The Ersatz Elevator (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 6) (Hardcover)

"The Ersatz Elevator" is Snicket at his best since "The Wide Window." This sixth edition in the series is a very important one as it the base of knowing of what's to come. If you have read the other five novels in "The Series of Unfortunate Events," then you must read this one. If not, start with the others. This is the most addicting of the books yet. We've had to wait since August for this book, so there's no reason at all why this marvelous one should not be read. Snicket is getting better and better each time he writes a new volume. A definite must read.

Happy Reading!

This time the problem is that Esme Squalor (the sixth most important financial advisor in the city) and her husband Jerome are way too hung up on what is "in". Esme must go to only the "in" restaurants; she must wear only "in" clothes, which includes the children, and on and on. Unfortunately, being "in" also means multiple compromises in terms of comfort. For example, the penthouse is on the top of a building with 66 stories, and elevators are "out". So the Squalors and the Baudelaires must walk up and down the 66 stories each time the go in to and out from the building. They certainly received sufficient exercise. Before I forget, orphans are also "in".

Of course, we know that Count Olaf must eventually show up, and he does. However, there is a mystery. We find that Count Olaf went up to the apartment and did not later leave the building. Therein lies the crux of the mystery for this story.

This story climaxes with the children running briefly into old friends, and then losing them again. They also nearly catch Count Olaf, again. In the end, the children are forced to find a new home once again. Unfortunately I am unable to tell you more, because Lemony Snicket, should he ever escape from his current predicament, would hunt me down and provide me with agony should I reveal the end of this Baudelaire tale. Suffice it to say that the Baudelaires have their best adventure yet, with even better to come.

This series has had its strong points and its weak points. In general this book is one of the better ones in the series, readily matching "The Austere Academy". In addition to the direct lessons provided in the book, the children once again are masters of their own fates, and are forced to get themselves out of their predicaments with minimal adult help. I also enjoyed the moral tale provided by Lemony Snicket regarding people that must always keep up with everyone else in style or fashion. For this last point alone the book is a must-read for every teenage child.

The violence in this story is a bit more muted than in some of the previous books, and I think that an 8 or 9 year old child should be able to handle the story well. Certainly Esme could generate a great deal of family discussion of status and whether status is sufficiently important to cause people pain or to break laws.

In keeping with the trend of the last book, this book continues to expose the children to new experiences and to challenge their abilities to take care of themselves. Once again, while there are certainly negative aspects to the story, the positive aspects outweigh the negatives. This book is easily a good successor to "The Austere Academy", and sets a standard for the next books in the series. I will tell you now that the next two books are just as good as or better than this book and "The Austere Academy", thus continuing the excellence of this unconventional children's series. 5 stars again!