The Grim Grotto (A Series of Unfortunate Events - Book 11)

In book Number 11 of the Series of Unfortunate Events (The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket) we are reminded that this book will be very dark and damp. In this book the orphans dive deeper then ever before into finding out the mysteries that surround the death of their parents and the VFD Organization and of course Count Olaf.

I recommend this book to children 10 years and older.

” It is one thing to believe that people have both good and bad inside of them, mixed together like ingredients in a salad bowl. But it is quite another to look at a cohort of a despicable villain, who has tried again and again to cause so much harm, and try to see where the good parts are buried, when all you can remember is the pain and suffering he has caused.”

In the previous books the orphans have struggled with feeling like they had bad inside of them like Count Olaf. That they were no better then him. Of course this quote is talking about something completely different in this book but I couldn’t help but reflect on the previous books, star wars, and even Harry Potter. Sorry I am getting side tracked, but Sirius Black did say it best ” We’ve all got light and dark in us. What matters is the part we choose to act on. That’s who we really are.” I feel like I may have shared this quote before but it seems to be one of my favorites right now.

Now on to my other favorite quote of this book:

Everyone yells, of course, from time to time, but the Baudelaire children did not like to think about their parents yelling, particularly now that they were no longer around to apologize or explain themselves. It is often difficult to admit that someone you love is not perfect, or to consider aspects of a person that are less than admirable. To the Baudelaires it felt almost as if they had drawn a line after their parents died – a secret line in their memories, separating all the wonderful things about the Baudelaire parents from the things that perhaps were not quite so wonderful. Since the fire, whenever they thought of their parents, the Baudelaires never stepped over this secret line, preferring to ponder the best moments the family had together rather than any of the times when they had fought, or been unfair or selfish. But now, suddenly, in the gloom of the Gorgonian Grotto, the siblings had stumbled across that line and found themselves thinking of that angry afternoon in the library, and in moments other angry afternoons and evenings had occurred to them until their brains were lousy with memories of all stripes, a phrase which here means “both good and bad.” It gave the siblings a queasy feeling to cross this line in their memories, and admit that their parents were sometimes difficult, and it made them feel all the queasier to realize they could not step back, and pretend they had never remembered these less-than-perfect moments, any more than they could step back in time, and once again find themselves safe in the Baudelaire home, before fire and count Olaf had appeared in their lives.

This book is a great one and leaves you with hope at the end which quite the shocker and a first for this series.

I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars.

" . . . The horrors they encounter are too numerous to list, and you wouldn't want me to even mention the worst of it, which includes mushrooms, a desperate search for something lost, a mechanical monster, a distressing message from a lost friend, and tap dancing."

A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS number eleven begins with the Baudelaire siblings exactly where we left them: In turmoil. As usual. As they sweep down Stricken Stream on a toboggan, they ponder other problems: What or where is the Hotel Denouement (at which they are to meet Quigley later); what exactly is V.F.D. and why should they care; and why did Count Olaf care about some elusive sugar bowl? They decide to stay on the toboggan and see where the water cycle takes them, and just hope it keeps them away from Esmé Squalor, Carmelita Spats, and worst of all COUNT OLAF.

Rushing down the stream, they encounter the obvious remains of a fire: The carnival that was burned down in book nine. Soon afterwards, they are almost swept away by a disastrous current, but a submarine arises and stops their progress. They knock, hoping to be let in (by someone who isn't an enemy).

The voice belongs to a man named Captain Widdershins, and he has an unusual way of speaking, throwing "Aye!" and "No!" into every sentence, never failing to complete every thought with an exclamation mark. His personal philosophy is "He (or she) who hesitates is lost!" and he and his stepdaughter Fiona live aboard the submarine Queequeg, wearing uniforms with Herman Melville on the front. But before they get to work, they are introduced to the submarine's current cook--who turns out to be Phil, one of the few allies they've met along the way. Apparently "The Submarine Q and Its Crew of Two" has had other inhabitants in the past, two of which were Jacques and Lemony Snicket (though Lemony is referred to as "what's-his-name, Jacques's brother"). Captain Widdershins wants the Baudelaires to get to work immediately, and when Fiona suggests they at least get to rest a little, he identifies the time-sensitive mission for this book: Find the sugar bowl before Count Olaf does!

Shortly afterwards, there is a terrible sound, which they find out is the submarine slamming into some rocks due to a damaged steering mechanism. Violet offers to try to fix it, but Captain Widdershins insists that she look at the telegram device first, since without it they can't receive "Volunteer Factual Dispatches," which will contain clues on how to find the sugar bowl. The siblings all get to work, and before long it is evening and the captain calls a meeting. They have reached the ocean, he says. Violet announces that the telegram machine wasn't broken in the first place, so the people who were sending them must have had their devices destroyed. Klaus, for his part, hasn't made much progress with the charts, but he does have a conversation with Fiona in which she reveals she is a mycologist (a person who studies mushrooms), and Captain Widdershins accuses them of flirting. Klaus believes the sugar bowl would have been carried by tidal currents to a place marked "A.A.," which turns out to be Anwhistle Aquatics, a marine research center belonging to their Aunt Josephine's brother-in-law. Well, it had, anyway, before it burned down, like every other place belonging to the good guys in this series. The sugar bowl is supposed to turn at "A.A." and end up at "G.G.," where it could go either direction. The captain doesn't know what "G.G." could be. They decide to set a course for "G.G.," but first, it's time for cod and potato chowder.

Unfortunately (isn't that the name of this series?), dinner is interrupted by a sonar detection believed to be Olaf. They have to power everything down to avoid detection. As his octopus-shaped craft approaches the Queequeg, everyone becomes silent, and they are about to be discovered when another shape shows up on the sonar, shaped like a question mark. Olaf flees at the sight of it, missing his mark. Klaus has an epiphany and realizes he knows where the sugar bowl is, even if he doesn't know why it's important.

Klaus says that the sugar bowl was carried inside an underwater cave of some kind, but beyond that, they know nothing--they'll be traveling in uncharted waters. Captain Widdershins gives them some history about V.F.D. explorers and other volunteers who specialized in fish domestication. He mentions that there is actually a third Snicket sibling who's never been mentioned before: Kit Snicket, who helped to build the Queequeg. Anyway, in a mushroom book's table of contents, they find the secret of "G.G."--it stands for Gorgonian Grotto. And this grotto is full of poisonous mushrooms that can kill with their spores.

The mission to go to the Gorgonian Grotto is set, and the captain sends all the children to bed for some rest. They're awoken by the sound of the submarine hitting something again; this time it's been wedged in the conical grotto, unable to go further. The Baudelaires and Fiona must go on in their diving suits, blindly, hoping the current will carry them to the same place it carried the sugar bowl.

In the complete darkness, the four children drift along until strangely enough they hit a beach, though they don't know how or why. It turns out they're on an artificial beach in a research facility, so they take off their helmets and search for the sugar bowl. Though they find a lot of useful and useless objects, there's no sugar bowl . . . but then, unfortunately, Fiona finds the mycelium to the poisonous mushrooms, which surround the children and trap them.

Luckily (for once), the mushrooms don't get close enough to poison the children, but they are forced to sit and wait until the mushrooms recede, which they will do at an unknown time.

Soon the fungus begins to wane, which means it is safe to leave. The kids gather up the materials they think will be interesting, and Violet pockets a newspaper clipping that she lies is not important. She doesn't want to talk about it in front of Fiona, but doesn't say why. Apparently Violet does not trust Fiona as much as the younger Baudelaires do. The text reveals at this time that a mushroom spore is in the helmet of one of the Baudelaires, though it does not say which one.

When they get back to the Queequeg, the crew is missing, leaving behind only some balloons marked with the initials "V.F.D." Exploring, they begin to take off their helmets, but Fiona stops Sunny because she notices a little fungal growth on the inside. Sunny has been poisoned, and they must make an antidote or she will die within the hour.

Olaf's octopus ship sucks the Queequeg inside, and Olaf captures the Baudelaires and Fiona. Amid much threatening to throw them in the brig, they run into Esmé, who is wearing a "stylish" octopus dress and holding a wet noodle over Snow Scouts who are being forced to row the ship. And then Carmelita comes out, dressed as a tap-dancing ballerina fairy princess veterinarian. She threatens them all with a dance recital.

They argue about who's on "the wrong side," and admit to each other that people are not good or evil; even good people do some bad things. Klaus reads a mushroom book and finds that the cure is horseradish, but they don't have any. Sunny helpfully points out that wasabi is an alternative to horseradish, and they happened to find a can of that in the assorted junk back in the grotto. They feed it to her and she is cured, and they eat the rest themselves in case they were exposed. The diving helmet remains closed and infected.

The next thing they know, they're receiving a telegram from Quigley Quagmire. They're overjoyed to know he survived--Violet especially--and they eagerly read his message, which of course is coded with the poetry code, saying where to meet him on Tuesday. Briny Beach is the place to meet--though that's sad because that's where the children were when they found out they had to go live with Count Olaf in book one. Before they can decode the second poem, though, Olaf bursts in and treats them to special laughter, accompanied by Esmé, Carmelita, Fernald, and Fiona--and they are all wearing uniforms decorated with the face of Edgar Guest. However reluctantly, Fiona seems to have joined the other side.

Fiona claims that she's joined Olaf because he's promised to help her find her missing stepfather. While the other villains go off in search of valuables to steal, Fiona is left to "guard" them, which allows them to discuss what's become of their relationship. Fiona wants their family together at all costs, while the Baudelaires claim that Fiona's brother is wicked and she shouldn't try to stay with him. Finally Fiona decides she'll let them escape and make it look like an accident, and the Baudelaires give her the helmet with fungus in it to study (though Olaf thinks it should be used as a weapon). That question-mark shape has appeared on the sonar again, so the villains make a quick escape, but Fiona doesn't put the orphans in the brig. She gives them a fond farewell and actually gives Klaus a good-bye kiss. Left alone, they plot a course to navigate the Queequag out of Olaf's vessel. Sunny patches a damaged porthole with gum, and out they go.

On the way to Briny Beach, they eat Violet's birthday cake, and eventually they open the hatch together and climb out. Waiting for them on the beach is . . . Mr. Poe! He insists they are to go with him, but Violet has decoded the other poem, which reveals they should instead get into a waiting taxi. They deliberately refuse Mr. Poe's instructions and run for the taxi, which is in fact waiting for them. Violet hopes to find Quigley inside, but instead they find Kit Snicket, with two very familiar books of poetry. Here the tale ends . . . for now.

"The Grim Grotto" takes the adventures of the Baudelaires through a different format. Rather addressing a new foe, the Baudelaires seek a missing bowl of sugar that holds a great secret. Along the journey, the orphans renew old acquaintances and face a new challange from Count Olaf in another entertaining ride.

Separated from the third Quigley triplet at the end of the previous book, the orphans are sailing a mysterious river without an oar. Taking refuge in a submarine, the orphans find new and old allies. In this way, the series begins to come full circle. On the way to find the mysterious bowl of sugar, the Baudelaires face poisonous mushrooms and a monsterous mechanical octopus. With each new element of the story, more information about the mysterious V.F.D. is revealed.

While I eagerly anticipate the ending of the series, I am intrigued by the maturing of the characters and the plotline. As a series for young adults, it is commendable that the series matures with the audience.

When last we saw the three Baudelaire orphans --- Violet, Klaus and Sunny --- they were hurtling down a raging river on a toboggan, headed for certain death. At the beginning of THE GRIM GROTTO, the eleventh installment in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, the three children are rescued in the nick of time by a passing submarine. Just when they think they are safe, though, the Baudelaires are in for their most harrowing adventures yet.

The Queequeg submarine is captained by Widdershins, a jovial but impatient fellow who is searching underwater for the mysterious sugar bowl that holds important secrets. It seems that the sugar bowl has vanished into a treacherous underwater cave, so small that only the children (including Widdershins's daughter Fiona) can enter it. Little do they know, though, that the cave is filled with poisonous mushroom spores, one of which is inhaled by one of the Baudelaires. Soon, the kids are in a race against time as they try to save their sibling and escape from Count Olaf, who is lurking nearby in a submarine of his own.

Unlike the earlier books in this series, Count Olaf is not really a central character here. Instead, this book introduces some new characters and helps shed light on old nemeses such as the hook-handed man. Lemony Snicket continues to be darkly humorous, with jokes that sometimes seem aimed as much at adults as at children; when the three Baudelaires try to decipher T. S. Eliot's THE WASTE LAND, Violet says, "Maybe it's all in code."

In the end, THE GRIM GROTTO introduces more mysteries than it solves. Since this is Book the Eleventh of a thirteen-book series, though, the end of the Baudelaires' adventures is rapidly approaching and the Hotel Denouement is in sight. It remains to be seen, though, whether these three unlucky orphans have any hope for a happy ending.

--- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Finally."The Grim Grotto" has finally surfaced.It was well worth the wait though,picking up where we last left the 3 Baudelaire orphans,rushing down the waters of Stricken Stream in the Hinterlands,on a broken toboggan.I'm a twelve year old from Idaho,who reads at a 11th grade level,so the complicated words here,I understood immediately,without having to read the definition of the complicated word afterwords.This chapter in the saga of the three Baudelaire orphans:Violet (Vi-oh-let) Klaus (K-OW-ss) not (K-laws,as in Santa Clause,many kids in town say it like that,incorrectly) and Sunny Baudelaire (B-OH-Duh-Lare) Violet (who loves to invent) Klaus (who loves to read) and Sunny (who likes to...um...bite.) encounter the loss of their recently found friend Quigely Quagmire (who was thought to have been killed in the Quagmire Mansion Fire)who was also seperated from his brother and sister,Duncan and Isadora Quagmire,who,also like the Baudelaires,have known and seen the treachery and evilness which is Count Olaf.

The orphans encounter a submarine on their journey down the vast tributaries of Stricken Stream,to find,when they enter the sub,Captain Widdershins,an old ship\sub captain who uses the word "Aye!" quite often,and Fiona,a teen about Violet & Klaus's age,who is very smart on the topic of mushrooms and other assorted fungi.The orphan's journey becomes struck with peril in a doble-whammy of unfortunate events,when shortly after Sunny,becomes infected with the deadly fugas,Medisoid Mycellium,and the poor baby has only an hour to live,(but this isn't the BIG event.I'm not a spoiler,so,this is only an EXAMPLE)just as things get bad with poor Sunny,the situation worsens beyond imagination,no,the submarine did not spring a leak,no,the sub didn't collapse,no! Count Olaf's octopus shaped submarine finds the Queequeg,and grabs hold of the Queequeg with its,long,metal tentacles.(this isn't the turning point,either)

Then enters Count Olaf,laughing out some strange,ryhming words,such as :Tee Hee Torture!! Ha Ha Hepplewhite!,and Ha Ha Handiwork!!!

Yes,to some,this outburst from Olaf may come across as an untimely episode of Tourettes.But no,it's just Count Olaf being evil as usual.This saga of the Baudelaires twists and turns,and WILL keep you in suspense,right till the end,this Series of Unfortunate Events book will make you laugh,cry,wonder,and think. Definately a book for those who enjoyed "The Miserable Mill","The Ersatz Elevator" and "The Slippery Slope",believe me,this book won''t let you down.

Even though this is the eleventh book in the Series of Unfortunate Events don't let it stop you from picking this book up to read. The author, Lemony Snicket, does very well at introducing the characters and events from his previous novels. In these books, you'll get to know the misfortunes of three orphan siblings, Sunny, Klaus and Violet Baudelaire. Sunny is a toddler who enjoys biting things for fun and her cooking skills are exquisite. Klaus is a very intelligent pre-teen boy who likes to spend his free time reading. Violet is a teenager whose invention skills are amazing. Together these three siblings can get through hardships that most other people, let alone children, could never bear.

It is sad, at times, to read about these kids who have no parents. They always seem to end up with evil guardians who treat them awfully or good guardians who somehow perish. However, for Snicket Fans, like me, number eleven will not disappoint. The Grim Grotto is filled with suspense, witty humor and mystery, as always. This time Lemony adds a little romance between Klaus and Fiona. Fiona is a pre-teen who Klaus meets and gets a crush on. She is a mycologist, one who studies fungi. She also enjoys reading, like Klaus. Fiona's stepfather, Captain Widdershins, is another key character in this story. He is the captain of the Queequeg, which was the submarine the orphans ride on. He is also a member of a secret organization or VFD, like most of the people the Baudelaire orphans will meet. Captain Widdershins will give clues to you about a mysterious object that will puzzle you and force you to keep reading. You will also meet an old friend named Phil from a previous book. Phil is an optimist who is now a chef on the submarine. This book is a real page-turner and highly recommended by me. In the end, I think you will find that The Grim Grotto has a little bit of excitement and suspense you will love! Do you think the Baudelaires will prevail this time? Pick up the Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket.

LA6-Quinn

Before I tell you about this dreadful story (as Lemony Snicket says), I recommend reading the 1st book in the Series of Unfortunate Events and then so on. (This is the 11th.) This series is all about the terrible day of the fire. That day is when the Baudelaires' parents died. From that day forward the orphan's lives have been unfortunate. They keep going from guardian to guardian; some of them have even died! The theme of this story is that the helpless but clever Baudelaire children can never quite escape from the evil Count Olaf who is after their money.

The 3 main characters in this great book are; Violet, Klaus and Sunny. Violet loves inventing things, when she wants to or needs to invent something she ties a ribbon in her hair. Klaus loves to read atlases and anything that is interesting. He is also very good at remembering things that are impossible to remember. Sunny on the other hand loves to bite squishy toys and cook.

Now I will tell you where their unfortunate lives take them in this story. This nasty book takes place in the water; you would have to read the 10th book to get this. The plot is that the Baudelaires are trying to find the sugar bowl. They need to find it before Count Olaf, a really evil guy, takes the Baudelaires' fortune, which they inherited after their parents died in a terrible fire!! This will go on and on and on, so to save me some typing I am going to make this as short as possible. There is also another person named Mr. Poe, who is in charge of their money. He continually coughs in his handkerchief and really doesn't help the Baudelaires very much because he is too busy with his bank. He is easily fooled when Olaf is in a disguise, and is trying to get the Baudelaires' fortune.

So instead of reading this, I recommend that you read the 1st book, or read something else! I would tell you about some more characters and some more places in this dastardly, horrifying, woeful, gruesome book, but that would ruin half of the story and so I won't. I wouldn't waste your time trying to plead with me or crying to ask me to tell you more about this, it just won't work. Oh, and by the way there are probably going to be about 24 or so books.
I loved this book a lot! It was the best book I have ever read, partly because the author, Lemony Snicket, is so mysterious and nobody knows about him. I also like this book because this is a fiction, mystery, and is a hilarious book. Another reason I really liked this book is that it seems that the characters in the story are real even though they are not. You see, although Lemony Snicket discourages you from reading this book, I don't see who wouldn't enjoy it. I hope you read this book because if you do, you'll never want to put it down!

Before I tell you about this dreadful story (as Lemony Snicket says), I recommend reading the 1st book in the Series of Unfortunate Events and then so on. (This is the 11th.) This series is all about the terrible day of the fire. That day is when the Baudelaires' parents died. From that day forward the orphan's lives have been unfortunate. They keep going from guardian to guardian; some of them have even died! The theme of this story is that the helpless but clever Baudelaire children can never quite escape from the evil Count Olaf who is after their money.

The 3 main characters in this great book are; Violet, Klaus and Sunny. Violet loves inventing things, when she wants to or needs to invent something she ties a ribbon in her hair. Klaus loves to read atlases and anything that is interesting. He is also very good at remembering things that are impossible to remember. Sunny on the other hand loves to bite squishy toys and cook.

Now I will tell you where their unfortunate lives take them in this story. This nasty book takes place in the water; you would have to read the 10th book to get this. The plot is that the Baudelaires are trying to find the sugar bowl. They need to find it before Count Olaf, a really evil guy, takes the Baudelaires' fortune, which they inherited after their parents died in a terrible fire!! This will go on and on and on, so to save me some typing I am going to make this as short as possible. There is also another person named Mr. Poe, who is in charge of their money. He continually coughs in his handkerchief and really doesn't help the Baudelaires very much because he is too busy with his bank. He is easily fooled when Olaf is in a disguise, and is trying to get the Baudelaires' fortune.

So instead of reading this, I recommend that you read the 1st book, or read something else! I would tell you about some more characters and some more places in this dastardly, horrifying, woeful, gruesome book, but that would ruin half of the story and so I won't. I wouldn't waste your time trying to plead with me or crying to ask me to tell you more about this, it just won't work. Oh, and by the way there are probably going to be about 24 or so books.
I loved this book a lot! It was the best book I have ever read, partly because the author, Lemony Snicket, is so mysterious and nobody knows about him. I also like this book because this is a fiction, mystery, and is a hilarious book. Another reason I really liked this book is that it seems that the characters in the story are real even though they are not. You see, although Lemony Snicket discourages you from reading this book, I don't see who wouldn't enjoy it. I hope you read this book because if you do, you'll never want to put it down!

Did you know that Grim means forbidding, ghastly, or sinister and Grotto means a small cave or cavern? This book is called The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket and it is a fiction book. This time the Baudelaire orphans find themselves floating on an almost defrosted river on a tobogan, (an old fashoned sled) when sudenly they get picked up by a black submarine driven by a nice captain named Captian Widdershins. Unfortunately, the Baudelaire's parents died in a terrible fire which occered at the Baudelaire Mansion which considers them orphans. Mr. Poe, a banker who is in charge of who the Baudelairs get as a gaurdian assigned the Baudelairs with a terrible man named Count Olaf who made them go through terrible things just so him and his troupe of evil can get their filthy hands on the Baudelaire Fortune. Mr. Poe found out about this and sent the Baudelaires to numerous gaurdians where Count Olaf always seemed to find them and make their lives miserable.
What adventures will the three siblings come across in the book when Violet the eldest Baudelaire, 15, who has an act for inventing brilliant things that saved the siblings countless of times, Klaus, the middle Baudelaire, 13, who loves to read tons of books, and Sunny, who is just a baby, has four very, very sharp teeth that will bite anything when they get a chace. Sunny is just leaving her baby talk to start speaking English, and has an act for cooking. This reminds me of me and my sister because my sister is 15, just like Violet, and I am (...), just like Klaus.
I loved this book, because it is filled with adventure that really gets you thinking. I also like the authors style of writing, because he uses lots of similies and metephors. They really make you think more of what the author means by the metephors. I recomend this book to anyone who has the ability to read, although, you would need to read the other 10 books of the series wich are just as good kind of to get what is going on.
In conclusion, this book is great. It is adventerous and if you read it I hope that you enjoy it. I think that you will have a lot of fun reading this book and the other books in the series. You will find that it is so good that you will need a doctor to surgically remove the book from your hands. I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING THIS BOOK!

After nearly escaping from the almost-melting Mortmain Mountains in the previous book in the series, The Slippery Slope (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 10), the Baudelaire orphans (Violet, Klaus, and Sunny) are taken in by the eccentric Captain Widdershins and his stepdaughter Fiona aboard a submarine. The Queequeg submarine is not exactly in good shape, so the Baudelaires are not exactly any more safe in this particular chapter of their lives than they ever were. During their perilous quest to find the mysterious sugar bowl down in an underwater grotto found on the bottom of the Striken Stream, the unlucky children encounter a poisonous fungus known as the Medusoid Mycelium. The deadly mushroom has the ability to grow on human throats and choke its victim to death in an hour or less. Of course, one of the Baudelaires is infected by the horrible fungus and might not make it to the next book! This book, along with all of the other books in the series, is great read for the little kids and the teens and the adults and everyone else who loves a good page-turner. Not only is this book a good mystery, but also touches on the subject of villainy. Just like in real life, characters in the book change from being good to evil and vise-versa - a serious topic to discuss to readers. Besides that, Lemony Snicket (the author) makes references to various famous writers and their words through the Verse Fluctuation Declaration poem-involving V.F.D. code (similar to Aunt Josephine's and the Quagmires') and the submarine's name and uniform. Even though it is fiction, I would not doubt that A Series of Unfortunate Events will someday become a book required in many schools. They are simply so well-written with suspense, humor, mystery, and a bit of drama! (By the way, my review`s title speaks the truth).

I won't waste time sifting through plot details. You should know them by now. First off, this is one of the last books. 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' started off dry and humorous---not too serious. Then around the 7th book (The Vile Village) things got deeper and more serious. It's not neccessarily a bad thing, it's just that (unfortunately) the bigger books aren't as lavishly sprinkled with the hilarious wit the earlier ones were. Don't get me wrong---Snicket (er, rather, Daniel Handler)has turned 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' into a brilliant masterpiece. But just don't expect to laugh out loud as much later on. 'The Grim Grotto's main purpose was to 1) Give us more mysteries to rummage over and 2) Bring in more romance. This is a point that's often overlooked. The middlest Baudelaire (Klaus) is undeniably besotted with Fiona ? (her REAL last name is unknown). You will perhaps remember the chemistry between Violet and Quigley in 'The Slippery Slope.' I personally was delighted with these romantic twists--they gave us something to speculate on. And to my satisfaction Snicket left it that way. After this the elder Baudelaires' love interests are only sparingly mentioned in the last two tomes. At first this was a source of consternation for me. Then I realized--if we got too in-depth into the romance it would just be too much. It would be too big a distraction, and we had more important things to think about. I'm glad Snicket introduced these little amourations (I made that word up--you won't find it in a dictionary) because they aroused interest when the plot started to flag just a bit. Enjoy 'The Grim Grotto' for its grim twists, and of course, enjoy it just for the sheer pleasure of reading a book by the brilliant (and still at large) Snicket.

I liked this book because it had great details and it had a great storyline. I have read all the books up to this point and I have liked every single one of his books.

What happened in the book was that in the beginning, the Baudelaire's are floating down the stricken stream when they see this metal thing pop out of the water. There was a hatch and the Baudelaire's open the hatch and go down to find out that they are in a submarine. There is an old friend on this submarine and his name is Phil from Lucky Smells Lumber mill in the fourth book. The captain's name is Captain Widdershins and his step daughter Fiona. They set sail to find the sugar bowl and their journey takes them all the way to the Gorgonian Grotto. Fiona is a mycologist which is a person who studies things like mushrooms, bacteria, and all sorts of things. The Baudelaire's and Fiona do not find the sugar bowl, but while they are down there, they find medusoid mycelium which is poisonous mushrooms. The mushrooms get into Sunny's diving helmet and she is coughing and wheezing like crazy. Then Count Olaf catches the Baudelaire's in a humongous octopus submarine.

The Baudelaire's finally cure her with Wasabi which is a Japanese condiment after escaping from the brig on Count Olaf's submarine.The Baudelaire's receive a telegram from Quigley. So the Baudelaire's fire up the engines on their submarine and head for Briny Beach to meet a certain someone. They find out that the someone is Mr. Poe. I can't tell you what happens in the end , but if you want to know, read the book and find out.

I think that fantasy readers would like this book because it has a great fantasy storyline and has great details

The main characters in this book are three kids. Their names are Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. Violet is the oldest child, then Klaus, and then Sunny. Violet is really good at inventing things, and whenever she invents something she ties her hair up in a ribbon. Klaus likes poetry and reads a lot, and Sunny is really good at cooking.

This book is about three kids. Their parents died in a fire and they have had various caretakers. Count Olaf, a treacherous villain who is after the enormous fortune their parents left behind, is somehow involved with each caretaker. The three children end up on a submarine called "the Queequeg". They are then told to go into the deep waters of the Gorgonian Grotto to find a certain sugar bowl. They are not told why this sugar bowl is so important, but they do know that if Count Olaf gets it before they do, he will be very powerful.

The setting of this book is in a submarine called "the Queequeg" and in the Gorgonian Grotto.

The theme of this book is that if you are trying to find something important, like the Baudelaire children are looking for the sugar bowl, don't give up, no matter how many obstacles you come across.

I really liked this book because it was very adventurous while the Baudelaires were going through the Gorgonian Grotto and in "the Queequeg". The book was also a mystery. Those are the two genres I like reading about. I also liked "The Grim Grotto" because I have read all ten "Series of Unfortunate Events" before this one and liked all of them.

The Baudelaire orphans continue their search for the VFD and the sugar bowl with the hidden message as they escape down the slippery slope of the Mortmain Mountains and away from the evil Count Olaf. Their toboggan ride down the stream leads them to discover a submarine manned by a Captain, his stepdaughter, and Phil - a man the siblings met previously, all of which are friendly to the search for the sugar bowl and interested in keeping it out of Olaf's clutches. But just when it seems as though the Baudelaires have other people to work with and confide in, Olaf manages to strike again and keep the children on a collision course with disaster. The children must work together and keep their wits about them if they are to hope that they will someday escape from Olaf and his evil henchmen for good.

This installment contributes almost nothing to the overall plot line of the series. After a slight increase in the pace of the series, this one brings the fun back to a screeching halt. The concept is frustrating at this point and ready for the big conclusion. As in some of the earlier novels, the writing at the beginning of chapters is often disjointed and seems in need of good editing. It is good that there are only two books left because if there was no end in sight, I would likely put an end to it myself.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Grim Grotto

By: Lemony Snicket

This book is about Violet, the eldest Baudelaire, her brother Claus, the middle Baudelaire and his sister Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire Orphan. Their parents were killed in an afull fire and distroyed their home and they cannot enharet the fortune untill Violet becomes of age and so they were forced to live with their clostest relatives. The first gardian they had was an afull man named Count Olaf. All he wanted was their enormase fortune. He is always thinking of ideas to get their fortune.

The eldest Baudelaire is Violet. She is brilliant inventor and she is the one who comes up with the ways to escape the evil clutches of Count Olaf. The middle Baudelaire is Claus. He has read more books than the most of you will ever read in your entire life he is brilliant. The youngest Baudelaire is Sunny. She has extremely sharp teeth and she loves to bite things with her teeth and she trys to talk but she can't very well because she is a baby.

I love these books I have all eleven of them and I have read them all. I would definetly recomend them to a friend these are one of my favorite series becaouse all of the stories are linked unlike some of the other books that are a series.

The Baudelaires meet Captain Widdershins and his stepdaughter Fiona in their submarine, which is searching for the sugar bowl in the Stricken Stream. The three siblings and Fiona are then sent into an underwater grotto to find the bowl.

There has always been an aura of mystery throughout the series, and it just deepened with each book. However with this one, there is a great sense that everything will come full circle. It's a testament to Snicket's writing that his attempt to persuade the reader to put the book down is never dull and that we really care about the lives of the three orphans.

The Grim Grotto has Violet, Klaus and Sunny aboard a submarine where a crazed Captain is obsessed with finding the sugar bowl before Count Olaf. While Klaus starts getting close to the Captain's stepdaughter Fiona. She's a book a worm too, well when it comes to learning about mushrooms. One of the funnier parts has has her stepfather alreday planning their wedding and having the two blushing. While saying "and Violet can marry my stepson once we find him again, Aye!". The book has it's slow points but it's still one of the best of the books since it has some surprises. Plus when Sunny gets poisoned by a deadly mushroom, Klaus and Violet have to figure out how to cure her and get away from Count Olaf at the same time.

Olaf is surprisingly about as whacky as Jim Carrey played him this time around. He introduces many new goofy laughs and is harder to take serious this time around. The books had a better and more sinister Olaf than the movie until I read this book. He seems to get more and more annoying as the books go on anyway and he's certainly his most annoying here. The book is still creative and the most intriguining enough for me to strongly recommend it. I honestly liked it more than most of the books.

Alright. I realize most people here are die-hard Snicket fans.

That said, Grim Grotto is where it starts to go downhill. It takes a lot more work to slog through than the other books. For one thing, this is a plot advancement book (finally!) with an abrupt cliffhanger ending rather than the usual clean wrap-up. The repetition is really obnoxious here (how many times does Handler have to copy/paste that essay about water stages?) and it's starting to feel like clever filler that cheats the reader out of substance rather than a narrative device.

There could be some good thrills and chills here but it suffers from too many irrelevant asides.

Come to think of it, The Carnivorous Carnival is looking pretty good in comparison. CC had meaty dialog that moved the story forward, suspense, surprise twists and emotional clout (bummer about the fortune teller).

If we were talking cheese, CC would be a punchy English stilton and GG would be a generic American cheese single. Or that shaky green wannabe parmesan cheese.

Rabid Snicket fans are gonna eat this up - just want to say that of the books, this is the one where I started skipping whole paragraphs and pages because Snicket seemed unable to get to the point. I think Klaus would have done the same.

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This book is the most recent release in Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Itis not, however, included in the move made about this series. Therefore, if you watched the movie you can still read this book.

This book is about three children, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, who just escaped from Count Olaf's clutches by floating down the Stricken Stream in a toboggan. Soon they encounter a submarine and are sailing with Captain Widdershins, who is always saying "He who hesitates is lost." They have to go on a mission to find the sugar bowl where the last meeting of V.F.D will be. They believe that it is in the grim grotto, so they go to search for it. At the grim grotto there are many medusoid myllecylum, poisonous mushrooms which they have to be careful around to avoid getting poisoned. In spite of their efforts, Sunny's helmet goes bad and she starts to take in some of the poison. To find out what happens to Sunny, you should read this book. But this is not all! This book also offers a shocking betrayal, and leaves you with a very suspenseful cliffhanger ending. I can guarantee you will really like this book, and it will leave you impatient for the next one.

- Peter

I highly recommend this book to readers of the previous ten books! While this book is longer than the others (and has some slow areas), the story is full of surprises - interesting locations, dreadful happenings, etc.

Count Olaf and his evil minions are still after the Baudelaire children, but Olaf has definitely changed. He doesn't seem nearly as evil as he was in past and he now has the most awful laugh which just about drove me crazy (perhaps this was intended???). There are also changes in the Baudelaires - the children are growing up. Sunny is no longer a baby and has become a very interesting character. The older sibs have more issues to face, including conflicts with each other. We receive more clues about VFD and characters from previous books show up - and not everyone is quite as they have appeared in past.

I found more to laugh about in this book and the ending is probably the best so far. Don't get me wrong - there are still so many miserable, horrible, mysterious things - we will have to read the next two books to (hopefully) get all our questions answered. I, for one, can't wait!

A note to those who haven't already read books 1 - 10. If possible, try to read all the books in order prior to reading this book. Each book builds on the previous one and so many references are made to past books, you won't understand the story very well - heck, it is hard enough for those who have read them in order to follow, because there is so much time in between books!

Also, this is not a "happy ending" series of books. While I think they are fantastic and my son loves them, I urge parents to read the books first before deciding if they are appropriate for their younger readers.

Dear Reader,

When we last saw the Baudelaire children, they were being swept out to sea after having fallen down a mountain. It was most dreadful. I should have just left them there and not continued reading about their unfortunate lives in THE GRIM GROTTO, the eleventh chronicle of those poor, unhappy Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny.

THE GRIM GROTTO finds them even in more dire circumstances than before. They are misled into believing they have found a former ally of the VFD. Then they have to live in the cramped and tight living arrangements aboard a submarine with no chance of getting out unless they put on these horribly heavy underwater-breathing suits. Aboard the submarine they are threatened from the outside by a giant mechanical monster and Count Olaf and his crew. Then we they finally do get out to walk around they are almost killed by poisonous mushrooms and despite all the precautions they take, disaster strikes anyway.

You'd best stay away from this one. But if do choose to read THE GRIM GROTTO, it's not my fault if anything happens.
Sincerely,

Uncle TV

In my opinion, "The Slippery Slope" was probably the best, most informative, and most exciting out of all of the SOUE books, so when I got my copy of "The Grim Grotto," I was expecting this book to be even better and provide more leads in the Baudelaire orphan's strange lives and past. However, "The Grim Grotto," is a bit more slow-paced and just does not hold your attention well enough as many of the other books in the series do.

The book leaves off at the end of The Slippery Slope when the Baudelaires are streaming down the Stricken Stream in a toboggan, not knowing where the heck they're going or where they'll be next. When they see a submarine with a periscope in the shape of the eye, the Baudelaires jump at this opportunity. The Baudelaires climb in the submarine (named the Queequeg) to find an over-excited captian named Captian Widdershins, and his teenage stepdaughter, Fiona. Captian Widdershins was on a frantic search for a lost sugar bowl before Count Olaf's greedy clutches got a hold of it. The Baudelaires then agree to head out on a journey to the Gorgonian Grotto to find the sugar bowl, where they are faced with even more exciting and dangerous adventures, including an encounter with Count Olaf and an interesting new revelation about one of Olaf's assistants.

I didn't think that this was one of the best books in the series. Snicket's tedious, overused descriptions of the water cycle (an attempt to make the reader put the book down), are extremely annoying, and the plot is very slow. Captian Widdershins was also extremely annoying because of his use of "Aye!" about ten times a paragraph. This book, actually, didn't get very interesting until the very last page, where the Baudelaire's lives take a huge turn. (I won't say whether it's for the better or worse!)

Overall, this book failed to oversee my excpectations. If you're a big SOUE fan, then you should (and will) most definitely will read it, but hopefully, the next installement of the series will be much better.

I have loved Lemony Sniket ever since my teacher showed me in third grade. Even so, Sniket has done a not so wonderful job on his eleventh book, mainly because of the boring descripitions of the WATER CYLCE. He has evaporation, precipitation, collection, and yet NO CONDENSATION. Who writes a typical book about the water cycle and yet forgets to add in condensation?

Another reason why I do not like this book is because Klaus has formed a love life on "Triangle Eyes." I am not saying that I do not like it, it is just that Triangle Eyes betrays the Baudelaires just because of a family member. Get this! That family member is totally evil!!!

This book is sad and has a lot of betrayals. Violet has been worrying about Quigley. Sunny gets poisoned by a mushroom. Klaus, in this book, is not harmed if you do not include Olaf, who of course is still trying to get their fortune. Olaf, on the other hand, is dealing with his annoying kidnapped "daughter", who is the one and only Carmelita Splat.

The setting is in the ocean and two submarines. Esmé is still wearing freakishly horrible clothes. Carmelita, being under the care of Esmé, is also wearing freakishly horrinle clothes. I hope you survive this story.

The 11th book of the Series of Unfortunate Events was interesting but lacking in depth. Lemony Snicket seems to be running out of ideas to end his series. I have read all 11 books so far, and hopefully the 12th book will be better. As only 13 installments are expected, he most definitely should have quite a twist in store. As a fan of this series, I was most anxious to read this book after reading the Slippery Slope, which in my opinion was hands-down the best book of the series. Mr. Snicket appeared just a little too obnoxious here, with his drawn out and repetitive explanations of the water cycle and the annoying dialogue of his captain. There was much less action in this book than his other works, possibly because of the dreary underwater scene. Honestly, it is quite difficult to present an intriguing story that is set in the ocean. Count Olaf should have had greater exposure with his evil plots, but instead the attention was focused primarily on mushrooms and a sugar bowl whose purpose should be explained. Lemony Snicket had a fantastic set up with Jacques Snicket, VFD, and Quiggly Quagmire, but unfortunately, he allowed the logical explanations of this series to slip into a ridiculous underwater mushroom adventure involving a giant piece of pasta, and some completely ridiculous outfits. However, loyal fans of this series, like myself, could hardly let this dissapointment stop us from experiencing the whole Series of Unfortunate Events Adventure. Although this book was more like a vacation and progressed nowhere, it still had its funny elements like Sunny's cooking, Phil's optimism, and the whole crew's ridiculous banter. This latest book did fall short of being great, but readers should not give up hope on Lemony Snicket.

Mushroooms! Violet, Claus, and Sunny are traveling down the Stricken Stream when they come upon a submarine. They go board and meet Captain Widdershins and his daughter Fiona. They decide to go find the sugar bowl that was lost. They go to the Gorgonian Grotto and the Baudelaires and Fiona go into the water to find the sugar bowl. They come to a beach and the Medusoid Mycelium comes out of the ground. The children run away from it so they don't get poisoned. After a while, the Medusoid Mycelium goes back into the ground and the children go back into the water. They go back to the submarine to find that Captain Widdershins and Phil are gone. Then, they find out that one of the Medusoid Mycelium's spores got into Sunny's diving helment nad that she would die if she didn't get the anidote with in an hour. Then, their submarine is captured by Count Olaf. They end up getting away from Count Olaf and go back to Brinie Beach. There is a lot of happiness, sadness, and adventure in this book.

The Baudelaires are happy when they find the submarine. They are happy when they meet the people on the submarine, expecially Claus because he likes Fiona. The children are happy when the Medusoid Mycelium goes back into the ground. Cout Olaf is happy when he captures the children. The children are happy when they escape Count Olaf.

The children are sad when the Medusoid Mycelium comes out of the ground because they don't know if they will be able to get bakc to the submarine. Fiona is sad when she finds out that her stepfather, Captain Widdershins, is gone. The children are sad when Count Olaf catches them. Count Olaf is sad when the children got away.

The Baudelaires have an adventure done the Stricken Stream. The children have an adventure on the way to the island in the Grotto. They have adventure on the way back. They have an adventure in Count Olaf's submarine. They have an adventure on the way back to Brinie beach.

Sadness, happines, and adventure are deffenently in this book. The Baudelaires have most of the adventures. The Baudelaires feel most of the sadness. The Baudelaires feel most of the happiness. If you like books with a lot of sadness in them, this book, and the rest of this series, is for you.

I have been tearing through these books since I first found the first one a few years ago. They are seriously the most hilarious/heart-breaking books I have ever read. Though I personally enjoyed the story-lines of the first nine the best, this book is just as brilliant in whit.

For those who haven't already read books one to ten I waould not suggest starting here. I had to re-read the tenth, which I had read the year before, just to get through the first chapter. I have a bad memory with books and usually have to read all my favourites at least three times just to remember the names of the main characters. However, the names in this book are too memorable to forget.

This series tells the story of the three Beaudelaire siblings, Sunny, an infant who enjoys biting and, in this book and the last two, cooking, Violet, a fourtenen-year-old who turns fifteen in this book who enjoys inventing, and Klaus, a thirteen-year-old who likes to read and research. After the death of their parents in a dreadful fire, the three have been fleeing the dastardly Count Olaf who is trying to steal the enormous fortune their parents left behind. During their tragic adventures, they come across the mysterious letters V. F. D. and strive to discover their meaning. In this book they encounter many submarines, mushrooms, traitors, desperate cries for help, and their friend's long lost brother.

This book, the Grim Grotto, is not my favourite because it, and the tenth, do not have as much plot to them as the others. I also enjoyed the siblings desperatly trying to unmask the villain and in this one and the ninth and tenth there is none of that. however, this one is just as funny as the rest.

If you enjoys falling of your bed, sofa, easy-chair or mountain-top with laughter than these books are for you.

I have been tearing through these books since I first found the first one a few years ago. They are seriously the most hilarious/heart-breaking books I have ever read. Though I personally enjoyed the story-lines of the first nine the best, this book is just as brilliant in whit.

For those who haven't already read books one to ten I waould not suggest starting here. I had to re-read the tenth, which I had read the year before, just to get through the first chapter. I have a bad memory with books and usually have to read all my favourites at least three times just to remember the names of the main characters. However, the names in this book are too memorable to forget.

This series tells the story of the three Beaudelaire siblings, Sunny, an infant who enjoys biting and, in this book and the last two, cooking, Violet, a fourtenen-year-old who turns fifteen in this book who enjoys inventing, and Klaus, a thirteen-year-old who likes to read and research. After the death of their parents in a dreadful fire, the three have been fleeing the dastardly Count Olaf who is trying to steal the enormous fortune their parents left behind. During their tragic adventures, they come across the mysterious letters V. F. D. and strive to discover their meaning. In this book they encounter many submarines, mushrooms, traitors, desperate cries for help, and their friend's long lost brother.

This book, the Grim Grotto, is not my favourite because it, and the tenth, do not have as much plot to them as the others. I also enjoyed the siblings desperatly trying to unmask the villain and in this one and the ninth and tenth there is none of that. however, this one is just as funny as the rest.

If you enjoys falling of your bed, sofa, easy-chair or mountain-top with laughter than these books are for you.

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket is a great book. The story starts out where the 10th book left off. The Baudelaire orphans, Violet the inventor (14), Klaus the researcher (13), And Sunny the biter/aspiring cook (infant) are speeding down the Stricken Stream in a toboggan when they find a periscope. The Periscope ends up being attached to a submarine called the Queequeg who's crew's mission is to find the mysterious sugar bowl (we still don't know why it's so significant). Each of the Baudelaire siblings adapt to their situations and find a way to find the sugar bowl and make the Queequeg running like a well oiled machine. They spend the majority of the story in two places, on the Queequeg and in the Gorgonian Grotto (where they search for the sugar bowl). The overall theme of The Grim Grotto is under water adventures. I liked this book because it is similar to the rest of the series, which I really like. The only parts of the book I didn't like were the parts where Mr. Snicket describes the water cycle it was really boring. But, if you want you can skip through those.

Series of Unfortunate Events # 12 the Fiery Flare. Violet Klaus and sunny travel with the women in the cab until they get hit by a drunk driver. The man looks like he wants them dead. He yells out the window "I have avenged you Jaques!" The cops show up not too long later. They spend the night at a hotel, and Mr Poe shows up there. The next morning they see count olaf in disguise. Now you may be thinking the same old storyline, (baudlaires go somewhere else, olaf shows up in disguise, nobody believes them, baudlaires get good idea, escape) is about to start again even though weve seen it in the first 8 books.(the slippery slope and grim grotto were exceptions, they had new adventure storylines and were much better)however, out of nowhere the book takes a drastic turn,makig it the best book in the sries so far. I wont spoil it, but all I will say is it involves, lots and lots of fire, a past guardian's spirit, and one of Count Olaf's associates (not the hook handed man) falling into a burning dumpster and dying. Pick up The Fiery Flare when it hits bookstores.

The Grim Grotto is a fantasy/science fiction type of book. The book was written by Lemony Snicket and has pictures by Brent Helquest. Sadly, the book hasn't won any awards.

The Grim Grotto is about kids named Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. From the tenth book Violet, Klaus, and Sunny were being swept away, by a new flowing river down a mountain. Then a submarine came and invited them in. In the submarine were old friends named Paul, Captain Windershnits, and a girl named Laura. The three were on a mission to find a sacred object that can save a secret organization named V.F.D.(I don't know what it stands for.) but they think it is in a deep dark cave where know one goes in and comes out alive. Will they be able to come out alive and have the sacred item? Or will the evil villain Count Olaf get it first.(This book is very sad and depressing so anything can happen.)

The book's flow is acceptable but, when it is at a part of suspense he changes the topic. The author uses a list of phenomenal words and phrases such as in the belly of the beast. Lemony Snicket's way of writing is very grim and a little funny how it is so depressing. A horrible part of the book is that he is struggling to stay on topic not going to another. An example is that he starts talking about violets hair and then some how it leads to about something about turtles.

This depressing / hilarious book is not a book to read if you like happy endings! Sadly, this book is for Snicket's girlfriend who died in a fire in 1999. That is how he started the Series of Unfortunate Events.

We just left off when Violet, Klaus, and Sunny were zipping down a huge river, with no way to stop. After they get saved by a submarine they must continue their quest for the sugarbowl, and in doing so their search leads them (by Klaus's amazing map skills) into a grotto where their situation is so grim that they named the book after it.

This is a great book that has imagination, sugarbowls, and mushrooms. This book has quite a few names you might recognize (and, of course, that includes Count Olaf) . Also you should get used to saying long, hard-to-say phrases, such as " `the water cycle.' The water cycle consists of three key phenomena -- evaporation, precipitation, and collection -- and all of them are equally boring." The Baudelaires have to use their wits, their knowledge (which in this case means their use of random books and memories to figure out codes and medicines), and a submarine to deal with this huge pack of adventure. People who enjoy a weird laugh and have sisters who annoy them with ballet will find similarities in this book.

The Baudelaire children are in trouble again as readers find them tobogganing down a swift stream. But careening to their possible deaths is nothing compared to what will happen to them when they are picked up by a submarine. And as if that's not enough they must find their way through a grim grotto in search of a sugar bowl which has some great importance to their nemesis and possibly themselves. Along the way they once again meet up with Count Olaf, who continues to pursue them, and his odd group of friends as they continue to search for the truth about their parents deaths and their missing friends, the Quigleys.

This the 11th book in the series which has been as fun and intriguing as the first book, The Bad Beginning and all the others. While series tend to drag for me and I usually give up on them midway, each new book in this series seems to be a better and better read. And the end of this book which places the Baudelaire children where the first book began certainly has me looking forward to the next installment to find out additional clues or answers to these orphans series of unfortunate events.

I recommend this series of books to mature children, young adults and certainly those adults who enjoy a bit of black humor and suspense. I can hardly wait for the next book to be published but can now look forward to seeing the movie shortly. It should be great fun to see Jim Carrey play the devilish Count Olaf. I can't think of anybody better for this role than the man with many faces and voices.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The Grim Grotto

By Lemony Snicket

The main characters in this story are Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire. Violet is one of the most smartest people in the world. She is an inventor who has designed many things and is normally the person who gets her and her siblings out of the villains hands. Klaus has a clever mind. He is a great reader one of the best. He has read up to as 5 times the books you have in your life and everything he reads he remembers. Sunny is their 7 year old sister. She has 4 sharp teeth that she likes to bite with.

In the story the Baudelaire's face many dangers with a mushroom and Count Olaf. The Baudelaire's are in a submarine trying to find a mysteries sugar bowl. When the Baudelaire's are trying to find the sugar bowl they find a poisonous mushroom that can kill anyone in less then an hour just by breathing its air. And unfortunately one of the Baudelaire's encounter the mushrooms disease.

The setting takes place in an underwater submarine. Where they come across an underwater cave and they get stuck in it for a while. It takes place in the ocean were they find some nice people and not so nice people. This time period is around our time right now. It dosent give a pacific time.

The theme of this story is to never trust anyone because they can turn on you at any moment. And also it has a little twist in things at in the middle were the theme there is to never go near a mushroom or never take your helmet off.

Yes I did like this book because it had a lot of mysteries in it. I like how you never know what is going to happen next and how the author has us wondering what is going to happen to the Baudelaire's? Are they going to die are they ever going to see there parent ever again? And will they ever meet up with the triplets? The questions in this book are amazing I highly recommend it.

In this book there are three siblings and they are Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They are constantly in a very uncommon situation like being descended in to the depths of despair underwater. They go on a tragic journey to find the sugar bowl. They find sunny about to die within an hour. They also go searching for a cure, and many other unfortunate events that happen to them.

I really enjoyed this book, however there are always in a sad situation that makes it a bit boring. They are in many adventurous times but, there isn't a very good moment that the family is actually happy together. Many times they have been in serious situations but it occurs to often that also makes it uncommon. I enjoyed the action part when they go deep into the depths of the ocean, but including that the book was quite dull.

What I like about this book is Lemony Sniket's type of style. The way that he writes is very uncommon which makes the book extra special. I've enjoyed this volume and looking forward to his next book.

In this book there are three siblings and they are Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. They are constantly in a very uncommon situation like being descended in to the depths of despair underwater. They go on a tragic journey to find the sugar bowl. They find sunny about to die within an hour. They also go searching for a cure, and many other unfortunate events that happen to them.

I really enjoyed this book, however there are always in a sad situation that makes it a bit boring. They are in many adventurous times but, there isn't a very good moment that the family is actually happy together. Many times they have been in serious situations but it occurs to often that also makes it uncommon. I enjoyed the action part when they go deep into the depths of the ocean, but including that the book was quite dull.

What I like about this book is Lemony Sniket's type of style. The way that he writes is very uncommon which makes the book extra special. I've enjoyed this volume and looking forward to his next book.

This book has some good things and some bad things in it. Let's start with the bad:

1. Captain Widdershins (a new charachter) has an annoying has of saying 'Aye!' every two sentences, and almost all of his sentences end with an exclamation point (!).

2. Olaf has a very annoying lagh that's like 'sniggle wiggle heepa heepa ha ha ho' and Esmé and Carmelita have it too.

3. Widdershins always says 'He who hesitates is lost!' and his stepdaughter Fiona (who has a familiar brother) says 'Or she!'

4. It always talk about the water cycle like every chapter.

5. In chapter 7, it sais the word 'lousy' a million times.

Here are the good:

1. The Bauds find out more about VFD.

2. There is an old charachter who returns.

3. They recieve a telegram from (I intentionally erased every other letter) Q i l Q a m r .

4. The ending rox!

BUY IT!!!

And now, one question for you:

Moving passively on a broken toboggan across the ashy waters of the Stricken Stream, the Baudelaires stumble across a submarine called the Queeqeq, with it's captain, Captain Widdershins. Captain Widdershins may be volatile and unstable, but he is an interesting character in many ways. One is his exhausting speech, which ends with an exclamation mark every sentence and numerous 'Ayes'. He provides the series with humor! The Baudelaires also meet Fiona, Captain Widdershin's stepdaughter! I was also happy to see the optimistic and pleasant Phil from Lucky Smells Lumbermill! Captain Widdershins introduces his philosiphy 'He or she who hesitates is lost'!

The Baudelaires get dressed in their suits of Herman Mellville. Widdershins and his crews' mission is to find the sugar bowl, something that's purpose is unknown to the Baudelaires. To find this mysterious object, Violet, Klaus, Sunny and Fiona go through the gorgonian grotto to find this mysterious item before Olaf and Esme(his girlfriend) does. The corageous four are trapped by Medusoid Mycelium, a deadly fungus or something. After they escape the Medusoid Mycelium without the sugar bowl, they are surprised Sunny has it in her helmet. They return to the Queeqeq, but Widdershins and Phil are gone. Stunned, the four are alone when the Carmelita, a gigantic octopus Olaf and his troupe are in, take the four hostage and put them in the brig.

We find out who Fiona's brother is, get annoyed by Olaf's annoying laugh, where the scouts are and what they are doing. We also see Carmelita's new, annoying dance. Also, the Baudelaires figure out the cure for Mycelium Medusoid.

Through this tale from Stricken Stream to Briny Beach where the the series of unfortunate events started, there will be a traitor, a cure, an annoying laugh, few surprises, more about V.F.D, a telegram, two poems from two widely known poets, uncomfortable clothing, dark, uncharted waters, slaves, a mean, nasty girl who thinks she's adorable and pretty and gum.

Sunny is the character in this eleventh book, because she's a good cook and remarkably smart. She is also beginning to say proper words and learning to speak remarkably quickly.

Lemony Snicket again prevails in this eleventh book. Another character briefly appears, Kit Snicket...

Poor Baudelaires. As if losing your parents, home, uncle and being endlessly pursued by Count Olaf wasn't enough, they have to endure the annoying speech patterns of Captain Widdershins and the ridiculously annoying laughter of Count Olaf in _The Grim Grotto_. (Where did that laugh come from, anyway?) It was almost enough to make me stop reading right there.

But of course, Snicket makes up for these annoyances by not only filling in more of the ongoing plot with more information about VFD, its codes, the Snicket brothers and the Baudelaire parents. I was also pleased about the reintroduction of Phil (from the Lucky Smells Lumbermill). There are a number of flashbacks as well, making it a necessity to have read the previous books.

The story continues with the shades of grey regarding "good" and "evil" that began with _The Carnivorous Carnival_, which I also found entertaining. Characters DO do the unexpected in this one.

Sunny, Violet, and Klaus find themselves in a submarine searching for the sugar bowl - they don't know why it's important, but it is. To find it they must exit the sub and search alone. Unfortunately a poisonous mushroom lurks in the grotto they must explore to find the sugar bowl. When they return from the grotto, they find even more unpleasant surprises!

This book is quite suspenseful -- after the book takes some unexpected turns I couldn't tell what was coming next. It's very exciting -- there isn't much action but it's always keeping me on my toes. It's also slightly funny because in a couple of parts in the story the author jumps in and adds funny commentary. Of course it's depressing because it's not like your average every-thing's-gonna-be-all-right story -- actually it's the opposite, everything goes incorrectly. It's an overall good read but you would have to read the rest of the series to understand a lot of it.

Our three heroes once again find therselves in the company of some very unusual people.

In this installment of SoUE, the Baudelaires have managed to come across a submarine. They are quick to decide to board the craft and meet the captain(who enjoys sayin Aye), his daughter Fiona, and the optimistic worker Phil, who we meet in the fourth book. The orphans are surprised that the captain is a member of the mysterious V.F.D and that V.F.D stands for things other that volunteer fire department.

On a misssion to find the sugar bowl, the Baudelaires with their new friend Fiona find the remains of the organization headed by Aunt Josephine's brother-in-law. They also find a deadly species of mushroom that threaten their lives. But dont worry this isnt the end of the Baudelaires. The mushrooms soon "wane" back into the sand and the Baudelaires go back to the sub. The sub, they find, is deserted. And to make things worse, the orphans encounter someone they had never wanted to see again.

This could possibly the best book of the Series yet. Its so good to see so many people enjoying the series as much as I do!

The Grim Grotto includes Violet, Klaus, the middle Baudelaire, and Sunny, the youngest child.

Violet was on of the worlds best inventor but since she was mostly chased by Count Olaf and his Villines crew so she mostly invented to get away or saving people.

Klaus is a great reader. He could read the worse book and remember almost every word.

Sunny is the best bitter and has four sharp teeth in her mouth on the top. She is still a little baby when they heard the news about their parents. She used her teeth in many ways. But like most babies she can't talk Enlish. So she talks monkey as Count Olaf would say. Luckly her sister and brother can understand her. Only a few times did they not understand.

In this book Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are streaming down a wild river. Then they are captured or more like wanted to be captured by a submarine not nowing if

I have read the other books in this wonderful series, and I must say that The Grim Grotto makes an excellent addition to the collection and that it does not disappoint.

Many more secrets are learned in The Grim Grotto, and new characters and surprises arise.

You will need to read this book in order to find out more. The books in The Series of Unfortunate Events series are truly addicting. Lemony Snicket writes in a comprehensible, effective, and cute style. Not only are his plots entertaining, but his characters are idiosyncratic and charming, and he never fails to educate his readers about certain references he makes and what certain phrases/words mean. I am in my teens, and although this series is geared towards younger readers, I am a big fan myself.

So far, all of the books in this series have been original and brilliantly-written. I cannot wait for Book the Twelfth.

The Baudelaire orphans continue their miserable adventures in the newest book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. When the story begins, they find themselves trapped on a floating toboggan in the middle of the Stricken Stream. Eventually, they are washed downstream to the sea, where they encounter a submarine, the Queequeg, and its crew: Captain Widdershins, who is extremely fond of saying the word "aye"; his stepdaughter Fiona, who loves to read about mushrooms; and Phil, the cook, who they met long ago during their time at the Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Captain Widdershins is searching for the lost sugar bowl, determined that it will not fall into the hands of Count Olaf and his evil associates, and so Baudelaires and their new friends head off to the Gorgonian Grotto, where even more misfortune awaits them. Fans of the series will not want to miss this latest addition. It's just as miserable, hilarious, and wonderful as the previous books in the series. I cannot wait until the next book in the series is released.

Still enjoying this series, but I am happy that it is almost the end. These kids go through so much. It is nice seeing them grow though. There were a few things that were a little on the outrageous side in this one, but, hey, it's a kid's FICTION book. Onto the next one!!

Lemony Snicket has done it once again. "The Series of Unfortunate Events" consistently gets better as the series continues; even though that seems like a paradox. Picking up exactly where Book the Tenth left off, the reader is immediately swept up into the unfortunate affiars of the Baudelaire orphans.

"The Grim Grotto" finds them boarding a submarine in order to try to find a mysterious VFD relic, ward off poisonous mushrooms, and once again escape from the clutches of the villainous Count Olaf. This chronicle introduces three "new" characters, (and the return of a few previous ones) equally annoying and prone to disappoint the hopes of our three orphans. And Count Olaf's treacherous schemes seem much more ridiculous than horrifying, but his hem-haws are as delighful to read as always.

"The Grim Grotto" is a delightful addition to the "Unfortunate" series. Once again, the reader is left with a cliffhanger of an ending that leaves us dying for Book the Twelfth. Even if we know not to expect it to be happy.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Grim Grotto

Lemony Snicket

ISBN: 0060579471

If you like books that are mysterious and keep you on the edge of your seat, then this is definitely the book for you. It is full of adventure and you learn things that you never thought you would need to know. The Baudelaire orphan's story is sad, I must admit, but the adventures they go through are absolutely thrilling! Like when Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are traveling down the stricken stream atop a sled and they see a scope pop out of the water looking square at them. They knocked on the glass and it opened, they crawled down inside and found... Once you begin this book you won't be able to stop! This book comes highly recommended by many people; including me. Go find this book and begin your adventure today.

By: Brittany

I started reading the Unfortunate Events series 2 years ago and I still love it. It's very interesting and all the mystery is fun. Especially when you can occasionally guess what is going to happen before they do. It makes you feel smart, haha. Especially since feel like I have a few things in common with Violet and Klaus. I LOVE to read like Klaus but I'm the oldest in my family like Violet, etc.

I found a few of the books kind of boring but I LOVED this one. The captain was a bit annoying but somewhat funny too. I would recommed this book to people who like mystery or adventure. The only books out of this whole series so far that I haven't liked are "The Wide Window" and "The Miserable Mill". But overall it's a really good series! I can't wait till I see the movie, I'm sure it'll be pretty good. I was a bit disappointed to see that the people they got for the cast looked nothing like the characters on the cover of the books, but if their acting is good then it's ok. I would say that Lemony Snicket is a really good writer, I hopes he keeps up the good work!

The Grim Grotto by Lemony Snicket is a great book. It is the eleventh book of the series. This book is about the three Baudelaire orphans. Their parents died in a terrible fire that destroyed their entire home. Ever since then, a banker named Mr. Poe has been leading them to their fate. The first place he brought them was to the house of a villain named Count Olaf. Count Olaf is a murderer and would do anything to get the Baudelaire fortune.

In the Grim Grotto, they find a submarine and inside they meet new people and someone they never thought they'd see again. They also interfere with a terrible fungus named Medusoid Mycelium.

Will they survive this terrible fungus? Read the book to find out!

Written by Anna.

I have finished reading this book during the week it was released, because you know, high school is like, a busy place, so anyway, I wanted to review this book for a long time but didn't seem to have time.

The "Grim Grotto" of the Series of Unfortunate Events is the best book yet; the mysteries about the lives of the Baudlaries reveals more secrets that shadows their past. The Baudlaries went into a adventure "deep in the water" finding the object that beholds the secrets of V.F.D., but only found that their luck has not come yet. Did Count Olaf got the object before the Baudlaries and takes over the headquarters or did the mysterious member of the V.F.D. got it first? Oh man, lots of mysteries!!!

This series gets more interesting with the author's hillarious sense of humor. That's why Lemony Snicket has become one of the fave authors. Really, you have gotta read this book!

Hope the movie is going to be as good as the books, unlike Harry Potter, which is like a disappointment.

This book is about Violet, Klaus, and Sunny and other children on a submarine going through a river. They are trying to find their friend Quigley. But along the way, they run into Count Olaf. He has kidnapped everybody on the submarine except for Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. The children got a note from someone saying to meet that "Someone" at Brinny Beach. At Brinny Beach they see Mr. Poe (the person in charge of their affairs). Mr. Poe said that the children should go with him,but the children refused and they hopped into a taxi and left.

I enjoyed this book because it had a gripping main idea that dragged me into the story. His word choice was exceptional. I recommend this book for children in grades 3 through 6 both girls and boys. This is an interesting novel for active readers who are interested in mysteries.

For all of you who restlessly await Book the Twelfth by Lemony Snicket, may I tell you that Daniel Handler has just finished writing Book the Twelfth. HarperCollins Publishers are printing at least 2.5 million copies of this nameless novel. Mr. Handler refuses to reveal the title of Book the Twelfth, and it is mainly referred to by its ISBN, 0-06-441015-3. Follow this link, [...] to read the press release.

Though we know very little about this book, we do know a few things:

-Count Olaf is as evil as ever

-The Baudelaires do not win a contest

-The title begins with the word 'The'

For extremely restless fans, there is a [...] The investigation starts there July 12. Commence at your own risk.

With all due respect,

She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

The eleventh book in Lemony Snicket's wonderfully miserable Series of Unfortunate Events opens with the much oppressed Baudelaire siblings hurtling down the freezing waters of the Stricken Stream atop a toboggan. Rather than meeting their deaths by cracking their heads against one or more sharp rocks, however, as one might suppose likely, our heroes soon find themselves aboard the Queequeg, a leaky submarine under the command of the boorishly loud Captain Widdershins. The craft is manned by the Captain's stepdaughter and by Phil, the unusually optimistic former employee of the Lucky Smells Lumbermill whom the Baudelaires first encountered in The Miserable Mill, the fourth book of Mr. Snicket's series. (Of the Gorgon Medusa, for example, a figure of Greek mythology whose glance turned people to stone, Phil says, "She was probably nice, when you got to know her." His rosy view of the world is comical, but it is not an attribute one looks for in an ally when one is fighting an evil villain and his henchmen.) As has been usual for them since the day they learned of their parents' death in a fire, the Baudelaires are hounded throughout this newest installment in the series by the wicked and shiny-eyed Count Olaf and his stylish girlfriend Esmee, both of whom have developed a new and presumably "in" villainous laugh with which to frighten the non-villainous. The Baudelaires are troubled as well by various horrific phenomena, most notably the Medusoid Mycelium, a poisonous mushroom that waxes and wanes dangerously in the grim grotto of the book's title.

The mysterious Mr. Snicket, as in previous volumes of his researches into the Baudelaires' misfortunes, amuses with his clever wordplay, educates with his tangential discussions of vocabulary, and, indeed, alarms us on his behalf with hints dropped into the narrative of his own harrowing life on the run. ("And a small, ceramic bowl, with a tight-fitting lid to keep something important inside, might be difficult to find in the laundry room of an enormous hotel," Snicket writes, for example, "particularly if there were a terrible villain nearby, making you feel nervous and distracted." Clearly Snicket has lived to tell the tale, but at what cost?) In the end the Baudelaires' lives remain miserable, but perhaps slightly less miserable than they had been, and they are at least a tiny bit closer to uncovering the secrets of the VFD, the enigmatic organization that is a force for good in their world. They are closer too, we must hope, to finally defeating Count Olaf and his troupe of wicked henchmen. There are, after all, only two books remaining in the series.

While written for pre-teens, the Snicket series (penned in fact by author Daniel Handler, who has also written some delightful books for adults) is bursting with allusions that will amuse parents. The books are fantastically clever and a joy to read aloud. (If you don't have children to read them to, you may want to rent some.) The Grim Grotto is slower going in its first third than it might be--it should perhaps have been shortened--but it is yet a delightful addition to the series. I urge readers unfamiliar with the books to give them a try. (Don't count on the soon-to-be-released movie version to retain the linguistic playfulness of the original, which is the series' principal charm! Read the books first.)

Reviewed by Debra Hamel, author of Trying Neaira: The True Story of a Courtesan's Scandalous Life in Ancient Greece

Despite all the warnings this book contains about it being unwise to read it, I had no trouble finishing it. I like little Sunny learning to cook. I was a bit surprised to see someone pop up from the lumber mill. I hope we'll be seeing more return visits from characters left behind in the earlier books of the series. The ending of this book is the best. I was cheering for the Baudelaires!

This series is a refreshing antidote to our society's coddling of our kids. The Baudelaires get hit with every possible disaster, yet they keep using their heads and forging on. When we devote our efforts to making things easy for children, we do them no favor. In the real world endings are not always happy; hard work and good intentions do not always bring rewards. Yet we need to keep trying.

Lemony Snicket, The Grim Grotto (Scholastic, 2004)

The Baudelaire orphans continue their adventures in this eleventh book of the celebrated series. A Series of Unfortunate Events has gone through ups and downs over the years, and it's recently been in something of a down phase; this looks as if it's the beginning of an upward swing, and thus I'm cautiously optimistic about book twelve (due out, as I write this, a few months from now).

If you've liked the series so far, you're not going to find much different here, and it should do right by you. If you've not liked them, or not experienced them, you should probably either go back and start at the beginning (with the aptly-named The Bad Beginning) or, as Snicket cautions many times, just put the whole thing down and walk away.

In Lemony Snicket's eleventh installment in the Series of Unfortunate Events, the Baudeliares face more tragedy and pain. Not only has Esme notified Olaf that it is ver "IN" to laugh a certain, ver annoying way, but the orphans make new friends, and then lose them, and they begin to uncover more of the mystery invelpoing their lives - the mystery that killed their parents.

If you like submarines, Olaf's new cronies (the Snow Scouts), and would like to uncover the secret of the sugar bowl, then this book is for you! The ending is suprprising and exiting, and althought the book can be a little slow at times, you wont be able to wait for the next one, and will find it hard to wonder what adventure awaits at the Hotel Denoument...

So, i must ask you the fatal question: