From the back cover: Are you a gifted child looking for special opportunities? When this peculiar ad appears in the newspaper, dozens of children enroll to take a series of mysterious, mind-bending tests. (And you, dear reader, can test your wits right alongside them.) But in the end just four very special children will succeed. Their challenge: to go on a secret mission … [Read more...] about The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart: C+
Children's Fiction
The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket: A-
From the back cover: Dear Reader, If this is the first book you found while searching for a book to read next, then the first thing you should know is that this next-to-last book is what you should put down first. Sadly, this book presents the next-to-last chronicle of the lives of the Baudelaire orphans, and it is next-to-first in its supply of misery, despair, and … [Read more...] about The Penultimate Peril by Lemony Snicket: A-
Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography by Lemony Snicket: B
Book description: Virtually every detail of the volume has Snicket's indelible mark, from the book jacket (reversible to help readers disguise this "extremely dangerous" and "objectionable" autobiography) to the copyright page text to the intentionally blurry and bewildering black-and-white photographs appearing throughout. An apparently false obituary for Lemony Snicket sets … [Read more...] about Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography by Lemony Snicket: B
The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket: A
From the back cover: Dear Reader, Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp. You might also prefer not to read this book, in which the Baudelaire siblings encounter an unpleasant amount of dampness as they descend into the depths of despair, underwater. In fact, the horrors they encounter are too numerous to list, and you wouldn't … [Read more...] about The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket: A
The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket: A
From the back cover: Dear Reader, Like handshakes, house pets, or raw carrots, many things are preferable when not slippery. Unfortunately, in this miserable volume, I am afraid that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire run into more than their fair share of slipperiness during their harrowing journey up—and down—a range of strange and distressing mountains. In order to spare … [Read more...] about The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket: A