It's tough when the things that stand between you and your desired sugar bowl are a host of deadly mushrooms and an uncomfortable diving suit. The unlucky Baudelaire orphans find themselves in deep (once again) in this eleventh book in Lemony Snicket's odd-and-full-of-woe-but-quite-funny Series of Unfortunate Events. In The Grim Grotto, the siblings find themselves headed down Stricken Stream on a broken toboggan when they are spotted by the submarine Queequeg, carrying Captain Widdershins, his somewhat volatile stepdaughter Fiona, and optimistic Phil from Lucky Smells Lumbermill. The adventures that follow as the crew tries to get to the aforementioned sugar bowl before Count Olaf are so horrible that the narrator inserts factual information about the water cycle so that readers will get bored and stop reading the book. It doesn't work. As per usual, readers will want to soak up every awf! ul detail and follow the Baudelaires all the way back to the place we first met them--Briny Beach. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

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An Interview with Lemony Snicket
Lemony Snicket has captured the hearts of childen and adults alike with the hilariously gloomy series that began, of course, with The Bad Beginning. Amazon.com had a chance to question the author of this marvelously morbid and delightfully depressing series, and the communication was grim indeed. Read the cumbersome communique and see for yourself.

A Few Words from Daniel Handler
Due to the world-wide web of conspiracy which surrounds him, Lemony Snicket often communicates with the general public through his representative, Daniel Handler. We were lucky enough to hear from Daniel, and asked him the questions we ask every author, Amazon.com's The Significant Seven

From AudioFile
If you're reading this review, you are most likely familiar with Lemony Snicket's 10 previous audiobooks chronicling the many misfortunes of the Baudelaire orphans. To be sure, listeners should start from the beginning and savor the whole series. In this eleventh adventure, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire meet up with the crew of the submarine QUEEQUEG in their continued quest to elude Count Olaf, find a missing sugar bowl, and avoid deadly mushrooms. Snicket does not talk down to his intended audience, and the story is filled with clever wordplay and authorial asides. However, there is also a repetitiveness that the audio format may exacerbate, a word which here means that adults may tire of hearing Captain Widdershins say "aye" and "He (or she) who hesitates is lost" over and over and OVER again, even when Tim Curry delivers it in a delightful, completely unselfconscious brogue. And Curry is a delight--both sympathetic to the orphans' plights and worryingly gleeful as the villainous Count Olaf. Lovely CD packaging features atmospheric illustrations by Brett Helquist, and an enhanced CD includes an interactive game of hangman. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Booklist
Gr. 4-6. With the movie poised for release and a wealth of promotional materials (including editions of the books with disappointing photos on the covers) already available, it wouldn't do to ignore the latest book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket reconnects with the Baudelaire orphans precisely where he left them, tobogganing down the Stricken Stream, and then sends them down under the waves in a submarine escapade, during which, of course, they encounter the evil Orlof and his cronies. Snicket, who hasn't lost his touch for peculiar, imaginative setups, injects plenty of wry asides and witty vocabulary enrichment. His villains remain deliciously villainous, and the long-suffering Baudelaires still accept struggle without complaint. This time, though, Snicket adds a few characters who don't quite fit the molds, and this is the first book to hint that the unfortunate events that have dogged the kids through 10 previous adventures may be coming to an end. Book the Twelfth will surely provide more clues. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description

Dear Reader,

Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp. You might also prefer not to read this book, in which the Baudelaire siblings encounter an unpleasant amount of dampness as they descend into the depths of despair, underwater.

In fact, the horrors they encounter are too numerous to list, and you wouldn't want me even to 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.

As a dedicated author who has pledged to keep recording the depressing story of the Baudelaires, I must continue to delve deep into the cavernous depths of the orphans' lives. You, on the other hand, may delve into some happier book in order to keep your eyes and your spirits from being dampened.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

About the Author
Lemony Snicket was born before you were, and is likely to die before you as well. His family has roots in a part of the country which is now underwater, and his childhood was spent in the relative splendor of the Snicket Villa which has since become a factory, a fortress and a pharmacy and is now, alas, someone else's villa.To the untrained eye, Mr. Snicket's hometown would not appear to be filled with secrets. Untrained eyes have been wrong before. The aftermath of the scandal was swift, brutal and inaccurately reported in the periodicals of the day. It is true, however, that Mr. Snicket was stripped of several awards by the reigning authorities, including Honorable Mention, the Grey Ribbon and First Runner Up. The High Council reached a convenient if questionable verdict and Mr. Snicket found himself in exile.Though his formal training was chiefly in rhetorical analysis, he has spent the last several eras researching the travails of the Baudelaire orphans. This project, being published serially by HarperCollins, takes him to the scenes of numerous crimes, often during the off-season. Eternally pursued and insatiably inquisitive, a hermit and a nomad, Mr. Snicket wishes you nothing but the best.

FROM OUR EDITORS

Grab hold of your diving gear: Lemony Snicket's Book the Eleventh is here and as woeful as ever! Continuing the saga of the Baudelaire orphans and their quest to locate the sugar bowl, The Grim Grotto follows the three children aboard the Queequeg submarine, which is piloted by VFD "allies" Captain Widdershins and his stepdaughter Fiona. While the Queequeg might seem like a safe haven at first, the orphans' luck quickly turns sour after they search the Grim Grotto for the bowl and return with Sunny's life in mortal danger. Of course, Count Olaf and his scheming cohorts don't make things any easier -- especially concerning Fiona -- but thankfully, smart thinking restores Sunny's health and a Volunteer Factual Dispatch yields a shocking surprise. As you might expect, this installment contains all of the action and turns of events that has earned Snicket's series bestsellerdom, but as you might not expect, this entry reveals fascinating clues and unexpected characters who could provide the Baudelaires with help in reaching the end of their dismal journey. Another piece of the brilliant Series of Unfortunate Events puzzle that will twist your nerves into knots.

ANNOTATION

Still pursued by the evil Count Olaf, the Baudelaire orphans attempt to reach a very important VFD meeting, but first they must travel in a rattletrap submarine to the Gorgonian Grotto, a dangerous underwater cave, in search of the sugar bowl.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dear Reader,

Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp. You might also prefer not to read this book, in which the Baudelaire siblings encounter an unpleasant amount of dampness as they descend into the depths of despair, underwater.

In fact, 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.

As a dedicated author who has pledged to keep recording the depressing story of the Baudelaires, I must continue to delve deep into the cavernous depths of the orphans' lives. You, on the other hand, may delve into some happier book in order to keep your eyes and your spirits from being dampened.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Tim Curry, whose appropriately unctuous and sometimes slimy delivery are a hallmark of the audiobook versions of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events titles, is thankfully up to his old tricks. Curry returns on the 11th installment, The Grim Grotto, to play Snicket, Count Olaf and all the gang with welcome flair. The enhanced CD features word games, photos and artwork when played on a personal computer. Curry also returns as the linchpin on a new, multivoice recording of The Bad Beginning, the first book in the series, which ties in to the feature film release of Paramount/Nickelodeon/Dreamwork's Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Barbara Youngblood

The Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny continue to have more adventures in this book, the eleventh, in "The Series of Unfortunate Events." As they escape from the Mortmain Mountains, the trio finds themselves on a toboggan traveling down the Stricken Stream. They find themselves staring into a periscope sticking out of the water and their lives take another turn, as they become passengers on a submarine. This was my first look into the world of this delightful series. There are lots of exciting and heart-stopping moments. The author has a unique style that has the reader chuckling all through the story. Captain Widdershins and his stepdaughter, Fiona, try to help the orphans locate the sugar bowl before Count Olaf and his partners can find it. These are fast-paced books that will keep the reader turning the pages to reach the ending. I do suggest you start at the beginning of the series to understand all of the adventures until this point, if not, the story can still stand on its own as a great tale. Should I even hint that there is a glimmer of hope for the orphan trio as the book concludes? 2004, HarperCollins Children's Books, Ages 7 up.

AudioFile