Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent and resourceful children, and you might expect that they would do very well at school. Don’t. For these unfortunate siblings school turns out to be another miserable episode in their unlucky lives. In fact, within the chapters of The Austere Academy, the children will face strict punishments, dripping fungus, comprehensive exams, a girl named Carmelita Spats, smelly sneakers, and the metric system.

The fifth book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, which tells the wretched adventures of the charming Baudelaires at boarding school, is an exquisitely dark comedy, both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. The multitalented Lemony Snicket spins uproariously unhappy tale about three captivating and resilient orphans facing yet another bout of outrageous misfortune.