The Austere Academy

Snicket continues to tweak his formula just enough to keep me interested in the Baudelaire orphans. In the fifth book they are sent to a boarding school, rather than to live with another long lost family member. Although things don't really improve for them there (their lives have been getting steadily worse since poor Monty died), they do finally make some friends their own age.

I also liked that Count Olaf's plan was a little subtler this time around. Although I could see what he was doing, the poor orphans were completely at a loss. And they still came close to defeating him. As close as they ever do anyway.

With hostages to free, a solid clue about why all of this is happening, and a promise of more complicated plots, I'm excited to keep reading. The formula will change up eventually (I think in the seventh book - halfway through). In the meantime, it's fun to watch the orphans grow ever more resourceful.

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