Reviews (40)

Among the Reports
The protagonist of the story is Matthias, he is a smart, brave, 13 year old boy, who is and illegal 3rd child. His mission is to shut down the Population Police.
Among the Enemy
I really read this book only because I liked Margarett Haddix's other book Double Identity. This is the only Shadow Chidren book I have read but now I am definitely going to read the other ones. This book is one that you could probably read in a day because it is so suspensful. I reccomend this book to anyone who hasnt read it before to pick it up and start reading because I am 99.99% positive you will like it!!!(see, I even used three exclamation points)

An excellent book
Among the Enemy is all about loyalty, and being true to yourself and beliefs. When Matthias saves the life of a population police officer, he is immediately accepted into their ranks. Instead of being pleased by this turn of events, he's torn between the admiration the police have for him, and his desire to help the very rebels the population police are hunting for. Two of Matthias friends- Alia and Percy- were injured trying to escape the police, and he still wants to help them stay free and alive, despite his new duties as a recruit and despite the fact that he has become friends with a few of his fellow officers. This inner struggle Matthias has reveals a lot about his character as he fights to do what's right.I would compare Among the Enemy to An Audience for Einstein, since both books are about the struggle to do what must be done and overcome the temptation to do what's easy and self-serving. In that regard, they are stories about how hard it can be to always act ethically and morally, which is always a valuable lesson.
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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    3. Children: Grades 4-6    4. Conduct of life    5. Fiction    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Juvenile Science Fiction / Fantasy    8. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    9. Science fiction    10. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    11. Juvenile Fiction / Action & Adventure   

Features

• Bargain Price

Reviews (73)

the book that is really sad and makes you cry!!
The book Olive's Ocean has a lot of detells and I can understand it a lot. I think you should read it because it is funny and in some parts of the book it might make you cry. In some parts of the book it was kind of boing and some parts it feels like you are right in the book with the characters. The chapters are not that long and I like short chapters because I do not like reading a lot at once. The was about a girl that dies and her name is Olive. Martha wrights a story about Olive while she is at her grandmother's house. Martha does not know how to tell her parents that she likes to wright. Martha finds out that there is this kid that likes her but he really does not. Martha thinks Jimmy like her but his brother Tate really is the one who likes her.

Amazing, touching book
I couldnt put this book down. It was one of those books where you try and sneek reading it after bed-time. i loved this booksoooo much and definatley would read it again. One of my all-time favorite books. The author was very descriptive and the book had short, suspensful chapters so that you were hooked on reading it. you should definatley buy this book. recomended for girls from ages 10-15 maybe. loved it!!!
Olive's Ocean reviewed by Helen
Olive's Ocean
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Subjects:  1. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Family - Multigenerational    4. Family life    5. Fiction    6. Grandmothers    7. Henkes, Kevin    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Love & Romance    10. Self-perception    11. Social Situations - Emotions & Feelings    12. Juvenile Fiction / Family / Multigenerational    13. Reading Group Guide    14. Bargain   

Reviews (75)

Five for the book, three for translation
First off, I love this book - it's one of the best books ever, hands down. I just take issue with everyone neglecting David Magarshack's masterful, colorful, nuanced translations.Why does everyone look upon the Pevear/Volokhonsky translations as the second coming?Possibly because Constance Garnett had, apparently, a monopoly on Dostoevsky translations heretofore. But, although Garnett may have done it first, Magarshack did it better.
Should be seven stars...
If you haven't read The Brothers Karamazov yet, I envy you, because you have the experience of reading of what's possibly the greatest novel ever written still ahead of you. This is a true masterpiece that somehow conveys through five or six main characters a flash of everything that his hard and unfair in life, while still leaving you with the feeling that it's worth living with all your might; that, like Prince Myshkin says in another Dostoevsky novel, maybe beauty really will save the world.And if you haven't read ANY Dostoevsky yet, please consider starting with another novel, like, say, Crime and Punishment (where most people start and a very good beginning), or The Idiot (in some ways as beautiful as BK, but more manageable in scale).You'll be glad you got your sea legs in Dostoevsky's dense, sad, zany and chaotic world beforehand, so you could have total enjoyment of this book, the very finest work of a true genius.

As Good As It Gets
I adored this book.It was the most inspiring thing I have read in ten years.You do have to be persistent to get throught the first few hundred pages but it starts building momentum like an avalanche.Incredibly affecting.You will not regret the hours you devote to it ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Literary    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Russian & Former Soviet Union   

Reviews (4)

An important teen read with beautiful black and white illustrations
Teenager Jesse is writing the autobiography of his childhood friend and "blood brother" Rise, in a series of sketches, portraits, and comic strips from their times together.Rise is a little older than Jesse and is starting to be pulled in by the allure of the protection of gangs and the easy money of drugs.His biographer, Jesse, is confused by the change in his friend, and by Rise's attempts to turn the local boys' club into a street gang at war with neighborhood rivals.Given the title of the novel, one can only guess what the outcome of Rise's foray into drugs, guns, crime, and the power struggle is going to be.
The comic of Spodi Roti and Wise was brilliant.
This was an enthralling read. I liked the depth of this book and it painted a realistic portrait of poverty and gang life. The best part of this book was the incorporation of the comics and illustrations into the plot. The comic of Spodi Roti and Wise was brilliant. I also liked how most of the main characters in this book were not gang members or looking to be involved in gangs but simply wanted to survive long enough to explore their talents in music and artistry. It's nice to have a book about poverty and class that doesn't stereotype but gives a more realistic and in-depth picture.

An in-your-face tale of growing up and getting by in the inner-city
To pick up a book written by Walter Dean Myers is to expect nothing less than literary greatness. Among his many accolades, MONSTER was the first winner of the Michael L. Printz Award, a National Book Award Finalist, a Coretta Scott King Honor Book, and Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor Book. He has received the Margaret A. Edwards Award for lifetime achievement in writing for young adults and has penned over 70 award-winning books intended for a wide age range of readers, from picture books to teen novels. His son, Christopher Myers, is a Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Honor recipient, and has illustrated a number of breathtaking books for young readers, including his solo effort entitled BLACK CAT.
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Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Drive-by shootings    5. Fiction    6. Friendship    7. Gangs    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. People & Places - United States - African-American    10. Social Issues - Death & Dying    11. Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse    12. Social Issues - Violence    13. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Drugs, Alcohol, Substance Abuse   

Editorial Review

A huge, old house with secret tunnels, a cantankerous caretaker, and buried treasure is a dream-come-true for 13-year-old Thomas. The fact that it's reputedly haunted only adds to its appeal! As soon as his family moves in, Thomas senses something strange about the Civil War era house, which used to be a critical stop on the Underground Railroad. With the help of his father, he learns about the abolitionists and escaping slaves who kept the Underground Railroad running. While on his own, he explores the hidden passageways in and under the house, piecing clues together in an increasingly dangerous quest for the truth about the past. Newbery medalist Virginia Hamilton creates a heart-pounding adventure with this absorbing classic for older readers. Read more

Reviews (94)

An interesting and exciting book.
When I first picked up this book i thought it would be borring and confusing.It turned out to be quite the opposite.The story follows Thomas a young boy who has to move from his home in the south to Ohio because of his fathers new job.He is not moving to any ordinary house however but the house of Dies Drear, a former conductor on the underground railroad who let slaves hide in his house until they were able to out into freedom.Rumor has it that the house is haunted which really scares young Thomas into believing the house taker Pluto is devil. Many events that follow help Thomas think that Pluto is trying to scare them out of the house, but he couldn't have been more wrong.There are many twist and turns that will have you on the edge of the seat and nothing is what it seems.This was a very enjoyable book and will be a good read for people who love mystery, suspence, and adventure.

Mystery andHistory!!!!!!!
This a great book for grown people and for young adults.My friend Kristen gave me this book for my 9th birthday and I am 13 know It is so good I reed it every birth day that I have. The book has mystery, spunk, and pazzaz all in one. This book is my favorite one yet. If you like to learn about history bout not about how sad somethings were you realy despritley need to reed this book.
House of Cheesy, 1-Dimensional Over-Writing
I completely and totally dislike The House of Dies Drear. The characters, had no depth, and were one-dimensional, the dialogue was stiff, and robot-like, and there was nothing in the book that I could relate to. I consider the book to be quite anti-climactic, lacking a major turning point in which the readers are supposed to be enthralled in. It had no twists, about two cliff-hangers, and was completely predictable. It was, in fact, probably one of the worst books that I have ever read. On a scale of five, I'd have to rate it a two, because as I said, it did have a couple of cheesy cliffhangers, but nothing that left me satisfied with the book that I have read. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. African Americans    2. Anthologies    3. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - Mysteries / Detective    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children's stories, American    6. Children: Grades 4-6    7. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    8. Classics    9. Fiction    10. Hamilton, Virginia    11. Juvenile Fiction    12. Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories    13. Mystery and detective stories    14. People & Places - United States - African-American    15. Underground railroad    16. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Features

• Box set

Reviews (7)

Still my favorite series.
My first thought after I finished this series was "why did I wait so long before getting my hands on these books?"
True Fantasy!!
How can one describe these books?? They are some of the greatest fantasy I have ever seen (and I read a lot!).The scenes of Death...in the Old Kingdom...especially the characters of Mogget and the Disreputable Dog in _Lirael_ and _Abhorsen_ are all fantastic and imaginative.Words cannot describe it.
Lovely and strong
This trilogy is satisfying and surprising in the strength of its female characters while never losing sight of a good story.Fantasy at its finest...you get parallel worlds, magic, mundanity, and misunderstanding, but not to comic effect, rather to catastrophic endings.
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Subjects:  1. Action & Adventure - General    2. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Fantasy    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    4. Fantasy    5. Humorous Stories    6. Juvenile Fiction    7. Science Fiction, Fantasy, & Magic    8. Juvenile Fiction / Science Fiction, Fantasy, Magic   

Subjects:  1. 1830-1886    2. Botany    3. Catalogs and collections    4. Dickinson, Emily,    5. Flowers    6. Gardening    7. Knowledge    8. Nature    9. Nature/Ecology    10. Plants    11. Plants - General    12. Type specimens    13. Botany & plant sciences    14. English    15. Nature / Plants    16. Plant life: general    17. Poetry & poets: 19th century    18. USA   

Editorial Review

Over the course of 13 years and five novels, Louise Erdrich has staked out a richly imagined corner of North Dakota soil--her own Yoknapatawpha, where every character is connected to every other and nothing can be said to happen for the first time. Read more

Reviews (41)

good but...
I found this book to be good but also slightly flawed.
Simply Wonderful!
This is one great novel. Louise Erdrich weaves stories together to form a unified tale, completely original and plausible.I have never read anything quite like this and was intrigued and interested throughout the entire book.I can't imagine anyone not being spellbound by such a tale.

SHOULD BE 10 STARS!!!!!
What an incredible book!!Plot was so unusual - so intriquing - so engrossing - I couldn't put it down!I look forward to reading more by this author - but I wonder if anything can top this story.Read it for the ultimate reader's high! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Erdrich, Louise - Prose & Criticism    2. Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies    3. Fiction    4. Fiction - General    5. General    6. Literary    7. Fiction / General   

Reviews (6)

A Beautiful Classic
Persuasion is one of my favorite books -- and probably my favorite Austen, though I go back and forth between this and Pride and Prejudice.P&P is more sparkling and witty; Persuasion feels more mature.Definitely a book to read over and over.And the letter from Captain Wentworth to Anne(you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there!) is the best-written letter in fiction.Read it!You won't be disappointed.

A very lovely novel
Jane Austen's last completed novel, which was published posthumously was Persuasion and the story starts with Anne Elliot, an upper-class girl at the age of 19, falling in love with Captain Frederick Wentworth. They get engaged but her mother's great friend and her own trusted friend, the widow Lady Russell, persuased Anne to break the engagement with him. The reason for this is, that the young officer possesses no connections to the upper-class and is therefor not worth to be with Anne according to Lady Russel.
" I am half agony, half hope . . ."
PERSUASION, the last novel that Jane Austen completed before her death in 1818, tells the story of one Anne Elliot, the second daughter of a baronet who has spent his waythrough his fortune and has nothing but his title to lean on.
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Subjects:  1. Classics    2. Fiction    3. Literary    4. Literature - Classics / Criticism    5. Literature: Classics    6. Motherless families    7. Rejection (Psychology)    8. Ship captains    9. Young women    10. 19th century fiction    11. Classic fiction    12. Fiction / Classics   

Editorial Review

Imagine yourself in 13th-century England. King Edward I has just named the fictitious Kevin le Strange to be the Lord of Aberwyvern--"a rich but rebellious area of Northwest Wales." Lord Kevin's first task is to oversee the construction of a strategically placed castle and town in order to assure that England can "dominate the Welsh once and for all." And a story is born! In the Caldecott Honor Book Read more

Reviews (17)

For kids and their parents
I bought this book twenty years ago while in college because it was so well illustrated, and it did such a great job of answering questions I had about how castles were built and arranged.I haven't looked at it since, but save dit because I knew someday my kids would love it as much as I did.
Super Again!
I received"Castles" in a timely manner, and in good condition. I am always pleased with my purchases.

Wonderful non-fiction for kids
'Castle' gives a remarkable look a the creation of a medieval castle. The specifics of date, place, and people are all fiction, but the details of planning and construction are facts.
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Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Castles    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    4. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    5. Fortification    6. General    7. Juvenile Nonfiction    8. Juvenile literature    9. Architecture & buildings    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Architecture   

Reviews (64)

Realli Good
This book was great! I gave it 4 starz cuz i wished it was longer.

Wonderful book
I simply loved this book because of its wonderful writing and tender handling of a delicate subject. The story tells a tale of a young man raising a child and tells the story in a loving way. I really enjoyed reading the story and the way it was told. Johnson really seems to empathize with "children having children" and gives the reader a positive role model as a young boy learns what it is to be a father. She writes beautifully as she tells the tale and the tale is a very good one. I highly recommend this book to middle school children.

SOUTHWOOD BOOKCLUB
I really like this book and we will be discussing it in our Bookclub in Sept. Thank You Ms. Johnson ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children's Books - Young Adult Fiction    3. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    4. Family - New Baby    5. Father and child    6. Fiction    7. Juvenile Fiction    8. Social Issues - Adolescence    9. Social Issues - Pregnancy    10. Social Situations - Adolescence    11. Social Situations - Pregnancy    12. Teenage fathers    13. Teenage parents    14. Juvenile Fiction / Social Situations / Pregnancy   

Editorial Review

Ever since David Yaffe was acquitted of murder in the accidental deathof his girlfriend, he has felt that "for the rest of my life, over and over, I would have to convince everyone--including me--of my harmlessness." To escape media attention and the prying stares of the curious, he is sent to finish his senior year of high school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he lives in the attic apartment of his Aunt Julia and Uncle Vic. They receive him coldly, and his 11-year-old cousin, Lily, is openly hostile. (The apartment previously belonged to their older daughter Kathy, who died an apparent suicide at age 18.) With a haunting series of episodes--including a sporadic humming and a fleeting shadow--David begins to sense Kathy's eerie and powerful presence. Read more

Reviews (47)

Up in Smoke and Down in Ashes
David B. Yaffe has a lot to contend with.Acquitted of murdering his girlfriend, Emily and beating her brother Greg, David's parents help usher him out of their home state of Maryland to the home of his maternal aunt and uncle-in-law in Boston.David had to repeat his senior year and hopefully start anew in Boston.
Not a typical book...
This book was wonderful because there was nothing typical about it.The suspense was very well done, and the book was able to keep surprising me.Characterization was also done well, at least of the main characters anyway.

The Killer's Cousin
I found the book The Killer's Cousin very enjoyable. It's one of those books that keeps the reader wanting to know more and forces them to read on. It's about a 17 year old boy named David who was recently acquitted of murdering his girlfriend. To escape the media he moves out of state to stay with his aunt, uncle and 11 year old cousin Lily. After moving though, he can't help but feel not welcome or at home. Read more

Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - Mystery    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9)    3. Cousins    4. Emotional problems    5. Family - Multigenerational    6. Fiction    7. Guilt    8. Juvenile Fiction    9. Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories    10. Juvenile Fiction / Mysteries & Detective Stories   

Editorial Review

When children catch their first glimpse of a pyramid, a sea of questions inevitably tumbles forth. "Why are they shaped like that?" "How were they made?" "Who made them?" "What were they used for?" Perplexed adults can sigh with relief now that David Macaulay has found a way to thoroughly answer all those deserving questions. His exquisitely crosshatched pen-and-ink illustrations frame the engaging fictional story of an ancient pharaoh who commissions a pyramid to be built for him. With great patience and respect for minute detail (not unlike the creators of the early pyramids), Macaulay explains the sometimes backbreaking tasks of planning, hauling, chiseling, digging, and hoisting that went into the construction of this awe-inspiring monument. Just when the narrative teeters on the edge of textbook doldrums, Macaulay brings us back to the engaging human drama of death and superstition. This respectful blending of architecture, history, and mysticism will certainly satiate pyramid-passionate children as well as their obliging parents. ALA Notable Book. (Ages 9 and older) Read more

Reviews (10)

A captivating book on a popular subject with children
With exquisitely detailed black-line drawings, this book shows how the pyramids in Egypt may have been constructed. A two-page introduction gives some background of life in Egypt, including an overview of Egyptian spiritual beliefs and practices, especially those related to death and dying. The introduction makes clear that this book is based on an imaginary pharaoh and an imaginary pyramid and that there are differences of opinion about the construction process the Egyptians used.
good introduction
Though this was written nearly thirty years ago, this is stillone of the best introductions to the building of the pyramids out there, as he distills the basics down to the bare minimum without sacrificing much detail.The drawings, too, are superb, though the one page showing the various bald-headed workers made me think of Blue Man Group. A GREAT, FUN READ
My friend checked this book out from the library and lent it to me, and I really enjoyed it. Communicating through words and drawings, Mr. Macaulay makes us feel like we're there in Egypt watching the pyramids being built through the decades. I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a book they can really sink their teeth into. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Architecture    2. Children's 9-12 - Architecture    3. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Nonfiction    4. Children: Grades 4-6    5. Civilization    6. Design and construction    7. Egypt    8. Juvenile literature    9. Pyramids    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Architecture   

Reviews (74)

Good for a laugh
After reading this book, I decided to look at the reviews to see what people had to say about it. I expected to find some funny insults and maybe some inconsistencies that I hadn't caught while reading it. I was wrong. I found mostly reviews written by 10 year olds and reviews that were obviously written by english teachers. I'm only going to say it this bluntly once, listen up:
I tried hard to like this book...
I really tried to like this book because I enjoyed "Tears of a Tiger."The author once again used dialogue to convey her story, but this time moreso in a journal/chatroom session instead of conversation.Some people hate that type of thing, but I'm such a big fan of dialogue that I like it.But this story was utterly corny and it may have been somewhat my fault.I knew that the story was somewhat like Romeo and Juliet and I hated that story too.But I was hoping that Draper was going to put some edge on it, by adding gangs, interracial relationships, an urban setting, and a guy with multicolor hair.
Disappointed
While reading "Romiette and Julio" you will meet Julio Montague and Romiette Cappelle.Two young teens who are desperately seeking companionship and love. Throughout the story you will follow the path of these two teens and the issues they are having with gangs at school. This is a heartwarming story in which friends work together to get through hard times.
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Subjects:  1. Children's 12-Up - Fiction - General    2. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    3. Juvenile Fiction    4. Love & Romance    5. School & Education    6. Social Issues - Dating & Sex    7. Social Issues - Emotions & Feelings    8. Social Issues - Prejudice & Racism    9. Social Situations - Prejudice & Racism    10. Juvenile Nonfiction / Social Situations / Dating & Sex   

Reviews (74)

The Last Book of the Foundation Series (in Foundation Timeline), 4 stars, 356 Pages, Publ 1986
Golan Trevize looks for Earth.The novel picks up right after the end of Foundation's Edge.I found Foundation's Edge slightly confusing in that there was something effecting the minds of both the Foundation confederation and the minds of the Second Foundation, and wasn't completely sure if it was a Third Foundation or what.Foundation and Earth clears that up, well sort of.It is not a Hari Seldon originated organization, it is the planet Gaia, but calling it a Third Foundation could be used if you redefine The Foundation.It is hinted that there may be yet *another* group effecting events in the galaxy; the equivalent of a Fourth Foundation... or maybe a Zeroth Foundation.This is one of the slight, but exasperating aspects of this novel.In the Author's Note of Prelude to Foundation, Asimov wrote that he could and may add to the Foundation series and as for books after Foundation and Earth he could add "additional volumes - as many as I like").In parts it feels like that, that Asimov is setting himself for additional volumes, rather than this being the definitive end to the Foundation series, as it now is.Another thing is that Asimov groups his Robot, Empire, and Foundation series in one all encompassing series.For whatever contradictions exist between the series, Asimov gives preference to his Robot series.
The best Foundation novel !!!!
This is, in my humble opinion, the best Foundation book of all!
Good, not great, entry in Asimov's Foundation Series
Isaac Asimov's FOUNDATION AND EARTH is the fifth or sixth book (depending on how you count) in the Foundation series.
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Subjects:  1. Fiction    2. Fiction - Science Fiction    3. Science Fiction    4. Science Fiction - General    5. Fiction / Science Fiction / General   

Editorial Review

Sharon Draper has indeed forged a fiery name for herself in the field of young adult literature--that of a courageous writer, willing to tackle tough, real-life problems while developing honorable, streetwise role models for troubled teens. Her previous novel, Read more

Reviews (116)

Why this book inspired me
Forged by Fire influenced me in may different ways.The more I read the book themore it became violent.It made me think what if I wa sin this situation.Would I have the courage to stand up to my step-father and get help.I learned to perserver and not give up.That is what I learned from this book.

Review by Aaron
I think that Forged by Fired is a good book for teenagers to read. I think it is a good book to read because it tells what to do if you are getting abused by your parents. This is a book that could happen in real life. I think both girls and boys would enjoy this book. I listened to this book on audio tape and I like how the guy could talk in many types of voices. The suspense of the story made me wanting to keep on listening to it. This book is the second book in a set of three. I would recommend reading the other two.

Stop fast forwarding, please press "slow"
I want to stress that the actual plot of the story and the characters were interesting and I enjoyed their purpose, action, dialogue. But I read a review about this book somewhere that said that too much happened at once in the beginning. I don't take peoples' reviews too seriously until I read the book, but this time around, I wish I would have listened.The author tried to cram FAR too much into one small book of 156 pages.The boy was 3 years old at the beginning and by the time it ended, he was 17.People were on drugs, in jail, out of jail, court cases complete, basketball tryouts, friends made, learned to cook, car accidents, dying, all within a few pages.The whole time I read this story, I felt like the author had written an outline of what should happen in each chapter and instead of fleshing it out and letting it grow progressively, she just rammed it altogether and then threw in stuff that happened in a previous book.I read one book by her and bought them all...and now I'm starting to regret it.I hope the fourth one is better, because I loved the first one about Andy, couldn't get into the "Romiette and Julio" book at all, and now this one is crammed.I'm confused over whether I like this author or not--in the book about Andy, the dialogue was on point and the plot was organized and easy-to-understand.In the "Romiette and Julio" book, the dialogue was out of wack and the story was slow. This book had great dialogue and an interesting plot like the Andy book, but it went entirely too fast.I feel like I'm reading books from several different people instead of one. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Brothers and sisters    2. Child abuse    3. Children's 9-12 - Fiction - General    4. Children's Books/Ages 9-12 Fiction    5. Children: Young Adult (Gr. 10-12)    6. Family - Siblings    7. Family - Stepfamilies    8. Fiction    9. Juvenile Fiction    10. People & Places - United States - African-American    11. Social Issues - Drugs, Alcohol, & Substance Abuse    12. Social Issues - Physical & Emotional Abuse    13. Social Issues - Sexual Abuse    14. Social Situations - Physical & Emotional Abuse    15. Stepfamilies    16. Juvenile Fiction / Ethnic / African American   

Editorial Review

What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a runaway caravan hurtling down a precipitous mountain slope? Fourteen-year-old Violet, the oldest orphan of the three Baudelaires, decides to try to slow the velocity of the caravan with a drag-chute invention involving a viscous combination of blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, maraschino liqueur, peanut butter, etc. If plummeting to their death weren't scary enough, Violet and her brother Klaus have been separated from Sunny, their baby sister who is in a car headed in the opposite direction up the mountain with the "facinorous" Count Olaf, his "villainous and stylish" girlfriend Esmé Squalor, and their creepy sidekicks. Do Violet and Klaus find Sunny on the mountain? How will they survive the treacherous, snow-covered peaks with not much more than a ukulele and a bread knife, especially in the face of the "organized, ill-tempered" snow gnats? Will they finally unearth the mystery of the V.F.D.?Will they find out if one of their parents is alive after all? The suspense! As ever, the Baudelaires' unfolding tale of woe is sprinkled with Lemony Snicket's ridiculous, hilarious observations such as "Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like." The tenth book in The Series of Unfortunate Events takes readers through the Mortmain Mountains to the churning waters of the Stricken Stream with all the coexistent horror and silliness a Snicket fan could hope for along the way. (Ages 9 and older) Read more

Reviews (212)

up the down mountain
The Slippery Slope is the tenth volume in A Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket. Having disguised themselves as Carnival Freaks and pretending to join Count Olaf's gang in order to get to the VFD headquarters, the Baudelaire Orphans have been discovered by Count Olaf and while Sunny was kidnapped, Klaus and Violet or locked in a trailer and are rolling backwards down a mountain road with no control over the trailer. This is where we begin The Slippery Slope. The elder orphans struggle to find a way to save themselves and then make their way back up the mountain to the secret headquarters, and Sunny struggles to find an opportunity to escape to find her siblings or to learn more about the scheme of Count Olaf.