Who Could That Be At This Hour?

Meh. It's a slightly above-average book. The trademark Lemony Snicket wit is here, and it makes the book much more fun. As a whole, though, it feels forgettable and pretty mediocre. There are some colorful characters, as you will typically find in a Snicket book, and I can see them growing weirder and more interesting in the next few books.

I've heard the next book is better, I'll give it a shot.

“A Series of Unfortunate Events” is one of my all time favorite series, so I was extremely excited to get a hold of the new Lemony Snicket and even more excited to see it listed as “Vol. 1.” The style is still a joy to read including all of the references and language play that I associate with his other books. As a first book, it certainly leaves a lot of loose ends to be tied up. Not a lot happens in the story, but we're introduced to the usual eclectic Snicket cast and setting. Mystery upon mystery is presented, but none are solved. Normally, this would frustrate me, but I just enjoy the prose style so much that I don't really mind. I kind of feel like I just watched a Wes Anderson Film... or half of a Wes Anderson film. It's a lot less plot driven than ASUE, and I'm curious if this is going to connect with VFD and Count Olaf later on. I read the book in a day, and am eager for more. Just hope I don't have to wait too long.

Lemony Snicket writes like a MOTHERFUCKER and makes it look easy. Like, honestly, I'm just pretty breathless about him. Have you read [b:Adverbs 79129 Adverbs Daniel Handler http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327729597s/79129.jpg 1230197]? Like, I don't wanna tell you how to live your life, but you should read Adverbs. I want to re-read Adverbs right now.What? This isn't supposed to be a review of Adverbs? WHATEVER I DO WHAT I WANT. Anyway, in college I became a big fan of the Series of Unfortunate Events, which are also super clever but not just clever for clever's sake, you know? Just brilliant. I loved the way this tied in to ASoUE but also stood alone. Ummm when does the next one come out. Is it tomorrow? I hope it's tomorrow.

I turned to this book after a previously started read-aloud book for the kids proved to be too boring. This isn't boring although at times it can be a bit convoluted. It's a faux-autobiographical tale of a young Lemony Snicket who's apprenticed to a dim chaperone and tasked with solving a mystery. Many of the characters are amusing and the kids once again protested every time I declared I was done reading for the night. Always a good sign. This book is the first of four in a series and left some loose ends.

I really did not expect much going into this as the number one reason I loved SOUE was the orphans and they are, of course, missing from this new series. That said, Little Lemony (as I like to think of him) is a smart ass who makes mistakes. Sometimes it seems as though he is one step ahead of the bad guys, but most times he is not, and that felt right because he is an apprentice. I enjoyed the new setting and many of the new characters (the cab driving kids are awesome). A huge thumbs up for a great “sub” librarian character who is actually the coolest person in town. So, I think this book will appeal to the kids (and grown ups) who read the first series, it is (imho) written in a style that most chapter book level readers may find to be clunky and old fashioned, but that a more mature reader recognizes as snark.
I am looking forward to the next in the series and have my fingers crossed for an appearance by a young Count Olaf.

Every time I thought I had this book nailed, it changed again. From the first twist (in Chapter One) I knew I was in for a ride. It has lots of things I love: mysteries, secret societies, talented detectives, mediocre detectives, smart kids who go on adventures, etc. I wish the next one was due out sooner but in the meantime I might actually give this one another read.