The Carnivorous Carnival (Series of Unfortunate Events #9) (original 2002; udgave 2003)

I've been reading this series as bedtime stories with Milly, although I did have to go back and read a few myself that she had raced through, unable to wait for me to read them to her at the pace of one chapter a night. They are genuinely brilliant books, funny and dark, mysterious and absurd.

This one had a first page so good I shared it on social media and hopefully convinced a few other people to read these books to their kids. Things are very complicated in the VFD plot now and my 9yo is coming up with all sorts of wild theories as to what is going on. ( )

Absurd. Det känns väl sådär att karaktären med puckelrygg verkar ses som ett vattentätt monster. ( )

Why do adults suck so much? ( )

The story starts with the Baudelaires in the trunk of Count Olaf's car. They ended up at a circus. The older children dressed as a 2-headed freak while the baby dressed as wolf baby. They and their freak coworkers were laughed at for their peculiarity. They find that their boss the gypsie is a fake. They convince her to try and help them escape into the mountains. Sadly she falls into a pit full of lions along with a worker of Count Olaf's.
Count Olaf convinces the freak coworkers to join his gang. The children play in character and say yes to get to the mountains. But the gypsie named Madame Lulu (real name Lucy) tells Count Olaf that the children weren't freaks but the Baudelaires. So he sticks the 2 elder children in a camper tied to Count Olaf's car. From there Count Olaf convinces the freak coworkers to cut the rope while driving. So the 2 elder Baudelaires are in a camper going down the mountain while Count Olaf kidnapped the youngest Baudelaire and is driving up the mountain. ( )

I love how this series is evolving. I feel so strongly for these kids, and their plight. And how they're struggling with whether or not they're still the protagonists or if they're becoming Villains like Olaf. ( )