Series of Unfortunate Events #12: The Penultimate Peril audiobook

Do any of you secretly know how to time travel? Have like a weird DIY crystal-/laser-based contraption that gets the ol' hanging-out-with-Cleopatra job done?I promise I won’t tell anyone, I just have one favor to ask. Please go back in time and tell ten-year-old me reading this series for the first time that she is peaking.I will never find a book like this one. Ever. It’s time to give up. I’m going to force myself to forget how to read in order to avoid the disappointment. Time to start my new life as Jared, 19.They just don’t make books like this anymore!!!This series is funny, it is wrenching, it is well-characterized, it is exciting, it is unique, it is unforgettable, it is SHOW-STOPPING. It gave me, a child, a moral compass that included justice and kindness and generosity and realism and forgiveness.(Well, I was a child then. Not now. Adult woman, moral compass in place, etc. etc. Okay yes maybe I eat cookies for meals and enjoy bubbles more than any grown-up has any right to but still. Legally I am an adult. I’m not okay with this series being """over""" in any capacity. Even my reread of it.This is my favorite book in my favorite series, and it has been for over a decade, and I am Voraciously, Fiercely Determined that that fact will never change. Bottom line: I’M EMOTIONAL. Don’t tell anyone. It’ll ruin my reputation.----------pre-reviewwhenever i feel i must ask the question "emma, why are you like this?" i now know i can simply answer: because of how many times i read this series in childhood."Justice is out. Injustice is in. That's why it's called injustice."review to come / 5 stars----------currently-reading updatesi can FEEL the reading slump coming on...if my favorite book in my favorite series can't help me nothing can

This is clearly the book Daniel was aching to write. The best, most complex, most complete, most well-constructed and most enlightening installment in the series. This is the book with the denouement of the series, indeed, and the main theme of the novels shines darkly through to the end. Kit's early insistence that the children will be able to observe nobility in others, to the final pages where nothing at all about nobility could be foggier, the moral ambiguity of adulthood and the wickedness in even the most well-intentioned of people ends the book on a bittersweet note. Just noble enough.Dreary indeed, but very very insightful and mature for what is much more than a simple children's series. I'm interested to see how Olaf changes in the final installment. (view spoiler)[Handler has set up the book so that the children and Olaf are utterly alone together, and Olaf is beginning to see the children as more than just walking dollar signs. I just know his own story and raison d'etre will come into play as this series of unfortunate events finally ends.--As well as the question of just how noble the Baudelaire parents could have been, after all of this, and their involvement in the poison dart episode. If I remember correctly, it sounds like Beatrice and her Baudalaire husband were involved in a rather seedy affair, indeed. (hide spoiler)] Perhaps there is a touch of personal vendetta to what Olaf has done, a victimization complex reinforced by his brutal brand of survival. There has to be some reason he trusts no one and liquors his life away, after all.

same formula as all the others, but the plot thickens! favorite snicketism from this volume? “the three adults smiled at the children, and the children smiled back, but of course the baudelaires were not born yesterday, an expression which means “young or innocent enough to believe things certain people say about the world.” …violet was born more than fifteen years before this particular wednesday, and klaus was born approximately two years after that, and even sunny, who had just passed out of babyhood, was not born yesterday. neither were you, unless of course i am wrong, in which case welcome to the world, little baby, and congratulations on learning to read so early in life.” as always, for me, the pleasure of reading these books lies not in the often disparaged formulaic plot. for me, the enjoyment comes from mr. snicket’s use of language. i find them fun, just don’t make the mistake of taking them too seriously. look around, he’s sparked a whole slew of imitators, but … nothing (at least that i’ve found so far) is quite the same.

This is one of (if not) my favourite of the later stories in this series! I can tell by how much of the story I actually remember (I have a really bad memory). I think my opinion of this book is raised by the episodes of the show. I love how they used the twist in this book and kinda played with the viewers a little bit at the beginning. Anyway, this isn’t a show review… Tim Curry is great as usual. Again my audio book had a full song play at the end which again, was a little weird. My least favourite part of this book is the end where no one seems all that concerned when people are screaming FIRE!

Here's the point: The Penultimate Peril continues to tie it all together, and the return on your investment is shockingly huge. Lemony Snicket manages to tease out a few underlying themes, like what to think when good people let you down, and whether doing evil things makes you an evil person. There are incredible images here of reflections, fire and justice. The illustrations are also picture perfect. And even though the series grows dimmer and darker, it still manages to be one of the funniest I've ever read. I don't get it. I also don't understand why this is called a children's series. The lexile level (the reading difficulty score--check out lexile.com) of this book is 1280, which is higher than War and Peace (1200) and Pride and Prejudice (1100). I love these books. And if you're reading this, you too have probably read them all, and you probably love them as much as I do.

the concept of being “noble enough” is going to stick with me forever i think

This is by far the most complex and interesting book out of the series! I just adored the whole concept of the Hotel Denouement and all the mysteries it contained. And once again we're introduced to a bunch of new and quite interesting characters that really add to the story. I also quite enjoyed the reappearance of characters from previous novels! This is by far one of my favourite out of the series and I'm quite sad I only have one more book left to read!

I know I said this about the last one but THIS is my favorite one so far.

3.75* another fun addition to the series. I really enjoyed all characters that returned in this and the fact that the Baudelaire's somewhat had more people on their side! I can't wait to see how this all wraps up in the end. I'm just hoping (although doubting) all my question will finally be answered...

~3.5 stars~I'm kinda sad there is only one book left in the series, but I'm really curious how this is going to end lol So I definitely will be picking the last book up at the library when I get a chance xD

Uno de los que más me ha gustado de la saga. Me ha encantado reencontrarme con personajes del pasado y cómo ha ido resultando todo. Ya sólo falta uno para que todo se termine y no sé cómo sentirme al respecto. :(

poziom absurdu jaki osiąga ta książka pod koniec jest niesamowity

I think this is now my favorite in the series. As per usual, a lot of frustrating and sad things happened but I loved seeing old characters again and having more mysteries solved. I really hope the last book won't leave too many questions unanswered - I wouldn't be surprised though.

Guys, I don't know what to do. But I cried. I'm not sure what that says about me, but this book was really dark, and it made me get a little teary.And now the wait for "The End" begins.

4.5 stars I am always perplexed on how smart and unique Lemony Snicket writes his stories. This book is such a great children's book, that even non-children can read (including me lol). Not only does it teach you important lessons, but also terms, phrases, and defenitions, and intertwines them into the story making it fun to learn, that is why I wish I would have read this when I was younger. Not only are you being educated but also following a story of these 3 intellectual and bonded sibling orphans that is bittersweet yet soooo enjoyable. I am sad my journey with this series is almost over as there is now only one book left in this series for me to read. brief audiobook review: I listened to this as an audiobook. My rating of the audiobook are mostly positive. But I must say not all of Tim Curry's impressions were my favorite, but I guess he has to make every character sound different for distinguishable reasons and at some point you will run out of voices. I still enjoyed it though , and found it easy to keep along with the story.