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The Austere Academy (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 5) [UNABRIDGED] (Audio CD)
by Lemony Snicket
| Category:
Ages 9-12, Archive |
| Market price: ¥ 268.00
MSL price:
¥ 248.00
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MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
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AllReviews |
1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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Amazon.com (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
As the three Baudelaire orphans warily approach their new home - Prufrock Preparatory School - they can't help but notice the enormous stone arch bearing the school's motto Memento Mori, or "Remember you will die." This is not a cheerful greeting, and certainly marks an inauspicious beginning to a very bleak story. Of course, this is what we have come to expect from Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, the deliciously morbid set of books that began with The Bad Beginning and only got worse.
In The Austere Academy, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are at first optimistic - attending school is a welcome change for the book-loving trio, and the academy is allegedly safe from the dreaded Count Olaf, who is after their fortune. Hope dissipates quickly, however, when they meet Vice Principal Nero, a self-professed genius violinist who sneeringly imitates their every word. More dreadful still, he houses them in the tin Orphans Shack, crawling with toe-biting crabs and dripping with a mysterious tan fungus. A beam of light shines through the despair when the Baudelaires meet the Quagmires, two of three orphaned triplets who are no strangers to disaster and sympathize with their predicament. When Count Olaf appears on the scene disguised as Coach Genghis (covering his monobrow with a turban and his ankle tattoo with expensive running shoes), the Quagmires resolve to come to the aid of their new friends. Sadly, this proves to be a hideous mistake.
Snicket disarms us again with his playful juxtapositions-only he can compare bombs with strawberry shortcake (both are as dangerous to make as assumptions), muse on how babies adjust developmentally to the idea of curtains, or ponder why the Baudelaire orphans would not want to be stalks of celery despite their incessant bad luck as humans. We can't get enough of this splendid series of misadventures, and can only wager that swarms of young readers will be right next to us in line for the next installment. (Ages 9 and older) -Karin Snelson |
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School Library Journal (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
Grade 4-7-In this fifth entry in the saga of the three Baudelaire children, the siblings are sent to a boarding school where they are tormented because they are orphans. There is the usual array of stupid/evil adults including the ridiculous Vice Principal Nero, who mimics everything that Klaus and Violet say and employs baby Sunny as his secretary because she is too young to attend class. Brown-nosing brats like Carmelita Spats make the children's lives even more miserable. The ending is a cliff-hanger as the evil Count Olaf, disguised as Coach Genghis, the new gym teacher, drives off with the orphans' only friends. In these days of Harry Potter, this book is a pesky nuisance, with little plot to drive it, situations that fall short of being interesting or off-the-wall, and cardboard characters. The author strains to be eccentric and his constant interruptions in the narrative to define a word or phrase are jarring at best.
Ann Cook, Winter Park Public Library, FL
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. |
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AudioFile (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
Author Lemony Snicket takes great delight in the audio production of his work. The woes of the Baudelaire orphans, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny. A strong sense of family despite adversity. Delight in vocabulary. All these are touchstones of Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events titles. In this fifth installment, the three Baudelaires attend Prufrock Preparatory School, where they need their collective wits to survive the forces of evil. It's a pleasure to hear an author read his own creation. One gets to hear the story just as the creator would like it heard. Each inflection, babble of baby Sunny, elongated word, or character introduction is Snicket's own, with all the import he would like it to have. This is a listening delight. A.R. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine -This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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Booklist (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
Gr. 4-6. The Beaudelaire orphans enroll as students at Prufrock Academy in the fifth Series of Unfortunate Events book. The Academy, run by nasty, mimicking Vice Principal Nero, is shaped like a large tombstone, and the perpetually unlucky Violet, Klaus, and Sunny must stay in a tin shack with biting crabs, dripping tan fungus, and green walls decorated with tiny green hearts. Series followers will be keeping their eye out for evil Count Olaf in one of his disguises, and the author doesn't disappoint. Snicket once again uses comical word definitions in the text ("the phrase 'impressionable age' here means 'ten and eight years old, respectively'), and just when things seem a little too predictable, Count Olaf makes off with the Beaudelaire's new friends, the Quagmire orphans, so setting things up for book six. Kids not familiar with the previous books will also enjoy this. REVWR
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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A Kid's Review (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
The book called The Austere Academy is one of the funnist books to read. It's in a series of books, and its number 5 in the series. You see, its about three children named, Violt(13), Klaus(10),and their baby sister Sunny(still an infint),they have been sent to the Austere Academy for 4 resons,the first is there parents died in a fire so they were sent to a man named Count Olaf who trys to steel the huge fortune of money they own,then they are sent to there Uncle Monty,then they go to there Aunt Josefene,and after that they are sent to a man whos name is so hard to prononse they just called him sir,and finely you come to the greatest book on earth The Austere Academy!!! So make sure you read it!! |
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Simon (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
The Austere Academy Lemony Snicket Scholastic 2001
This is a sad (but funny) tale of the Baudelaire orphans as they go to boarding school. They find that the villain Count Olaf has found them again, this time disguised as Coach Genghis. Unfortunately,Genghis gets away with the two Quagmire triplets who were the Baudelaires best friends.
At the end of the book, just as the Baudelaire orphans think that Count Olaf's identity will be revealed Olaf says " I'm afraid I cannot take off my running shoes...I need them." With that, he runs away to a car which his assistants have waiting for him. The Baudelaires are startled for a moment then start running after him. They see that Olaf is kidnapping the two triplets, Isadora and Duncan Quagmire.Violet and Sunny Baudelaire remove Olaf's disguise and their brother Klause tries to save Isadora. Olaf kicks Klause away from the car, gets
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Zack Handlen (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
If you've read the first four books of this series, you know that they all follow a very clear pattern: the children are sent to a guardian, Count Olaf arrives, the adults are unhelpful, and the children have to defeat the Count on their own. As enjoyable as those books were, by the fourth one (The Miserable Mill), it starts to wear a little thin. Mill is a fun read, but you start to wonder if the writing has turned into a math problem which always has the same constants.
Book 5 is when the series starts to change, with the arrival of the Quagmire Triplets. Their relationship with the Baudelaires gives the children some happiness, and it's also the first time any character in the books other than Violent, Klaus and Sunny recognize Count Olaf in disguise. The pattern doesn't truly get destroyed till The Vile Village (book 7), but this one is the first to let us know that these books aren't one-trick ponies, albeit with a trick that manages to entertain even when you see the strings.
Anyway, another great entry. |
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Vicent (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
The main characters in this book are Violet, who is one of the three Baudelaires, and is also the one in the family that likes to invent many amazing inventions that can help in life threatening situations. Klaus is the middle Baudelaire with a gift of reading, if you gave Klaus a library full of books he will read all day. Sunny, the youngest Baudelaire is craze for biting things. So if you are to ever get Sunny a present get a cube of copper it will be perfect for her to chew on. There is one more main character that will knock the socks off of you. His name is Count Olaf. In every great book there is an evil villain, and Count Olaf is the one that took that place. He is destined to steel the Baudelaire's fortune, and claim it his. But with every tacky costume he tries he never gets away with it.
In this particular story Count Olaf dresses up as a gym teacher, and the mean vice principal does not believe that this really him. So with the help of the children's new friends Duncan and Isadora they must slip away from the clutches of Count Olaf again.
The setting takes place in a nasty looking school with a terrible sign that says "remember you will die". As you look more around you see buildings that look like tomb stones. The color pallet of this part in the book is gray to dark gray.
The genre of this book is fiction because there are just too many horrible things packed into one day, and none of this ever really happened.
I loved this story because it was stuffed with details. I could understand it so well. It also had a lot of great rising action I could not put the book down.
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Stephen (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
In the 'Austere Academy', the Baudelaires go to boarding school. There time at Prufrock Preparatory School is woeful and miserable. They have a vice principal called Nero who couldn't care less. Also he thinks he's a genius at violin. Suddenly, their new gym coach Genghis, who wears a turbin, pops in. Everything is mysterious at Prufrock Prep. The cafeteria people where masks to hide their faces, for safety. Also, there's a mean bossy girl named Carmelita Spats. But luckily the Baudelaires find their only friends in Duncan and Isadore Quagmire, two of three triplets. They say their other sibling died in a fire, Quigley. They soon meet at the breakfast table and happily chat, talking about Count Olaf.
Violet has Mr. Remora, Klaus has Mrs. Bass and Sunny is Nero's assistant working in the administrative building. But through this school is harsh punishments and Violet, Klaus and Sunny find themselves sleeping in a tin shack with pinching territorial crabs, dripping fungus and a stack full of hay. The teachers are hopeless, Mr. Remora only tells stories while eating bananas. Mrs. Bass is addicted to the metric system. Also, Sunny is an infant to be working with staples and other strict stuff, and exams lurk beyond them.
Suddenly, Genghis/Olaf makes the children do S.O.R.E. Will this vilainy plan work againt the Baudelaires and will that help him get closer to the fortune? What will happen to the Quagmires?
What is V.F.D?
Lemony Snicket mixes it with laughter and funny descriptions of words. With great characters this book is the best so far. Can't wait to read 'The Ersatz Elevator'. I recommend this book. |
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Ada (MSL quote), USA
<2008-02-15 00:00>
In this installment of the Series Of Unfortunate Events Series, the Baudelaires are left to go to a type of private school. In this school, the Baudelaire orphans live a very poor lifestyle by being placed in a shack that is really disgusting. They recieve that rather than a regular dormitory. Some of the characters in this book are the man named Nero, Carmelita Sprats, The Quagmires (Duncan and Isadora), and Count Olaf! Yes, Count Olaf is back again as a school coach with a turban. As a spoiler, Olaf makes the orphans run laps everyday while the Quagmires try to help them in some way that I am not going to say (rather have you read the book yourself). With all this said, this was yet another great installment to the series, that includes the debut of the Quagmires who will play a very significant part in the rest of the books. This book also plants some seeds for some very important information that will be later discovered all the way towards the end of the series. A good buy, that is very entertaining |
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1 Total 1 pages 10 items |
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