole book on my own. I actually started reading this book years ago to my daughter when we’d read aloud together before she went to bed, but I think she loved the story so much she must have started reading it on her own since I wasn’t going fast enough in those few minutes before bed. His writing is playful and he breaks all kinds of conventions but in such a clever way that I never mind. Lemony Snicket is one of the few authors, I think, who can do something like write a letter to the reader instead of paragraphs of back cover copy and it honestly works. It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing. In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant.

Published SeptemAmazon | Bookshop | Goodreads About The Bad Beginning The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1)

The bad beginning by lemony snicket