A Series of Unfortunate Events Box: The Trouble Begins
Reader's Review Despite being highly popular with middle school readers, parents should know that there is a lot to be concerned about this series of books. The book is considered gothic ...
Reader’s Review
Despite being highly popular with middle school readers, parents should know that there is a lot to be concerned about this series of books. The book is considered gothic literature for kids, and contains many dark and morbid themes and incidents. The story is about three orphans and the books begins with the death of their parents. They are then sent to live with an evil villain who goes through any lengths including murder to try and get rid of the children and get access to their fortune. The author revels in describing the misery of the children and their unfortunate circumstances. There is violence, threats, fires, and much more. Fans of the books enjoy the suspense and the likability and kindness of the children. Also note that the popular tv series based on the books contains inappropriate scenes.
To look out for
- Language: Count Olaf and his friends often refer the children with insulting names such as brats, idiots, etc.
- Romance: The count has a girlfriend. The oldest girl is also supposed to marry the evil count, but she does not.
- Violence: The count kills all of the children’s guardians; their parents and many of the adults they grow to like. The children must constantly be conscious of plots to capture and kill them through fires, poison, etc. Guns, knives, swords and other weapons are mentioned.
