“Dear Reader, Like handshakes, house pets, or raw carrots, many things are preferably not slippery. Unfortunately, in this miserable volume, I am afraid that Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire run into more than their fair share of slipperiness during their journey up-and down a range of strange and distressing mountains. In order to spare you any further repulsion, it would be best not to mention any of the unpleasant details of this story, particularly a secret message, a toboggan, a deceitful trap, a swarm of snow gnats, a scheming villain, a troupe of organized youngsters, a covered casserole dish, and a surprising survivor of a terrible fire. Unfortunately, I have dedicated my life to researching and recording the sad tale of the Baudelaire Orphans. There is no reason for you to dedicate yourself to such things, and you might instead dedicate yourself to letting this slippery book slip from your hands into a nearby trash receptacle or deep pit.With all due respect, Lemony Snicket.”
Dear Reader,
I has been a few days since I finished reading this book, and I won’t lie, I completely forgot to write this post up as I am so immersed in the world, and I jumped straight into the next book in the series, which I am almost finished.
Much like the last book, this one starts of right where the previous ended, which I can appreciate, as it is almost one long story which I easily get immersed in, as I have proven. Sunny is being held by Count Olaf and co. while Violet and Klaus are left to fend for themselves in an out of control caravan, which is quickly making it’s way down a steep mountainside. Violet being the keen inventor she is manages to conjure up an invention to slow the caravan down so she and her brother don’t meet their ending when the caravan stops at the bottom of the mountain. After they make their getaway, they travel back up the mountain they have just fallen down in an attempt to find their sister. On their way, they find a group in a cave who go by the Snow Scouts, and the one and only Carmelita Spats, who we know from The Austere Academy, makes a reappearance. It’s starting to become a thing where the Baudelaire’s are the one’s wearing disguses instead of Olaf and his group, and the two children disguse themselves as Snow Scouts throughout this book to keep their identity hidden.
One of the children in the group of Snow Scouts seems to know about V.F.D., which makes one of us, because I am still completely stumped. This boy turns out to be Quigley, the third Quagmire triplet, and the Snicket Fire file from the Hostile Hospital was about the Quagmire Fire, not the Baudelaire one, and he was the person who survived the fire, not one of the Baudelaire parents. Along with his help, Violet and Klaus make their way to the V.F.D. headquarters, only to find it burned down, not much of a surprise at this point, if I’m being honest.
Still in the grasp of Count Olaf and away from her siblings, Sunny is forced to work for him and his troupe, again, with no disguises. We are soon introduced to two new characters who tell Olaf and co. that they have successfully burned down the V.F.D. headquarters and it soon comes to light that the plot of these books have somewhat changes, with a new focus of finding the sugar bowl, and not the Baudelaire’s being in the care of Olaf. He couldn’t care less about the children at this point, as long as one of them remains alive in order to get his hands on their fortune at a later date.
Back with Violet, Klaus, and Quigley, Violet manages to conjure up an invention that allows her and Quigley to climb up a frozen waterfall after seeing green smoke, a V.F.D. signal, to see who is at the top. They find Sunny at the peak, only for her to refuse to come back to safety with them, and she can stay to spy on Olaf and find out the location of the last safe place that everyone is looking for.
When Violet and Quigley make it safely back to the ground, they, aling with Klaus, plan on luring Esmé to them, with the hopes that she will fall into a pit that they will dig, holding her hostage in order to get Sunny back. With a change of heart, the children tell Esmé of their plan and that it was a trap all along, resulting in the four of them making their way back up the frozen waterfall to face Count Olaf once again.
At the mountain peak, the children discover that the Snow Scouts have also managed to make their way to the top, only for them to be captured by Olaf, not before the two White-Faced Women quit his troupe. Along with the Scouts, the Freaks from the previous book, and the Hook-Handed Man are also captured in a net set by Olaf and are carried away by eagles. Since Carmelita was not one of the people captured, she is convinced to join Olaf and Esmé, of course, just what is needed, a spolied child bribed with promises of whatever she desires.
As the book comes to a close, the Baudelaire’s find themselves separated from Quigley, who didn’t last long, but he might be back, hopefully. Before they are swept different ways due to the now melted ice turned waterfall, Quigley tries to tell the Baudelaire’s where to meet him, but it is too late, they are too far apart.
I’ve found myself absolutely flying through these past few books, and I’m that engrossed with them, I keep forgetting that I need to write these posts up before I forget what happened in each book and I merge their stories into one. I’d already finished another before this post went up, with a lot of progress made on the one after that. I’m sad that this series will be coming to and end really soon, but there is a lot of extra material that I can keep myself entertained with after I finish with these ones. I’m looking forward to it.
With all due respect,
Jade Evans
Tea Stains and Book Spines 