Friday, January 10, 2014

A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The Bad Beginning - Lemony Snicket

Date Started - 1/4/14
Date Finished - 1/7/14

I realized that I haven't read any middle-grade books in….I don't know how long. And, as someone trying to write as much as possible these days, I thought I might try MG at some point and had better read some more recent publications before doing so. Hence my somewhat odd choice to read this book.


Wow, this is dark. I mean, I know I'm some decades removed from being middle-grade aged but I don't think I remember reading anything quite so dark when I was in elementary school. Maybe middle school, because I do remember reading The Lottery and being extremely creeped out by it (if you haven't read that short story, I strongly suggest that you do so). But yeah, this is dark. It starts out with three kids becoming orphans when their parents die in a fire that destroys their home. Things only get worse from then on, with their evil Count Olaf taking them in and attempting to marry Violet in order to get control of the money they inherited, while doling about abuse along the way.

All that negativity aside, this is a wonderful book. The kids are gutsy, smart, funny, they look out for each other, and the writing - with the many asides - breaks up the serious nature of the subject matter. I don't know how I would have felt if I'd read this as a child, but reading it as an adult was a treat. Separate and apart from enjoying the book, it certainly demonstrated how serious subjects can be approached for younger audiences and was pretty informative in that regard as well.

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