From the Publisher
Praise for All the Wrong Questions:
"A Pink Panther-esque page turner...exceptionally literary and entirely singular. Characterized by linguistic playfulness and an appreciation for the archaic, "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious...illustrations by celebrated cartoonist Seth only add to the throwback gumshoe vibe of this outrageous, long-overdue, middle-grade follow-up series from a truly beloved narrator."—Los Angeles Times
* "Will thrill fans of the author's earlier works and have even reluctant readers turning pages with the fervor of seasoned bookworms. A must-have."—School Library Journal, starred review
"Demands to be read twice: once for the laughs and the second time for the clues."—The Boston Globe
* "Full of Snicket's trademark droll humor and maddeningly open-ended, this will have readers clamoring for volume two."—Publishers Weekly, starred review
* "[With] gothic wackiness, linguistic play and literary allusions....Fans of the Series of Unfortunate Events will be in heaven picking out tidbit references to the tridecalogy, but readers who've yet to delve into that well of sadness will have no problem enjoying this weird and witty yarn."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
* "Full of Snicket's characteristic wit and word play . . . this book belongs in all collections."—VOYA, starred review
"The sort of goodie savored by brainy kids who love wordplay, puzzles and plots that zing from point A to B by way of the whole alphabet."—The Washington Post
"There's no stopping Snicket!"—Booklist
Booklist
"There's no stopping Snicket!"
The Washington Post
"The sort of goodie savored by brainy kids who love wordplay, puzzles and plots that zing from point A to B by way of the whole alphabet."
The Boston Globe
"Demands to be read twice: once for the laughs and the second time for the clues."
Los Angeles Times
Praise for All the Wrong Questions:
"A Pink Panther-esque page turner...exceptionally literary and entirely singular. Characterized by linguistic playfulness and an appreciation for the archaic, "Who Could That Be at This Hour?" is frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious...illustrations by celebrated cartoonist Seth only add to the throwback gumshoe vibe of this outrageous, long-overdue, middle-grade follow-up series from a truly beloved narrator."
School Library Journal - Audio
01/01/2015
Gr 3–6—Lemony and his nitwit chaperone are still trying to unravel the mysteries surrounding their fading town, Stain'd-by-the Sea. Things heat up, literally, as young Snicket investigates a case of arson that leads to more mysteries involving the Department of Education, the notorious villain Hangfire, and the town's school children. The plot moves along quickly in Snicket's gloomy, deadpan style of writing as the main character, young Lemony Snicket, tries to figure out who to trust and what questions to ask. Liam Aiken's narration is uneven, though. He creates unique voices for most of the characters, but falters with young Snicket's personal reflections. Conveying feelings of loneliness and gloom through a monotone reading is hard to listen to and fails to engage listeners. They will want to consume this series in order, and may prefer the print format for this particular offering.—Terri Norstrom, Cook Memorial Public Library District, Libertyville, IL
School Library Journal
12/01/2014
Gr 4–6—In this installment of series that precedes "A Series of Unfortunate Events" (HarperCollins), 13-year-old Lemony Snicket must work together with his incompetent chaperone to figure out who is burning down all of the buildings in the quaint town of Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Snicket is part of a special program, the V.F.D., and spends his days sleuthing with his chaperone, Theodora, in an attempt to catch the elusive and mysterious Hangfire, who is supposedly to blame for all of the mysterious happenings in Stain'd-by-the-Sea. Together, he and his friends must uncover the town's secrets and thwart Hanfire's attempt to burn down the library. But everything gets even more complicated when Hangfire manages to frame the librarian for arson, and Snicket is left questioning the trustworthiness of his friends. This series carries the same sarcastic charm of the "Unfortunate Events" books and will have young readers chuckling out loud. The characters are all fun and quirky in their own right, and the mystery is well developed and enticing. The illustrations add an extra dimension to the story, and the author does a fantastic job of incorporating mini vocabulary lessons into each chapter. Fans of Snicket's previous outings will devour the latest entry.—Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, Hartford Public Library, CT
NOVEMBER 2014 - AudioFile
Liam Aiken narrates this prequel to the Series of Unfortunate Events in a somber, deadpan tone that heightens its dark humor. As a teenaged Lemony Snicket investigates a series of arsons in a town called Stain’d-by-the-Sea, Aiken creates voices that delineate character and help keep clear the large cast of Snicket’s associates, enemies, and enemies that turn out to be associates. Aiken’s tone of quiet urgency will keep listeners hooked through wordplay, mysteries, good meals, romance, and the appearance of a new villain named Hangfire, who hoodwinks adults, frames a librarian, and kidnaps all the children in town. This smart and funny listen will please Snicket fans and create new ones. A.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2014-10-06
Can an apprentice in a certain secret organization keep his associates safe and save a dying town—or is that one of the wrong questions? Someone has set fire to Birnbaum's Sheep Barn, a local business, and Lemony Snicket's clueless chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, takes the case. But the client is the heretofore unheard-of department of education of Stain'd-by-the-Sea (a town with only one school). Snicket strongly suspects that the villain Hangfire is behind the arson; when local librarian Dashiell Qwerty is framed for the crime, Snicket is certain his suspicions are correct. But why would Hangfire burn down a sheep barn? After the school burns, Lemony Snicket and his young associates plot to save Stain'd-by-the-Sea's children and the rest of its structures from Hangfire and the total numbskullery of the adult population. Some questions are answered, and still more are posed in Lemony Snicket (the author)'s third All the Wrong Questions tale. Lemony Snicket (the character) continues to worry about the sister he left in the city (she has now been arrested) and whether he can save (and in some cases trust) his young associates. Seth returns to add occasional spooky, intriguing bicolor illustrations. Linguistic play and literary allusions abound in this smart, slyly humorous noir thriller. Fans will be over the moon, a phrase that here means exceedingly pleased. (Mystery. 8-14)
