The Ersatz Elevator: Book the Sixth by Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist

NOW A NETFLIX ORIGINAL SERIES In their most daring misadventure, the Baudelaire orphans are adopted by very, very rich people, whose penthouse apartment is located mysteriously close to the place where all their misfortune began. Even though their new home in the city is fancy, and the children are clever and charming, I'm sorry to say that still, the unlucky orphans will encounter more disaster and woe. In fact, in this sixth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the children will experience a darkened staircase, a red herring, an auction, parsley soda, some friends in a dire situation, a secret passageway, and pinstripe suits. Both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted, A Series of Unfortunate Events offers an exquisitely dark comedy in the tradition of Edward Gorey and Roald Dahl. Lemon Snicket's uproariously unhappy books continue to win readers, despite all his warnings. Editorial Reviews The Barnes & Noble Review The perils of the Baudelaire children continue unabated in The Ersatz Elevator, Book Six in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. These delightfully doomed siblings -- whose string of horrible luck began with a house fire that destroyed their belongings and left them orphaned -- continue their efforts to escape the clutches of their determinedly greedy and dastardly relative, Count Olaf. After working their way through several potential guardians and surviving a boarding school debacle, the Baudelaire orphans -- 14-year-old Violet, 12-year-old Klaus, and baby Sunny -- are adopted by a wealthy couple who take them on primarily because orphans are currently considered "in" in a world that is highly subject to the dictates of fashion. When the children discover that their new guardians live in the penthouse suite at 667 Dark Avenue, they think maybe their luck is finally changing. But then they discover that the 71-bedroom apartment is on either the 48th or 84th floor, and because elevators aren't currently "in," they must climb the stairs to get there. Then there's their new guardian, Esme Squalor, the city's sixth most important financial adviser and a cold, haughty woman whose primary concern is staying in vogue. Her husband, Jerome, is kindhearted and caring, but his determination to avoid an argument makes him a poor ally for the children. And of course there's yet another visit from the dreaded Count Olaf and his gang of cronies, who kidnapped the Baudelaire's only friends, the two Quagmire triplets, in the last book. The humor in these tales is sly and dark and the action occasionally violent, but the slapstick silliness helps to keep the events safely nonthreatening. This time out, the fun factor is heightened by the addition of some puzzle-solving elements, as well as a few more hints about the author's life and the fate of the mysterious Beatrice. (Beth Amos) - bn.com Review The six installments of this highly popular recent series present their melodramatic yet humorous tales in a neat, old-fashioned format with decorative endpapers and apt illustrations. The three Baudelaire orphans, who find themselves with a new guardian in every book, repeatedly fend off the evil Count Olaf. This time, guardian Jerome Squalor means well, but his wife, Esme, is not to be trusted. Meanwhile, the three children are trying to rescue two of their young friends, who are being held captive by the Count. The narrator adds tongue-in-cheek humor to this sixth book about the Baudelaire orphans' dangerous escapades. -Kathleen Odean(Excerpted Review) - Gr 4-6-The resourceful, likable, but extremely unlucky orphans Violet, Klaus, and baby Sunny continue to flee from the clutches of the fortune-hunting, disguise-wearing Count Olaf. Also, they need to discover the whereabouts of their kidnapped friends, Duncan and Isadora Quagmire, based on the puzzling clue "V.F.D." In Elevator, the three Baudelaires go to live in the penthouse of the trend-following Jerome and Esm Squalor, who adopt the children because orphans are "in." Despite the Baudelaires' resourcefulness, both Olaf and the Quagmires elude the grasp of the authorities due to the obtuseness of adults who, until it is too late, deny that terrible things can happen. In Village, the Baudelaires travel to V.F.D., a village that adopts the orphans based on the aphorism, "it takes a village to raise a child." They uncover the whereabouts of the Quagmires, but, as in the earlier books, they find neither respite nor peace from Count Olaf's machinations. Despite Snicket's artful turning of clich s on their well-worn heads, Elevator sometimes belabors the fallacy of fads at the expense of plot. Nonetheless, the satiric treatment of adults' insistence upon decorum at the expense of truth is simultaneously satisfying and unsettling, as are the deft slams at slant journalism in Village. Arch literary allusions enhance the stories for readers on different levels. Despite Snicket's perpetual caveats to "put this book down and pick up another one," the Baudelaires are dynamic characters who inspire loyalty to the inevitable end of the series.-Farida S. Dowler, formerly at Bellevue Regional Library, WA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information. - School Library Journal In this sixth installment in A Series of Unfortunate Events, the Baudelaire orphans once again face off against Count Olaf and deal with yet another set of inadequate guardians. Tim Curry knows just how to deliver Snicket's brand of alternately dry and over-the-top humor. The voices Curry creates are perfect. Count Olaf sounds just as evil and creepy as he is, and the rest of the adults sound just as evil or incompetent as they turn out to be. Curry's voices for the Baulderlaires themselves are more subtle, but still distinct. Curry even manages to carry off the touching moments of the book, as the children mourn the loss of their parents and their inability to save the Quagmire triplets. A.F. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine - OCT/NOV 02 - AudioFile