The Vile Village is where the book takes place. In the town, everyone is serious. For instance, no one smiles. Everyone walks around not smiling. And the town has about 10,000 rules; I am not exaggerating. The village is also very weathy. For instance, they have very good management. And it is well ruled. It is also very wealthy because it has a big glass statue. The town also is very mysterious.  It is mysterious because it has so many rules.  And it has crows everywhere. For no reason, they have thousands of crows. You would have to look down at the ground not to step on one. And the village has giant trees , and these trees are huge, like these trees are the size of Red Oaks.

      There are main characters, but the main main character is Claus.
Claus is a brave kid, the bravest kid I know. He is so brave he broke out of the Vile Village's jail. I bet you would not do that. He also stopped Count Olive. Olive is a kidnapper and a robber. You have to be pretty brave to stop a guy like him. He also rescued two kids from a statue. I bet you would not do that.

      But there is a problem. Count Olive escapes from jail, and he is out to kill the Baudelaire kids.  Loaf excused them of murder, which they did not do. But the police fall for it, and they were put in jail. But from it all, Claus learns that staying together is very important.

           Overall this is a very good book. On a chart one through ten, I would make it a nine. I recommend it to all readers, because it is an easy book. I especially liked how the author used a lot of imagery. I also liked how she ended all the chapters in a cliff hanger.  And she put a lot of action into the book. She could have made the story a little happier. But it was the best book I ever read. So go out and buy this book or rent it at your local library.