Paper Soul

Its bad enough to be orphaned after a tragic fire but to then be forced to live with a skimming distant.... and I mean distant relative makes it that much worse. For the Baudelaire children, this is the predicament they find themselves in. Will they be able to outsmart and survive their stay with Count Olaf?

Pro: 

• I am in love with the Protagonist in this novel. Violet is a smart and creative young girl. She has the mind of an engineering mastermind. She can create anything and is not afraid to get dirty. Throughout the novel, she is in a constant state of imagining and wonder of how things work. Her younger brother, Klaus, is a researcher by heart and loves to read the most. He jumps at chances to learn and tries to solve problems through literature and knowledge. Both these characters are strong allies for children to connect with. 

• Throughout the book, difficult words are used to describe certain situations or emotions the children face. Although this is not unique to use a vocabulary slightly higher than the reader's comprehension at the time the act of defining the words in a vocabulary the reader would understand it is. I appreciated the clarification given along with it embedded in the story. So as not to appear as a vocabulary word. This will help children build a vocabulary and how the word is used correctly. 

• The book's narration is vivid and clear in the description. The surroundings and characters are depicted in a language children will understand and appreciate. 

Con:

• I was not anticipating the book being so dark. At times I asked myself " what was I reading?"There are instances of child abuse, child bride, death and hints at other mature topics. I think this book would have to be either read with a parent or read by the parent beforehand.