The End

January 1, 2007
In this thirteenth and final volume, the Baudelaires are shipwrecked on an island with both their tormentor, Count Olaf, and their ally, Kit Snicket. The story focuses on the dangers of willful ignorance and is, of course, couched in zanily over-the-top predicaments. Snicket excels at balancing the expectation of happy ending against his own repeated declarations that none exists.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

January 1, 2007
In the thirteenth and final volume of A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Baudelaire orphans find themselves shipwrecked on an island with both their tormentor, the cartoonish Count Olaf, and their ally, an injured and very pregnant Kit Snicket, sister to the omnipresent narrator. Readers will be intrigued to discover a bit more of the Baudelaire parents' past, though little else of their secret society is revealed. Instead, the conflict focuses on the dangers of willful ignorance as a means of safety and is, of course, couched in a series of zanily over-the-top predicaments that make enterprising use of the children's talents. Trademark authorial ticks are in full evidence, and include a three-page riff on the dual meanings of the phrase in the dark along with the forcedly whimsical definitions of terms. As well, the moral equivalency drawn between the Baudelaires (who commit treachery to survive) and their foes (who, apparently, survive solely to commit treachery) will chafe at readers who recognize the importance of mitigating circumstances. Where Snicket excels here is in balancing the expectation of happy ending against his own repeated declarations that none exists. Only a few loose threads resolve, and treachery still abounds, but Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are finally given the opportunity to make their own choices. No longer victims of the inevitable battles between noble "volunteers" and villains, they are now willing conscripts in the fight -- and that may be enough to appease their many devoted fans.

(Copyright 2007 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

October 15, 2006
After a singularly bad beginning, the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, have finally reached the end." "The question is, will Book the Thirteenth in A Series of Unfortunate Events meet the expectations of the series' myriad fans? Snicket might put it a somewhat different way: if " end" simply means " to cease," the answer is yes. If, however, " end" means " to complete," the answer is most assuredly no--because though Snicket neatly clips numerous threads in the tragic saga, he leaves others literally fluttering in the breeze. As with the previous books, this one begins where its predecessor left off, with the orphans and the villainous Count Olaf afloat on dangerous open seas. When a storm blows their craft ashore, kindly islanders welcome the orphans, but Olaf is an outcast. Have the children finally found the longed-for "last safe place on earth?" Not so fast . . . before long, they are once again scrambling to avert disaster and death ("Kikbucit," as Sunny puts it when a couple of characters are terminated). If possible, this title is even more preposterous than others in the series (the children help an old friend give birth), as well as considerably longer than some. But frequent references to the other adventures will send Snicket fans back to previous books to delight once again in the idiosyncratic characters, the wry humor, and the wordplay, which has surely increased their vocabulary tenfold.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2006, American Library Association.)