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brynalexa's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Read this to my kids over bedtime the last few weeks to share some of what I read as a child… I did not remember it being this dark?! Child marriage?! Reference to “wedding night” 😱
On the other hand, it’s just as clever and cheeky as I remembered. I was also able to get lots of little lessons out of it like “not all adults are safe”, consent, etc.
Could do without the transphobia, fatphobia, and ableism imbedded in the troupe of bad guys….
Leaving it up to the kids if we carry on the series.
On the other hand, it’s just as clever and cheeky as I remembered. I was also able to get lots of little lessons out of it like “not all adults are safe”, consent, etc.
Could do without the transphobia, fatphobia, and ableism imbedded in the troupe of bad guys….
Leaving it up to the kids if we carry on the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Transphobia, Violence, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
smacey's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
4.75/5.00
I originally read the SoUE books as a kid growing up, back when I fit the population that this series was meant for. I loved them. I am re-reading them now as a 27-year-old, and upon finishing book #1, I am sensing why I may have always liked them so much: these books are essentially the juvenile version of trauma porn (in a good way, to those who also believe that is a thing). I thought that my enjoyment of dark, twisted, trauma-filled stories started in adulthood, but I now think that maybe I've just always been this way. Regardless of the self-reflection this book has brought about for me, this was definitely a different reading experience as an adult vs. child.
I have critiques of this book for sure, but when I take a step back and examine those critiques from the perspective of what audience this book is intended for, they mostly don't hold. My main example is how Justice Strauss and Mr. Poe are insanely inept, to the point of being entirely frustrating and seemingly unrealistic as their obvious incompetence and consistent dismissal of the three main characters goes against the expected character of a high court judge and experienced banker. However, when you view it through the lens of a young person, their inability to listen to the Baudelaire children and the way in which they miss the obvious signs of abuse, neglect, and general cruelty of Count Olaf despite allegedly being intelligent, well-meaning adults can be, and likely is often, extremely relatable as a kid around the age of Klaus or Violet.
Essentially, this book is entirely well-written in the utterly unique Lemony Snicket style which I don't believe could ever be replicated, and although the pace is quicker than I'd like and the plot isn't as complicated as I'd prefer, once again, as a piece of children's fiction, it does exactly what it was meant to - create a relatable but simultaneously far-reaching (but still believable) fictional story focused on characters the same age as its intended audience and told in both a captivating and educational manner. My only standing critique is I would have loved more detail/a slightly longer story (but I also know that happens with each expansion of the series, which I look forward to re-delving into). Despite the maturity I now have a decade since my first read, the story still holds.
I originally read the SoUE books as a kid growing up, back when I fit the population that this series was meant for. I loved them. I am re-reading them now as a 27-year-old, and upon finishing book #1, I am sensing why I may have always liked them so much: these books are essentially the juvenile version of trauma porn (in a good way, to those who also believe that is a thing). I thought that my enjoyment of dark, twisted, trauma-filled stories started in adulthood, but I now think that maybe I've just always been this way. Regardless of the self-reflection this book has brought about for me, this was definitely a different reading experience as an adult vs. child.
I have critiques of this book for sure, but when I take a step back and examine those critiques from the perspective of what audience this book is intended for, they mostly don't hold. My main example is how Justice Strauss and Mr. Poe are insanely inept, to the point of being entirely frustrating and seemingly unrealistic as their obvious incompetence and consistent dismissal of the three main characters goes against the expected character of a high court judge and experienced banker. However, when you view it through the lens of a young person, their inability to listen to the Baudelaire children and the way in which they miss the obvious signs of abuse, neglect, and general cruelty of Count Olaf despite allegedly being intelligent, well-meaning adults can be, and likely is often, extremely relatable as a kid around the age of Klaus or Violet.
Essentially, this book is entirely well-written in the utterly unique Lemony Snicket style which I don't believe could ever be replicated, and although the pace is quicker than I'd like and the plot isn't as complicated as I'd prefer, once again, as a piece of children's fiction, it does exactly what it was meant to - create a relatable but simultaneously far-reaching (but still believable) fictional story focused on characters the same age as its intended audience and told in both a captivating and educational manner. My only standing critique is I would have loved more detail/a slightly longer story (but I also know that happens with each expansion of the series, which I look forward to re-delving into). Despite the maturity I now have a decade since my first read, the story still holds.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Pedophilia, Transphobia, Murder, and Alcohol
buzzinfly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
ashielovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Abandonment
stitchbooks22's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
chavagrenville's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A good opening to the series though it is clear not everything within the Snicketverse has been fully developed yet
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Confinement, Pedophilia, and Fire/Fire injury
owly2014's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
skylarkblue1's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Representations: https://trello.com/c/7gXn3cfF/102-a-series-of-unfortunate-events-1-the-bad-beginning-by-lemony-snicket
I was so incredibly lucky to get the first 6 books of this series in the delightful 25th anniversary editions on an author's evening with Lemony Snicket himself :3 I cannot state just how lovely he was, so many fantastic stories! And these editions, just absolutely breathtaking! Emily Gravett did an excellent job with them.
I think we all know these books, even if you haven't read them (yet!). I read these as a kid back in the early 2000s, lost my old copies though so I grew up re-watching the film to give me my fix (Yes, I know it's really bad... I can't help but love it still though in it's own, quirky book chopping ways :3). It's been so long I've practically forgotten all of the stuff from the books so getting the opportunity to re-read them is such a delight!
I was pretty surprised by how short and light on character development this was though. I guess iirc it was originally made to be 13 books so I guess I should look at it like that, but if I went into this with no additional context, no history, etc I don't think I'd get as hooked into it from this starter alone. But I think nowadays it's pretty hard to separate it's fame from what it is, and we have all 13 books out to binge read at once so I don't think that's much of an issue at all to be honest.
Characters are just as loveable and creative as always, the writing is very creative and while it might repeat a bit too many things (like for example, if one of the kids does something while another of the kids isn't there, what they did will get repeated back even though it only happened a page or so ago). The humour was dry, but in a very good way - the classic Snicket way.
One thing I've never really realised before though about these is somehow despite being so incredibly dark and heavy with it's topics while being also humorous, it does actually handle the topics pretty well. The abuse itself isn't a joke, nor are the after-effects, and it doesn't feel like tonal whiplash either. I also get it's the whole "the kids have severely bad luck" but children being ignored and "parents know best" in this is sadly pretty realistic. It's not until the abuser slips up and shows themselves in-front of others that people actually take note finally.
I do really recommend this though, and if you're looking for some beautiful covers look no further than these 25th anniversary ones, my favourite so far has to be the second book with the snake wrapping around both sides though, it's so cool!
I was so incredibly lucky to get the first 6 books of this series in the delightful 25th anniversary editions on an author's evening with Lemony Snicket himself :3 I cannot state just how lovely he was, so many fantastic stories! And these editions, just absolutely breathtaking! Emily Gravett did an excellent job with them.
I think we all know these books, even if you haven't read them (yet!). I read these as a kid back in the early 2000s, lost my old copies though so I grew up re-watching the film to give me my fix (Yes, I know it's really bad... I can't help but love it still though in it's own, quirky book chopping ways :3). It's been so long I've practically forgotten all of the stuff from the books so getting the opportunity to re-read them is such a delight!
I was pretty surprised by how short and light on character development this was though. I guess iirc it was originally made to be 13 books so I guess I should look at it like that, but if I went into this with no additional context, no history, etc I don't think I'd get as hooked into it from this starter alone. But I think nowadays it's pretty hard to separate it's fame from what it is, and we have all 13 books out to binge read at once so I don't think that's much of an issue at all to be honest.
Characters are just as loveable and creative as always, the writing is very creative and while it might repeat a bit too many things (like for example, if one of the kids does something while another of the kids isn't there, what they did will get repeated back even though it only happened a page or so ago). The humour was dry, but in a very good way - the classic Snicket way.
One thing I've never really realised before though about these is somehow despite being so incredibly dark and heavy with it's topics while being also humorous, it does actually handle the topics pretty well. The abuse itself isn't a joke, nor are the after-effects, and it doesn't feel like tonal whiplash either. I also get it's the whole "the kids have severely bad luck" but children being ignored and "parents know best" in this is sadly pretty realistic. It's not until the abuser slips up and shows themselves in-front of others that people actually take note finally.
I do really recommend this though, and if you're looking for some beautiful covers look no further than these 25th anniversary ones, my favourite so far has to be the second book with the snake wrapping around both sides though, it's so cool!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief and Fire/Fire injury
ssweeny's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, and Death of parent
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
A dark children’s book but not so dark that it’s inappropriate. Definitely check the content warnings and make sure you feel this series is appropriate for your child’s age. But there is no cursing or mature content.m; it’s just dark and has realistically scary things.
We are continuing with the series as a family!
We are continuing with the series as a family!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Alcohol