Slippery Slope (Series of Unfortunate Events)

What would you do if you found yourself trapped in a runaway caravan hurtling down a precipitous mountain slope? Fourteen-year-old Violet, the oldest orphan of the three Baudelaires, decides to try to slow the velocity of the caravan with a drag-chute invention involving a viscous combination of blackstrap molasses, maple syrup, maraschino liqueur, peanut butter and so on.

If plummeting to their deaths wasn't scary enough, Violet and her brother Klaus have been separated from Sunny, their baby sister, who is in a car headed in the opposite direction up the mountain with the "facinorous" Count Olaf, his "villainous and stylish" girlfriend Esm Squalor, and their creepy sidekicks.

Do Violet and Klaus find Sunny on the mountain? How will they survive the treacherous, snow-covered peaks with not much more than a ukulele and a bread knife, especially in the face of the "organised, ill-tempered" snow gnats? Will they finally unearth the mystery of the VFD? Will they find out if one of their parents is alive after all? The suspense!

As ever, the Baudelaires' unfolding tale of woe is sprinkled with Lemony Snicket's ridiculous, hilarious observations such as "Fate is like a strange, unpopular restaurant with odd waiters who bring you things you never asked for and don't always like." The 10th book in The Series of Unfortunate Events takes readers through the Mortmain Mountains to the churning waters of the Stricken Stream with all the coexistent horror and silliness a Snicket fan could hope for. (Recommended for ages 9 and above.) --Karin Snelson