The Slippery Slope

2003, first edition, from HarperCollins
Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Brett Helquist
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Tenth: The Slippery Slope
Bought new for $10.99
Hardcover in good condition
B

Despite the title and the overall slow decline of the series, I found this to be the best entry in awhile.  It helps that we meet the third Quagmire Triplet, Quigley.  He befriends the elder Baudelaires and seems to be a love interest for Violet.  (Like Rowling with Harry's first kiss, Snicket gives Violet some alone-time with Quigley, although he's much more ostentatious about it, a word that here means calling attention to his discretion.)  I also enjoyed the several-times-repeated alphabetical list of Snow Scout pledges, with "xylophone" the "adjective" for X.  And I actually laughed out loud, partly in surprise, at "'Busheney,' Sunny said, which meant something along the lines of, 'You're an evil man with no concern whatsoever for other people.'"  (Hint, think of who the President and VP were then.)  Most of all, I felt like all the hints were finally adding up to something.

Nonetheless, I didn't own #11 or #12 till yesterday, although I did check them out from the library at the time.