A Series of Unfortunate Events was basically my entire childhood, so I have very strong opinions about which books are better than the others. You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion, but this is mine. There are obviously spoilers ahead, so maybe don’t read it if you haven’t read the series/seen the TV show (which is one of the best book adaptations ever made).

13. The Hostile Hospital

Honestly I hate this book. It feels a little pointless, and the medical stuff is really enough to turn me away from any book, especially when I was younger. I also feel like it tries a little too hard to emphasize the Baudelaire’s being forced to make morally gray decisions for their own survival, which is something that’s done really well throughout the rest of the series when it’s a tad more subtle.

12. The Grim Grotto

I just really loath Fiona, so she kind of drags this book down significantly for me. That’s really all I have to say.

11. The Carnivorous Carnival

This book is fine, I guess. I don’t love it, but I don’t hate it. It’s just there.

10. The Vile Village

There’s a lot of aspects of this book that I love (the Quagmires, Jacques Snicket, Esme, Isadora’s poems, the Baudelaires having to break out of jail, etc.), and I definitely think it pulls off some of its tragic aspects really well (Klaus’s birthday in a jail cell genuinely makes me sad). However, I think it lacks some of the cohesiveness of plot of some of the other books, and the setting doesn’t really do anything for me.

9. The Miserable Mill

I really like this book except for the fact that hypnosis creeps me out a bit, and the descriptions of the accidents are also very much not up my alley, especially when I was younger.

8. The Wide Window

Aunt Josephine irks me a little too much, so that’s what drags this one down a bit. I love everything else about this book though.

7. The Slippery Slope

Quigley Quagmire! Snow! Carmelita Spats! Esme! This book is great, and does a good job starting to transition towards the Baudelaires getting some answers as the end of the series approaches.

6. The Bad Beginning

Ah, the one that started it all. I love everything about this book except for the issues with one of Count Olaf’s henchmen being kind of sexual towards Violet (in a very not-recognizable-by-kids way), which was kind of unnecessary in the series.

5. The End

I adore everything about this book. I honestly have nothing bad to say about it other than the fact that Kit Snicket dies and the Quagmires may or may not die (I’m eternally grateful that they survive in Netflix canon).

4. The Penultimate Peril

This is the book where everything comes together. It’s the height of the Baudelaire children’s character arcs, and it’s just so fun to see all of the characters you’ve met from the past 11 books interacting.

3. The Reptile Room

This book is my only exception to avoiding anything that describes snakes in great detail. Uncle Monty is my favorite of the Baudelaire’s guardians. Honestly I think this is the saddest of all of the books, but it also has the best overall plot in my opinion; it’s just missing some of the great characters that push two other books to the top of the list.

2. The Ersatz Elevator

Esme Squalor is the second best villain in the series (Mr. Poe is the first), and no, I don’t take criticism on that point. This book has so much flair and irony, and it’s so so fun.

1. The Austere Academy

I have a thing for boarding school books, so that was definitely a plus for this book. It also introduces the Quagmire triples, who are absolute angels and who I love almost as much as the Baudelaires themselves. Plus, it throws shade at violinists who don’t know how to play the violin that well, which, as a cellist who has been in middle school and high school orchestras, I can definitely appreciate.

That’s my ranking! I didn’t include The Beatrice Letters, because I’ve actually never read them, or The Autobiography of Lemony Snicket, because I’ve only read it once and didn’t really understand all of it. All The Wrong Questions also isn’t here because I’ve only read it once as it was coming out.

Do you agree with my rankings? Comment below!