The Carnivorous Carnival

Given the title of the series, and all the bad things that have happened to the Baudelaires thus far, I shouldn't really be surprised when the story takes a dark turn. But man does this book get dark. People get thrown to the lions. The orphans have very real and difficult concerns about whether they are crossing too many lines in their attempts to capture/escape from Count Olaf. By the end, Sunny has been separated from her older siblings and is being held captive by Olaf and his associates.

In this book the kids start failing hard. Violet is unable to complete her invention. Klaus loses access to an incredibly useful library. An adult seems to be both willing and able to help them, only to betray them and die a grisly death. They lose any advantage they had over Olaf, and are plunged into their most perilous circumstances yet.

Not to say there isn't hope. But I can't really bring myself to believe that one of their parents is alive. Still, the next book promises lots of answers. Since all we've gotten so far are more questions, that will be a pleasant change of pace. Assuming Violet and Klaus can also figure out a way to save Sunny and the Quagmires.

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