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The Austere Academy by Lemony Snicket

Summary

In The Austere Academy, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are at first optimistic--attending school is a welcome change for the book-loving trio, and the academy is allegedly safe from the dreaded Count Olaf, who is after their fortune. Hope dissipates quickly, however, when they meet Vice Principal Nero, a self-professed genius violinist who sneeringly imitates their every word. More dreadful still, he houses them in the tin Orphans Shack, crawling with toe-biting crabs and dripping with a mysterious tan fungus. A beam of light shines through the despair when the Baudelaires meet the Quagmires, two of three orphaned triplets who are no strangers to disaster and sympathize with their predicament. When Count Olaf appears on the scene disguised as Coach Genghis (covering his monobrow with a turban and his ankle tattoo with expensive running shoes), the Quagmires resolve to come to the aid of their new friends. Sadly, this proves to be a hideous mistake. -- review from Amazon.com -- 221 pages, 4th grade and up

Summary

Spoiler alert! Some of the questions contain key elements of the plot. Do not read if you don't want to know what happens!

  1. On page three the author tells us, "..you are about to become acquainted with rude, violent, filthy Carmelita Spats, and if you can't stand reading about her, you had best put this book down and read something else, because it only gets worse from here." Did this make you feel like reading more or putting the book down?
  2. Is Sunny a very good secretary? Did you get a picture in your mind of a baby trying to answer a phone or use a stapler? Did you get other mental pictures while reading this book?
  3. What did you enjoy about the illustrations in the book? Do you prefer books with pictures or without? How would this book be different without the pictures?
  4. Does Sunny seem more like a baby or a grown-up?
  5. The author seems to enjoy taking time to explain what words or phrases mean. Did you enjoy these explanations?
  6. One of these explanations was about the word "triptych." Can you imagine yourself ever using this word?
  7. "Friends can make you feel the world is smaller and less sneaky than it really is" (p. 52). What does meeting Duncan & Isadora Quagmire do for the Baudelaires?
  8. The author hints about bad things happening to the Quagmires. Did this prepare you for the ending? Were you still surprised?
  9. Violet and Klaus have to memorize many things for their comprehensive tests. Have you ever had questions as bad as how deep was my mother's casserole dish in centimeters?
  10. This book seems to be about an endless amount of troubles. Did it make you feel cheerful or sad? Why?
  11. Why do you think the Lemony Snicket books are so popular?

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