Published: October 1st 2003
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 337
Format: Book
Genre: Junior Fiction
★ ★ ★ ★ – 4 Stars
Like bad smells, uninvited weekend guests or very old eggs, there are some things that ought to be avoided.
Snicket’s saga about the charming, intelligent, and grossly unlucky Baudelaire orphans continues to alarm its distressed and suspicious fans the world over. The 10th book in this outrageous publishing effort features more than the usual dose of distressing details, such as snow gnats, an organised troupe of youngsters, an evil villain with a dastardly plan, a secret headquarters and some dangerous antics you should not try at home. With the weather turning colder, this is one chilling book you would be better off without.
Book ten brings us very close to the end of the series and you certainly can tell. There is a lot more information being revealed, more time researching and figuring out and a lot less time watching poor guardians being killed and incompetent adults getting in the way. From the beginning of this book things are not going well for Violet and Klaus, being separated from their sister is bad enough but it only gets worse. If I recall correctly I think this is the first book where the siblings have been properly separated for a long period of time, not just the usual kidnappings and almost surgeries.
There is a lot of information provided through this book, secrets are slowly revealed and with the help of a new friend, Violet and Klaus get closer to solving the VFD mystery and hopefully rescuing their sister from Olaf’s clutches. Sunny has been growing up a lot in these books, I assume months have passed by now at the very least so she is walking, talking a bit better and making hot chocolate it seems. We only see her get better here, there is less unrealistic biting and she uses the skills of her absent brother and sister to help herself as she is trapped with these villains.
There is not a lot of action, but there is the greater attraction of piecing together the mysteries. There are more moral dilemmas faced by Violet and Klaus and it is good to see them find alternate ways to get the results they want than resorting to the villainous ways. Use your brains kiddies, not violence screams Snicket through this book.
As I say we find out a great deal by the end of the book, not as much as the siblings had hoped, but certainly enough to get them starting their own proper investigation and not just hoping an off chance mention will bring results.
The siblings do manage to get one over Olaf in a very daring way, which is a lot better than some crummy adult half chasing them or eventually revealing the fake disguise. We do see some interesting things happen in Olaf’s camp which are not fully revealed and naturally by the end we are circling back to a bit of unfortunateness for the Baudelaire’s, but that is to be expected by now.
Lost in a Good Book 