Series Of Unfortunate Events #5: The Austere Academy [Hardcover]

 

 

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This book is the best book I have ever read. I love all of the books in this series, but this is one of my favorite of them all. I recommend all of the books as well as this one.

In this book the Baudelaire are faced with numerous of situations that can change there lifes forever. They must once agein try proving count ofal's identity, run laps every night, pass many exams, and still manage to sleep. But, with the help of there friends, the two Quagmire triplets, they manage to survive. Until something terrible happenes to Quagmire triplets, thanks to there own forturn, and coach Genghis.

I think this book is the best in its series, this is because it has a little bit of everything in it, and you can relate to it more than the other books. This is because, it is all about the
having to deal with unfairness, and I am sure we all think we have that. But from werid teachers, to even bullys, the Baudelaires have another adventure that is worth reading, so go and read this book I'm sure you woun't put it down!

I am surprised and saddened to report that on reading books one through five of the Unfortunate Events series, I have discovered with this volume that Lemony Snicket is a fraud, "fraud" here meaning that there is more than one author passing themselves off as the cranky curmudgeon who writes these books. Part of the appeal of the Snicket books is that the author is sort of anonymous but at least sort of the same person. I was amazed to learn as an adult that there was no Franklin W. Dixon who wrote the Hardy Boys books of my youth, but rather a series of writers ghosting as the ficticious author. But surely, I thought, Lemony is gonna be one fellow all the way through. And then we get to the Austere Academy which blew that theory all to pieces.
The tone of the book is much different than the previous volumes. Granted, horrible things still happen to our unfortunate orphans, and the style tries to mimic the first books, but the word usage and sentence structure and style is, at times, wildly different. In a way, the writing is much more adult in the way it is presented. The first four books played pretty loose and were very conversational between author and reader, as if Lemony were telling a terrible story to a younger group of children. They also explained things and expounded on ideas that may be new to a younger reader. The Austere Academy, however, is a much more straightforward young adult novel in approach and becomes stilted when it tries to be conversational. The choice of words, phrases and concepts used are sometimes surprisingly more mature and advanced as if written by a person used to dealing with an older audience. One of the key elements of the series, defining larger words in an informative and humorous way, is very different as simple words and concepts are expounded upon, and larger words, like "tyrannical," pop up and are passed over as normal parts of childhood speech. The characters are essentially the same, but in a very rote way. Sunny, the baby of the bunch, is especially different as the second author has her think and act much older than she should be able to. Her four sharp teeth, unlike the first books, play almost no part as the writer seems to forget that she has a tendancy to bite everything in sight. Her speech, always garbled, was almost always expounded upon in the first books giving a meaning to what she has tried to say, but in the Academy, she just blurts out odd words and the story just keeps on going much of the time. Count Olaf, too, is sort of downplayed as he is but one of a number of sinister figures that wreck the orphan's lives rather than the evil mastermind who is waiting around every corner. I could go on, but you get the point.
This book isn't bad, in fact it is a decent story, but it is more of a straightforward (and a trifle bland) version of the unfortunate events depicted. Much of the wit, lunacy and charm of the earlier volumes is severely lacking. So either Lemony Snicket is more than one writer (which I suspect), or between the fourth and fifth books, somebody started slipping him some Prozac to even him out.
Oh, the book would only get two stars, but it redeems itself by introducing the term "Cakesniffer" into the English language.

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1.0 out of 5 stars terrible shouldnt be published!!!
this book is very disapointing in that u cant read one book you have to read every book in the series so that it makes sense

and constantly the author explains his words as if... Read more

Published on Jun 8 2004 by scotto

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT BOOK
This book is about two sisters and their brother. They are always having bad things happen to them. In the first book of the series their parents die in a fire. Read more

Published on May 19 2004

4.0 out of 5 stars The Baudelaires book 5
The author of The Austere Academy is Lemony Snicket. Every book in the whole series is always dreadful and mischievous. At the same time it is full of action. Read more

Published on April 26 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't let the momento mori pass you by
Further dire straights for the siblings three. Now our Baudelaire friends have been plunged into the depths of academia. Read more

Published on April 20 2004 by E. R. Bird

5.0 out of 5 stars Wowwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!
I loved this book! It is really good. All of Lemony Snicket's books are good, but starting at five, they get reeally good! I would definitley recomend this book. Read more

Published on Mar 28 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars The Baudelaire's Unfortunate Events- Part 5
A Series of Unfortunate Events The Austere Academy
by Lemony Snicket
Reviewed by J.Fitterer
Period 5

In this story the Baudelaires are sent to an academy called... Read more

Published on Mar 28 2004 by Mary Fitterer

5.0 out of 5 stars These books are outstanding for children
Outstanding books (the entire series)

Published on Mar 28 2004 by C. B. Cape

5.0 out of 5 stars the monsterous monster and the ingenious inventor
count olaf is back again, lookin good, and keeping up his disgusting disguises and evil schemes. this time he has running equipment to so he can escape from mr. Read more

Published on Mar 15 2004 by rheaa

5.0 out of 5 stars Rachelle from clarksville
Its about three orphans whos parents had died when they were young, and they are always getting sent to different places, and how theyalways have to change their locations becuase... Read more

Published on Mar 10 2004

3.0 out of 5 stars Michael Richview Middle
This book mainly involves three orphans called the Bauldinlares. The
Bauldinlares are Violet, Klaus, Sunny. Read more

Published on Mar 10 2004

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