All the Wrong Questions: Who Could That Be at This Hour?

Fans of A Series of Unfortunate Events, your cups runneth over. Lemony Snicket is back, with a new book starring a kid named Lemony Snicket in yet another series of improbable, pun-filled, twisting and turning and somersaulting events (sorry…had to include the words series and events in there!) that will leave the reader giggling and delighted.

“Who Could That Be at This Hour?” (All the Wrong Questions), as you might imagine, concerns that bad habit many of us have of asking the wrong question–for example, instead of asking “Why would someone say something was stolen when it was never theirs to begin with?”, young sleuth Lemony asked instead, “Who could that be at this hour?” He also asks “Where is that screaming coming from?” and “Is it too late?” This leads him on a  wild adventure to the town of Stain’d-by-the-Sea, where the sea has receded leaving large forests of seaweed and rapidly drying ink wells. (that is, wells of ink)  Lemony has left two people who are not actually his real parents and joined his chaperone, S. Theodora Markson, who explains that the question “What does the S stand for?” is not the right question to be asking.

It’s all loads of fun. There are plenty of puns, lots of new vocabulary presented in the most painless way possible, and best of all, a new series of books by Lemony Snicket. I won’t bother recount the plot–it’s very strange–but regardless, it’s a quick, enjoyable read. Best of all, “Who Could That Be at This Hour?” is first in a new series. I’m hoping this one has 13 books too. This would be a great gift for the young reader in your life, especially if he or she enjoyed A Series of Unfortunate Events. My daughter Ilsa, who at 15 is beyond the typical marketing age of this book, was nonetheless really excited to read it, precisely because she enjoyed TSOUE so much when she was a bit younger.

I can’t promise that “Who Could That Be at This Hour?” (All the Wrong Questions) will teach you to ask the right questions, but I can recommend it.

The winner of our previous giveaways are:

• The winners of Stuck on You Gift Ideas are #3 Liz and #6 Lori D.
• The winners of the audiobooks for children are #18 Van, #15 Beth, #2 Staci A. and #14 Paula.

Elizabeth loves the absurd, and therefore thoroughly enjoys the strange workings of Lemony Snicket’s mind. Learn more at her blog Planet Nomad.