Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Who Could That Be at this Hour?

Who Could That Be at this Hour? vol. 1 of All the Wrong Questions by Lemony Snicket (NY: Little, Brown, 2012).

Thirteen-year-old Lemony Snicket heads off with his odd new chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, to the small town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea to begin his apprenticeship in the mysterious VFD. They are tasked with restoring a stolen statue of the Bombinating Beast to its rightful owner, but the owner's identity quickly becomes unclear, as does the identity of who has hired them and a myriad of other circumstances.

Inquisitive readers will love this new series by Lemony Snicket which begs many questions and defines many words with the same dark and deadpan humor that made A Series of Unfortunate Events so popular. The villain of the series, Hangfire, appears only as a talented mimic who impersonates the voices of other characters to lead Lemony astray as he pursues clues.  It's a roundabout but entertaining tale of clever kids and daft adults that middle-grade readers will enjoy.  Recommended for ages 8 and up.