“A man of my acquaintance once wrote a poem called ‘The Road Less Traveled,’ describing a journey he took through the woods along a path that most travelers never used.”

From Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Slippery Slope.

The Baudelaire orphans are in trouble as we join them in the story; Sunny is being held by Count Olaf while Violet and Klaus are trapped in a carnival caravan that is racing down a mountain (and a cliff, of course). Violet is able to figure out how to slow the caravan enough for them to escape safely, but not before they have traveled a great distance down the mountain (away from Sunny). On Violet and Klaus’ journey back up the mountain, they meet a group of Snow Scouts which just so happens to include the mean Carmelita Spats; one of the scouts is helpful to the Baudelaires and shows them the secret entrance to the recently burned-out V.F.D. headquarters. Meanwhile, Sunny has been facing many hardships with Count Olaf, such as sleeping outside and being forced to cook for the adults (something she actually seems to have a gift for even though Olaf and his goons would never admit). Sunny is able to get her hands on a green cigarette and she uses it to create a green smoke signal that catches the attention of her siblings. The helpful Snow Scout reveals himself to the oldest two Baudelaires as Quigley Quagmire and he joins them as they head off to follow Sunny’s signal. Once they find Sunny, Violet, Klaus, and Quigley only have to figure out a way to rescue little Sunny (and the Snow Scouts that have fallen in Olaf’s trap) before it is too late for everyone.

Snicket’s tenth book in the series is unique, because it allows the readers to see the Baudelaires function as separate individuals. Sunny is also allowed to really develop her cooking skills with this story as her skill for biting is becoming less helpful in the many misadventures of the Baudelaires. This book also examines the character of the characters; who is truly bad and who is fighting to be good (or at the very least, less bad)? The Baudelaire children have encountered a countless number of adults throughout the various books, and The Slippery Slope begins to weave together the characters that are going to be of great importance in the final few books of the series.