Rating: 4 stars
Cover synopsis: The Baudelaires go to boarding school, which turns out to be another miserable episode in their unlucky lives. Truth be told, the children will face snapping crabs, strict punishments, dripping fungus, comprehensive exams, violin recitals, S.O.R.E. and the metric system.
This book was a bit better than The Miserable Mill. It was still outlandish, but perhaps a tad more believable? But the main reason I gave it an extra star back was because I enjoyed the fact that the Baudelaires actually made friends their own age. So, although this book follows the same predictable formula, it was different in the company the kids keep, and also in the end something actually HAPPENS as Count Olaf is getting away. No, he isn't caught, but it will make for an interesting next book, nonetheless.
I also mused after the last book if we would ever get answers to an overarching plot. I'm thinking the answer is: someday. There were allusions to a bigger scheme, and Snicket also tantalizes us with some info about his lost love, Beatrice. So I hope my questions will be answered before the series is finished.
Wait a minute. Did I just say "hope?" I should know better than that. This is, after all, a series of unfortunate events.
