The Ersatz Elevator by Lemony Snicket

Dear Reader,

If you have just picked up this book, then it is not too late to put it back down. Like the previous books in A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, there is nothing to be found in these pages but misery, despair, and discomfort, and you still have time to choose something else to read.

Within the chapters of this story, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire encounter a darkened staircase, a red herring, some friends in a dire situation, three mysterious initials, a liar with an evil scheme, a secret passageway, and parsley soda.

I have sworn to write down these tales of the Baudelaire orphans so the general public will know each terrible thing that has happened to them, but if you decide to read something else instead, you will save yourself from a heapful of horror and woe.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket

Book Overview:

Author: Lemony Snicket | Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Tim Curry | Length: 4 hours, 29 minutes | Publish Date: February 20, 2001 | Genre: YA/Children's Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket

Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are at first optimistic--attending school is a welcome change for the book-loving trio, and the academy is allegedly safe from the dreaded Count Olaf, who is after their fortune.

Dear Reader, 

If you are looking for a story about cheerful youngsters spending a jolly time at boarding school, look elsewhere. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire arc intelligent and resourceful children, and you might expect that they would do very well at school. Don't. For the Baudelaires, school turns out to be another miserable episode in their unlucky lives. 

Truth be told, within the chapters that make up this dreadful story, the children will face snapping crabs, strict punishments, dripping fungus, comprehensive exams, violin recitals, S.O.R.E., and the metric system. 

It is my solemn duty to stay up all night researching and writing the history of these three hapless youngsters, but you may be more comfortable getting a good night's sleep. In that case, you should probably choose some other book. 

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Book Overview:

Author: Lemony Snicket | Series: A Series of Unfortunate Events | Format: Audiobook | Narrated by: Lemony Snicket | Length: 3 hours, 16 minutes | Publish Date: August 31, 2000 | Genre: YA/Childrens Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★  | Recommend: Yes

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi

Fate and fortune. Power and passion. What does it take to be the queen of a kingdom when you’re only seventeen?

Maya is cursed. With a horoscope that promises a marriage of death and destruction, she has earned only the scorn and fear of her father’s kingdom. Content to follow more scholarly pursuits, her whole world is torn apart when her father, the Raja, arranges a wedding of political convenience to quell outside rebellions. Soon Maya becomes the queen of Akaran and wife of Amar. Neither roles are what she expected: As Akaran’s queen, she finds her voice and power. As Amar’s wife, she finds something else entirely: Compassion. Protection. Desire…

But Akaran has its own secrets—thousands of locked doors, gardens of glass, and a tree that bears memories instead of fruit. Soon, Maya suspects her life is in danger. Yet who, besides her husband, can she trust? With the fate of the human and Otherworldly realms hanging in the balance, Maya must unravel an ancient mystery that spans reincarnated lives to save those she loves the most…including herself.

Book Overview:

Author: Roshani Chokshi | Series: The Star-Touched Queen | Format: Hardcover | Length: 342 pages | Publish Date: April 26, 2016 | Genre: YA Fantasy & Mythology | Literary Awards:  Andre Norton Award Nominee for Yount Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy (2016), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Debut Goodreads Author (2016)| Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes