The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1)

Reader reviewed by Anjanie

The Bad Begining is the begining of a series of extremly unfortunate events. The Bauldelaire children had everything they ever wanted until that fateful day when their entire mansion burned to the ground taking thier parents too. Now Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are by themselves in the cold cruel world and they will have to learn to survive on their own. They get sent Count Olaf; a terrible and greedy person who only cares to get his hands on the Bauldelaire fortune. He comes up with a great skeem but is dissapointed when the children out smart him. He and his henchman escape just in time. But the Bauldelaires know he'll be back again. It's just a matter of time. I love this book because of the way Lemony Sniket compares their lives to our lives. If you think this story is bad, then you shouldn't read any more books from this series. The Bauldelairs don't know it but it only goes downhill from here.

Reader reviewed by LaLa

I'll be honest, this is my favorite of all the Lemony Snicket books. I love the start of a series, when it's fresh and new. Not that the rest of the books in the series are bad (I've loved them all). It's just there's something refreshing in meeting the orphans for the first time. You have a clear mental image without wondering about the VFD and looking for hidden clues or keeping track of all the villians and good guys. I have to say that the begining of the series, while not filled with hope, is fresh and different.

Reader reviewed by chardiddlyarlie

This was a very good book. i found it really very funny and though definately not a light hearted read the baudelaires triumphed at the end. This is the story of 3 very interesting and intelligent children who are orphanned at a young age and how they have various different guardians, all of whom are very inefficient and are haunted by the villain count olaf. this is definately worth a read and i would give it a rating of 10/10.

Reader reviewed by Blacstar

      The Bad Beginning was a great book for the Series of Unfortunate Events. In the story we got to meet the three orphans and also learn of the first villian Count Olaf... It was a great story that you can not put down no matter how hard you tried. Also at the end there was a good ending (not a happy ending) that helps lead to the second book. I strongly recommend this book and series to students and adults alike.

Reader reviewed by Brie

This is a GREAT book! I loved it a lot.It's about 3 kids, Violet,Claude, and Sunny, whose parents die in a fire. They are then told they are going to live with a man they have never met named Count Olaf. They arrive at his house sad and scared. The man is strange and horribly mean. He treats the kids awfully. They soon notice an eye on his ankle. After numerous bad experiences, the kids are sent to different homes, but "different" strange people keep showing up and making matters worse. And, what did "all these people" have in common? An eye on their ankle. This is a GREAT book, I recommend it to everyone.

Reader reviewed by perlycc14

I really enjoyed the first book of  Lemony Snickets book: A Series of Unfortunate Events:The Bad Beginning! It was a very good book that kept you interested the whole time. It would make you feel like you wanted to read more, even after you put the book down. I love it mostly because the character Count Olaf is this evil villian who is such a interesting character to follow, and who is a antagonist but at some points in the book he tries to act like the antagonist. That is what amuses me! I love also the way the book is setup. And how it gives you alot of detail with every word that you read. It is so nice how the author can just come righ tout and say what he needs to say but not being to wordy about it. That is why this book is good for kids. It is good for all the kids because it doesn't really have all that much of big words in it so kids will be able to comprehend it. It is a good clean book that will make you want to read more and it will make you want to read the whole series! I have read all thirteen of the books and I recomend them to all people. Especially kids and teens!

Reader reviewed by Twinkletoes

This is a very good book. It keeps you turning the pages and you end up reading it in a day. You end up feeling very bad for the Baudelaire orphans and want to go inside the book and help them. But, of course you can't. You can't help but thinking "What if this happened to me? What if I was one of the orphans?." I really wish that the orphans could have gone with Justice Strauss at the end, but of course it can't have a happy ending because otherwise, there would be no more books in the series! I liked how the author puts the orphans in impossible situations and they still can get themselves out of them. Yet, their life still isn't the way they want it to be.

Reader reviewed by Carter

At my middle school we love all of his books and this one triggered all the follow ups. If you want fun, misery, drama, comedy, and random quotes mixed into one book, here it is. But beware, as soon as you finish one you have to read the rest! Kind of like Lay's potatoe chips. I dare you to try just one. Read one now and be satisfied.

Reader reviewed by Dominique

Once you begin reading A Series of Unfortunate Events, you can't let go. The unfortunate events are somehow entertaining. There's humor too. The books are suitable for anyone of any age.

Very creative, you'll wonder how Lemony Snicket came up with it all. I think that's part of the magic of the book.

Reader reviewed by Andi Ferree

In the beginning, the author, Lemony Snicket, doesn't encourage you to read this book. It's strange, but the book is really good. When he is trying to describe something someone felt like, he would compare it to your life so you would get the feeling of it. I can't see why you would tell people not to read your books because they all start like that, and they all are fantastic. I wish I could meet my favorite author Lemony Snicket. Which he has been since this book came out which was when I was in fourth grade and now I am in seventh. Thanks for writing such fabulous books!