The Vile Village
I think this might have been my favorite book of the series. After not really enjoying all the "in" jokes in the previous book I found the "it takes a village" jokes to be fantastic. I think this was partly due to the fact that at Evergreen I took a course with that name. I really liked the atmosphere to this one, the village of the crows and wanting to burn people at the stake and the secret messages.
The Hostile Hospital
Reading the back of this book was what started me wanting to read this series in the first place. A children's book which discussed "unnecessary surgery" seemed like it would be rather strange and unusual. I liked the end when they decided to remove Violet's head, the volunteers were a little annoying, but it was interesting to see the children out on their own without a guardian. The unfinished hospital was pretty great. And the ending was very good.
The Carnivorous Carnival
I have to say this was the only book that had anything in it that I found Actually disturbing rather than fun. I felt quite sorry for the lions and hearing their woes was worse than hearing about the children's. I liked the fake fortune teller, I liked that it all got burned down at the end, and the lines between good and evil were being crossed. I liked how evil the visitors were.
The Slippery Slope
I felt that the pacing of this was a little weired. I liked the cold mountains and the fact that there was a secret organisation, and even worse villains. But there seemed to be a lot of time standing around mountain tops without much being done. The books are definitely changing plot into a more continuous story. I'm not entirely sure how I felt about that. I do enjoy a good story arc, however it seemed like there wasn't quite enough peril here. Perhaps I've just become used to it. But it was nice seeing the children move towards treachery.
The Grim Grotto
I was expecting to like the underwater book a little more, but felt that the setting was lacking a little. I really did enjoy the new character of Klaus' girlfriend who ended up joining the bad guys.
The Penultimate Peril
I really did enjoy this book, perhaps it was because of all the library references. But I greatly enjoyed the hotel library and Dewey. I liked the return of so many characters and the mad plots, and the fact that justice had been corrupted. I loved the ending the accidental murder, helping Olaf, and of course Sunny saying they should burn down the hotel at then end. It was great fun.
The End
I really liked the way the series ended, the ideas that were given about how to look after children and everything leading up to the ending of chapter 12 with the Snake I just thought was PERFECT. I almost preferred it more than the Beatrice ending, but that was also very sweet and left me feeling very happy with the series. And yet still wanting to know more. The fact that everything changed to shades of gray, and even Olaf redeemed himself a little before the end was quite interesting. The fact that the children were seriously considering murder really showed how far the series had come and how much they'd developed. And I think, as always, Sunny had some of the most fantastic lines.
I am glad to have read the series. I wish I'd had them when I was a child, but I think they are enjoyable as a grown up too. I know for a fact that I wouldn't have understood most of the references if I'd read them earlier, and I have to admit I did learn quite a few things reading them. Really wonderful.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}