Even more so than Harry Potter or The Hunger Games, my favorite book series growing up was always A Series of Unfortunate Events. So, you can guess how happy I was when I found out that they were making a Netflix show for the book series. Those books became the voice of my childhood, and the inspiration for me to be a writer. I loved how weird they were, how different they were. The stories being told were somewhat scary and very odd, yet they were so captivating and so incredibly entertaining. The Baudelaire children were each different in their own ways, and they used their differences to outsmart Count Olaf and ultimately take control of their own lives.
When I was a kid I felt different. I loved to read and I loved to learn, and I knew that I wasn't exactly the coolest kid ever. But I found myself within the characters of this series. Violet was smart and inventive. Claus loved to read. Even Sonny with her sharp little teeth. These children had no one but each other and their wits. The way they handled their adversities inspired me to handle mine, even though mine were very different.
Furthermore, the writing style of Lemony Snicket is very inventive and confusing. He would reference a lover that seemed unrelated to the story, or he would repeat sentences, and interject himself into the story. It was so different from what you normally find in children's books, which is why it stood out to me as a young reader. When I first read those books it was during the time I began writing. I wanted my writing to stand out and be different, and would implement some of Snicket's style into what I wrote. I credit Lemony Snicket for inspiring me to be a writer, and these books will always remind me of that.
I've spent the majority of the last two days watching A Series Of Unfortunate Events on Netflix. It's been wonderful to be able to go back to my childhood, and to let my imagination fly. Even as an adult the stories are still so very entertaining and different.The Baudelaire children are still just as inspiring and intelligent as they were when I was in the fourth grade. Storytelling knows no age and even when I'm older I hope to be able to love and share these books with my future children.
I look forward to the next season of A Series of Unfortunate Events, and to continue to watch my favorite book series come to life. Neil Patrick Harris and the child actors give the characters such great life and I'm very happy with the way Netflix has handled the book series of my childhood.
