Tuesday, September 7, 2021

Book Review: Poison for Breakfast

Are you a fan of Lemony Snicket?  I used to read all of his books when I was in elementary school, I was in love with them. I even watch A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix, and Neil Patrick Harris is PERFECT in that role. My kids loved the books and show as well, but I think I was maybe more excited than them. 

When I saw Lemony Snicket had this one coming out, I literally jumped at the chance because I'm basically a grown up child at heart so here we go. 

Poison for Breakfast - Lemony Snicket

For more than twenty years, Lemony Snicket has led millions of young readers through a mysterious world of bewildering questions and unfortunate events. With this latest book—a love letter to readers young and old about the vagaries of real life—longtime fans and new readers alike will experience Snicket’s distinctive voice in a new way.

This true story—as true as Lemony Snicket himself—begins with a puzzling note under his door: You had poison for breakfast. Following a winding trail of clues to solve the mystery of his own demise, Snicket takes us on a thought-provoking tour of his predilections: the proper way to prepare an egg, a perplexing idea called “tzimtzum,” the sublime pleasure of swimming in open water, and much else.
The best part of any Lemony Snicket book, for me, is that he writes as if he's a weird grandpa. You know what I'm talking about, someone has the kind of grandpa that kind of rambles while telling you something important so you kind of tune out a bit, but then you realize he was saying something important the whole time. I often glaze over what seem like minute details but find myself going back to re-read something because it makes the part of the book I'm in make more sense, it's basically always an interactive story, I'm always going back and forth. You could say he's a bit of a messy, or chaotic, writer and that would be true, but if he were any other way his books wouldn't be as entertaining. 

Poison for Breakfast was certainly entertaining and a quick read. Though I can't go into much about the plot because it would really give the entire surprise away, I will say that if you are a fan of classic Lemony Snicket, you won't be disappointed. This isn't so much a murder mystery/who-dun-it, but more of a pondering of life and death as he goes around town trying to solve this mystery. It does talk about death quite a bit, and how death will come to us all, so if you (or your children) aren't ready to explore that concept in a very matter of fact way, perhaps this isn't the one for you just yet. It's considered a nonfiction because it's a "true story", and our main character is both the victim (because he had poison for breakfast) but also the detective (because over the course of the day he has to figure out why and who did it).  

I really loved this one. It made me nostalgic for my childhood and the time spent in my school library. I know this is geared for ages 9-99, but I think kids won't get the full message of this and that maybe adults would appreciate it more. Not to say kids couldn't/shouldn't read this, I just don't know that they would learn the lessons Lemony is trying to show us. 

Thank you to Liveright Publishing for having me on this tour and sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
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