HOL

Title of the book: The Bad Beginning
Author: Lemony Snicket
Series: Yes - A Series of Unfortunate Events
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction

Short summary of the story from Goodreads:

Dear Reader,

I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. 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. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

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.

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.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

This is one of my favorite series although, as you are warned from the first page, it is a very sad series. The Bad Beginnings is where we are introduced to the Baudelaire children, Violet, the inventory, Klaus, the reader, and Sonny, the chewer. Lemony Snicket did a job with character development and I can easily relate to all three children even though I am an only child. The children are a pretty extraordinary bunch and I enjoyed watching them come up with creative solutions to outsmart the cruel Count Olaf. The plot moves fairly quickly and I highly recommend it as long as you don't mind unhappy endings.

I love that series Vanessa!! One of my favorites.

This was a quick read, so I was able to get through it in a couple of days. I don't remember ever reading this series, and I think if I had as a child, it may have had a different impact on me than it has an adult, then again, it may not have. It would have depended on when I read the series as I went through my own series of unfortunate events at a very young age. I love how it introduces new words to children by giving the definitions of these unknown words to explain what is being said, but, and this may be my own background affecting this, I felt that there were some adult themes in it that made me very uncomfortable while reading. Again, it may be my own experiences coming through. I will probably not be finishing this series even though the strength of the Baudelaire children and how they have dealt with what life has thrown at them is very impressive and encouraging, but I have no desire to know what happens next.