The End By Lemony Snicket

Genre: Children's Lierature

Setting: On an island near the continental shelf.

First Sentence: If you have ever peeled an onion, then you know that the first thin, papery layer reveals another, thin papery layer, and that layer reveals another, and another and before you know it you have hundreds of layers all over the kitchen table and thousands of tears in you eyes, sorry that you ever started peeling in the first place and wishing that you had left the onion alone to wither away on the shelf of the pantry while you went on with your life, even if that meant never again enjoying the complicated and overwhelming taste of this strange and bitter vegetable.

This novel is the thirteenth in the author's thirteen novel series entitled "A Series of Unfortunate Events."

This installment was difficult for me to write because I did not want to spoil The End for you, dear reader.  Read On.

After escaping the fire at the Hotel Denouement, the Baudelaires find themselves at sea with Count Olaf.  Due the great schism, the V.F.D. has been divided into good and evil factions.  The fire was a result of the orphans escape from the hotel; the last safe place.

After surviving  a horrible storm, the Baudelaires and the Count, are washed up on the coastal self, along with a fantastic array of flotsam.

An island is nearby.  This island is inhabited by people who desire simple life in peace and safety, far away from the dangers and treachery of the outside world.

The island is ruled by a facilitator who uses peer pressure to ensure that no one "rocks the boat."

The orphans choose to live on the island.  They especially appreciate the fact that the islanders will not allow Olaf on the island.

But the safety and security of the island comes at a price.  There are secrets.  When the islanders decide to mutiny, some spores of the deadly Medusoid Mycelium fungus (From the Grim Grotto) are released every one on the island must make a life or death decision.

At The End, we learn the truth about the orphans' parents. We learn about Kit Snicket.  And we learn about the narrator, Lemony Snicket.

No cavalry coming over the hill.  No secret discovery.  No happy ending.

I strongly encourage you to read the series in order.

I just might get a commonplace book.