Favorite series as a kid. Still as great now. The writing completely holds up. Sure, it won't be exactly "adult level" reading, but it's not painful, childish or uninteresting like many children's books come to be as you grow older. Lemony Snicket was and is, a great writer. Authoring great books with captivating rhetoric and a true, progressive story. These miserable Bauldelaire children face horrible circumstances and grow throughout the series. The way he writes their story is not only comprehensible to both children and adults, it is very real and emotional (while the circumstances are exaggerated and play out in a strange chaos a bit like Olaf's theatre troupe) and no description I could give would do it justice. I like him, because he doesn't underestimate children in the way that he writes. It's definitely a children's book, but he doesn't dumb it down one bit. Sure, it's overall pretty dark (many Unfortunate Events occur) but he writes like this because he knows that his audience can; in fact, comprehend it in both meaning and rhetoric. Even though, I know some parents may be wondering if this is a bad book for their children because it is "too dark", I would recommend not underestimating your child and base your decision on if you think they would be able to understand it. Though these children are miserable and living miserable lives, it is not a bad influence or harmful reading in the least. I have gained a lot from this series. If nothing else, I gained empathy through their strife and loved them the whole way through. I admired their strength and their bonds together. They take care of each other and love each other the entire time, no matter what happens to them. They are each their strength and they each have the ability to trust and never lose faith in the world. They are all intelligent; extremely so, and remain strong as they are thrust into an unfriendly and disappointing world, due to A Series of Unfortunate Events.