Name: "Shouldn't You Be in School?"
ISBN: 9780316123068

Lemony Snicket

Is Lemony Snicket a detective or a smoke detector? Do you smell smoke? Young apprentice Lemony Snicket is investigating a case of arson but soon finds himself enveloped in the ever-increasing mystery that haunts the town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Who is setting the fires? What secrets are hidden in the Department of Education? Why are so many schoolchildren in danger? Is it all the work of the notorious villain Hangfire? How could you even ask that? What kind of education have you had? Maybe you should be in school?

"Shouldn't You Be in School?"

avarni

You're not sad, I kept telling myself, but it felt only the tiniest bit true. I wasn't sad the way a spider isn't an insect. 

I wish I'd taken Italian at my school" I said, "instead of Esperanto and Morse."

"I don't know how you find the nerve to do the things you've done." 

"I only have the nerve," she said, "because I know you're always close behind me."

We represent the true human tradition, the one permanent victory over cruelty and chaos. We're an invincible army, but not a victorious one. We've had different names throughout history, but all the words that describe us are false and all attempts to organize us fail. Right now we're called V.F.D., but all our schisms and argurnents might cause us to disappear. It won't matter. People like us always slip through the net. Our true homne is the imagination, and our kingdom is the wide-open world

a tantrum that deafened the ears of the living and slithered across the bones of the dead.

If you're not scared, she told me, it's not bravery. And you want to be brave, don't you, Snicket? Of course you do. Of course I did, but I still felt sick. It was a sickness in my stomach and in my mouth and even in my heart. The symptoms were nervousness and dread. I don't know what the illness is called. I've had it since I was a child.

"This is something enormous, Snicket. It's as big as the sea." 

"Because I can't take my eyes off you," I said. I felt her hand curl around mine. 

"I'm glad it's getting dark," Ellington said. "You can't see me blush." I slipped my hand free. 

"That's not quite what I mean," I said. "I mean that if I don't keep an eye on you, you're likely to do something treacherous."

Josephine caught my eye and gave me a signal we'd used for years to indicate that one of us had to leave. The signal was mouthing the words "I have to leave" and pointing to the door.

Lara Engle

This third installment of the "All the Wrong Questions" series finally finds some of the answers. It includes sly references to characters that fans of "A Series of Unfortunate Events" will find amusing and illuminating, in addition to the usual Snicket cleverness. Will the final installment reveal the true motivations of Ellington Feint? Will Hangfire's plot be foiled? Will Snicket ever enjoy a cup of coffee? I am eager to find out.

Jeni Enjaian

This book was definitely less "fluffy" than the first two. (Most of Snicket's series tend to do that.) The pacing in the narrative was excellent, dense and tight. I have to admit that I ended up reading the ending portion of the book to make the most sense out of all the twists, turns and reveals. I did think that Snicket wrapped up the mystery nicely while leaving loose threads to pick up in the next book.

Jeremy Cote

This series is really getting good for me. I like how each book has built on the last, and it's going to make for an interesting final book. As always, Snicket's writing is some of the most whimsical and enjoyable writing I've ever come across. Highly recommend the book.