Search - The Wide Window (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Bk 3)

The miserable chronicles of the unlucky Baudelaire orphans are fun, quick reads if you bring a tongue-in-cheek sense of black humor to them. Kids seem to instinctively get the joke, but I've seen adults enraged by the books because they take them far too seriously. To them I say, "Relax. No actual children were harmed in the writing of these books."

In this installment, the Baudelaires learn a hard lesson: that adults can not only be clueless, but spineless as well.

Some people have said that "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is stupid and boring. These people clearly missed the point of the series.

Admittedly the story line itself doesn't sound all that great: three kids who have a very sad life, and it keeps getting worse.

But the real thrill in the book is how the author weaves this complicated, and tangled mystery throughout, leaving just enough clues to keep you interested. The minute you solve one mystery, three more open up! It is absolutely brilliant! The ones who call this series "boring"� clearly missed the complex subtleties in the story.

The main reason I love this series is the author's way with words. Part of the clues he weaves throughout the books involve word usage. He also occasionally breaks the 'rules' of how a book is written. (For example, in one chapter you have to hold the book up to a mirror to see what it says!) There is a surprise that is wholly unique in each and every book.

And though it may seem strange, I found the series encouraging. The reality is, all of our lives are a bit unfortunate (some more than others) and the books' real moral is how people can overcome all obstacles, even the permanent ones, by maintaining their own self-worth.

This is a very sophisticated satirical series.

A wonderful series. Rather dark; I would not suggest it for elementary age children, but would be wonderful for preteen and teenagers. Lead to a lot of family discussion in my house.

The best student in my 4th grade class didn't smile all year until I gave him this book series. But now he's worried that something good may happen and the story will be ruined.

Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Those poor Baudelaire orphans. After the death of their beloved Uncle Monty, the third installment of Lemony Snicket's tale has Violet, Klaus, and Sunny heading toward the home of yet another new guardian. Left by Mr. Poe at Damocles Dock at the edge of Lake Lachrymose for the taxi that will take them to the home of Josephine Anwhistle, the orphans must once again wonder about what fate holds in store for them. Will the gramatically correct dowager be kind like Uncle Morty, or retched like Count Olaf?

It turns out that Aunt Josephine is a mixture of the two. Although she welcomes them into her home, the woman is so terrified by everything--the stove, glass doorknobs, radiators, and even realtors--that the children are hard pressed to enjoy their dinners of cold cucumber soup and their presents of a baby doll, train set, and rattle. Living high above the Lake that is full of the leeches that devoured Josephine's husband, Ike, the three Baudelaire children have a hard time convincing their Aunt to even leave the house.

On a trip to the market, however, who should appear once again with yet another despicable plan to steal the Baudelaire fortune but Count Olaf--this time in the disguise of Captain Sham, a man with an eye patch and peg leg who has opened a boating company of his own. Josephine, of course, is at once enamored of the dashing Captain, and Mr. Poe, as always, is not convinced by the children's claim that Captain Sham and Count Olaf are one and the same. What follows is another does of typical Baudelaire fair--diabolical plans, a terrible hurricane named Herman, a bizarre restaurant named the Anxious Clown, a boat ride across a leech-filled lake, a rescue at Curdled Cave, and another meet-up with Count Olaf's nasty associates.

THE WIDE WINDOW is another winning story in the tales of the Baudelaire orphans. The story took me about an hour and a half to read, and is suitable for children around ages 9 and up. Again, however, you'll need to base your decision of its suitability based on the maturity of your children, as this book is just as dark as the first two.

I loved all of the books in this series. Much much better than the movies.