Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

Those poor Baudelaire orphans. After the death of their beloved Uncle Monty, the third installment of Lemony Snicket's tale has Violet, Klaus, and Sunny heading toward the home of yet another new guardian. Left by Mr. Poe at Damocles Dock at the edge of Lake Lachrymose for the taxi that will take them to the home of Josephine Anwhistle, the orphans must once again wonder about what fate holds in store for them. Will the gramatically correct dowager be kind like Uncle Morty, or retched like Count Olaf?

It turns out that Aunt Josephine is a mixture of the two. Although she welcomes them into her home, the woman is so terrified by everything--the stove, glass doorknobs, radiators, and even realtors--that the children are hard pressed to enjoy their dinners of cold cucumber soup and their presents of a baby doll, train set, and rattle. Living high above the Lake that is full of the leeches that devoured Josephine's husband, Ike, the three Baudelaire children have a hard time convincing their Aunt to even leave the house.

On a trip to the market, however, who should appear once again with yet another despicable plan to steal the Baudelaire fortune but Count Olaf--this time in the disguise of Captain Sham, a man with an eye patch and peg leg who has opened a boating company of his own. Josephine, of course, is at once enamored of the dashing Captain, and Mr. Poe, as always, is not convinced by the children's claim that Captain Sham and Count Olaf are one and the same. What follows is another does of typical Baudelaire fair--diabolical plans, a terrible hurricane named Herman, a bizarre restaurant named the Anxious Clown, a boat ride across a leech-filled lake, a rescue at Curdled Cave, and another meet-up with Count Olaf's nasty associates.

THE WIDE WINDOW is another winning story in the tales of the Baudelaire orphans. The story took me about an hour and a half to read, and is suitable for children around ages 9 and up. Again, however, you'll need to base your decision of its suitability based on the maturity of your children, as this book is just as dark as the first two. ( )

Its about the siblings aunt

The third book in "A Series of Unfortunate Events" is the best so far. The plotting is better than the previous two books (particularly the first), and there is some genuinely exciting scenes. It is probably the most cinematic of the books, or at least the one that would make the best movie. It still has all the charm and absurdity of the first novels, including this gem from near the end of the book (not a spoiler): "But even if they could go home it would be difficult for me to tell you what the moral of the story is. In some stories, it's easy. The moral of 'The Three Bears,' for instance, is 'Never break into someone else's house.' The moral of 'Snow White' is 'Never eat apples.' The moral of World War One is 'Never assassinate Archduke Ferdinand.'" With prose like that, how could I stop reading? I look forward to tackling book 4 soon! ( )

Unfortunate events led me to read this book in the series out of order (having previously read 1, 2, and 7 through 9). No matter-- it was as entertaining as ever, and in fact, probably the most gripping "children's book" I've ever read. The hungry leeches of Lacrhymose Lake are enough to give a reader nightmares, and poor Aunt Josephine -- well, let's just say her fate is best not to dwell upon.

I continue to be amazed at Mr Snickett's boundless imagination and incredible wit. I regret not having this series of books when I was 12; but for a second childhood, there's nothing that compares. ( )