The three
Baudelaire orphans are clearly facing a horrific experience in the second entry of this side-splitting saga; however, you can read this book without having read any of the others in the series. It stands on its own. This title was actually my introduction to the
Lemony Snicket series about the Baudelaire orphans -- I got it from a Goodwill Store for a dime. I began reading it in a hospital waiting room (a pal was struggling through a stress test there) and I soon had every soul in the room roaring with laughter as I related what was going on in this bizarre tale. The nurses wanted me to come back every day and read to their client families from the "
A Series of Unfortunate Events" saga, of which this is but one entry. If you wanted to start at the beginning, this is the first book: A Series of Unfortunate Events #1: The
Bad Beginning: Or, Orphans!.