My two children (6 and 8) and myself all enjoyed this book although they did get a little concerned when chapters ended on a particularly precarious note. Questions were raised about what would happen if they became orphans, and who they could turn to for help should they need it. The style of writing was refreshing, and my 8 year old enjoyed repeating interesting words she hadn't come across before.

We're up to the third book now, but I thought I'd post for those considering starting the series. I have a real affection for these books, as well as some concerns. Count Olaf is a truly awful villain, with a habit of murdering each of the orphans' caretakers. Most adults, including their guardian at the bank, Mr. Poe, are kindhearted but ineffectual and emotionally unavailable; the kids are often left to their own devices to save themselves. However, the kids are well-mannered, generous and ingenuitive. They manage to keep their inherent goodness, and stick together, despite exposure to situations that are not innocent. Oh, and there are lots of good vocabulary words with situational definitions. My 8-year-old and I are really enjoying this series, but I wish we'd waited to start it until she was a bit older, like 9 or 10.

If you enjoy reading about devastating fires that destroy homes and parents, evil relatives, plots to steal fortunes, plays about marriage, itchy clothing, and cold porridge for breakfast, then this book is for you. This is the kind of humor all throughout the book series that Lemony Snicket uses. He writes in a fashion to discourage readers, but these are very good books. If you've read the back of the first book and put it down and didn't think about it for a few months (as I did), then you should reconsider. To me, at first, the book seem uninteresting and depressing, but once I started it, I was hooked. I couldn't stop reading the series. I very anxiously awaited The Slippery Slope, and when I got it for Christmas when it came out, I was estatic and read the whole book that day. I then anxiously awaited The Grim Grotto and bought it at a book fair at my school. Something similar to that happened for The Penultimate Peril, and I am a little saddened by The End of the series, but waiting for The End is unbearable! I hope Count Olaf, the evil villain that you grow to hate from the beginning of Book the First, is put to an untimely demise, a phrase which here means, dies a very unpleasant death.

I love this series! It shows how to cope with adversity and has great, lovable characters that make you want to invent, read, and bite! A must-read! Snicket's a genius!

While the creative and descriptive language would help any youth expand their vocab, sometimes it was a bit too much. The constant sence of tragedy, sadness and fear was a bit overwhelming too. My husband loved this book, but having seen some frightening things myself growing up I could not recomend this to any child under 12. A full comprehension of reality and imaginary is needed.

Clever, entertaining, and fun for all ages- who can read and don't mind loads of humorous gloominess in their books.

This is one of my favorite books ever to be on the face of the planet! But there is lots of violence for anyone under 9 years old. Also Count Olaf's friends drink lots of wine when they come over.