Having escaped danger and Count Olaf once again, the Baudelaire children are in need of a place to live and a guardian to look after them. This time around their banker and family friend Mr. Poe finds them a spot at Prufrock Prepatory School. Violet and Klaus, intelligent and curious children both, should love being at this boarding school. But it's unlike any school they've every imagined. They are up against dreadful teachers and faculty, like vice principal Nero (who fancies himself a great violinist), and nasty students like the rude and pushy Carmelita Spats. Worse still, they are forced to live in the Orphans Shack on campus, a place that features dripping fungus and face snapping crabs. Luckily, they befriend some other orphans there, which makes things seem a little brighter --- at least for awhile. But how bright can things get at a school where the motto is: Memento Mori (Rememember you will die)?

   --- Reviewed by Shannon Maughan