The Vile Villiage - Lemony Snicket - 4 stars

This is book #7 of the series and I enjoyed it a lot, They get better with each book, even though there are so many unfortunate events going on in the Baudelaire's lives, with each of these books. My niece told me that when she was in the 4th grade, her teacher told the students that they should never read this series because her own older daughter got depressed from it. It is true, it is a very dark series, maybe too dark for younger children, but rather than seeing depression, I see strength within the lines of these books. I love how fast paced the books are, there is NEVER a dull moment in these stories and that is one reason why I enjoy them. They move so quickly and before you know it you have finished it.

I won't lie, it does get annoying at times because there are so many unfortunate events that these orphans have to deal with, but I keep reading them anyway, and it is because I just keeping looking for that light at the end of the tunnel for the orphans themselves. It is like I am on a mission now, forever searching for this light to rescue these orphans. One other thing that is kind of annoying is that no one ever wants to believe the Orphans. It is like everyone is blinded to the truth that stands right before them. But this too I am sure is all a part of the 'unfortunate events'. I have however discovered that one thing to take away from reading these books is that even though unfortunate things happen to the orphans, there are good things that happen as well, things that are woven between the lines, and depending on how you look at things determines if you can see these good things as well. It is how each reader perceives the story.

The characters in these stories are very well developed. You definitely grow with both the protagonists and the antagonists. Readers will fall in love with these orphans, I know I have. They show so much strength, intelligence and simply the will to keep going no matter what. I know this is just a made up series of children's books. A made up world consisting of unfortunate events and horrors and all that jazz, but seriously people could learn a thing or two from these orphans. As for Count Olaf, I just want to rip his head off, and that is putting it mildly. He is one of those great villains that we can all hate. Dare I say that I hope by the end of this series, he gets what is coming to him.

I do recommend these books to anyone. I think it is all about how the story will be perceived by individuals who partake in the story to determine whether or not they will enjoy them. So take a chance on them. They really do not take much time to read since they move very quickly. You really have nothing to lose and I guarantee you will something.