The Grim Grotto

Book: The Grim Grotto

Author: Lemony Snicket

This book is about three orphans trying to unravel the mysteries surrounding them. The main characters are Violet Baudelaire, the oldest Baudelaire and a marvelous inventor; Klaus Baudelaire, the middle child and an avid researcher; and Sunny Baudelaire, the baby that has just discovered her skills as a cook.

In past books, the Baudelaires had lived with Count Olaf, who was only interested in the fortune the Baudelaires' parents had left behind. They escaped Olaf's clutches and ever since, they have been shuffled from caretaker to caretaker to the point where, when they were at the Village of Fowl Devotees, they ran away.

In this book, we find the Baudelaires helplessly holding onto a toboggan while riding down the Stricken Stream. Just when they were about to lose hope of ever getting off the toboggan, a submarine rises beneath them, and the Baudelaires knock on the hatch. Someone from behind the door asks for a password. Violet answers, "The world is quiet here", and the door flies open. The Baudelaires climb inside. They go down a ladder until they reach a small, dim room. The man inside introduces himself as Captain Widdershins. Widdershins introduces them to his "Crew of Two", Fiona, his stepdaughter and a fungi specialist; and Phil, who used to work at Lucky Smells Lumbermill. Before the Baudelaire's knew it, Widdershins had given them assignments. Violet was to help fix the sub and their telegram machine, Klaus was to figure out where an important sugar bowl might of drifted to using tidal charts. Sunny became the new cook.

A couple of days later, Klaus deciphers the tidal charts. He said that if the sugar bowl had drifted out to sea, it would of wound up in the Gorgorian Grotto. They go to the grotto and find out that the grotto is filled with very poisonous mushrooms called Medusoid Mycelium. So, the Baudelaires and Fiona put on scuba diving suits (Sunny climbed into a helmet), and they swim into the grotto.

After a long time, the foursome see a light and swim towards it. There was, somehow, a beach in a narrow room. The Bauldelaires and Fiona climb out of the of the water and look for the sugar bowl. As they are searching, Fiona happens to turn around, and gasps. The Bauldelaires turn around also, and see that the exit has been blocked by the Medusoid Mycelium.

Unlike the other books in the series, I really didn't like this one. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone unless they were desperate for something to read. I give this book 2 stomps out of 5.

Review by Amethyst Smith