Book Title: Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid
Author Name: Daniel Handler
Reviewed by TFK Kid Reporter: Trisha Morrison
Genre: Children's Humor
Number of pages: 168
What's the basic storyline?
This book is written in thirteen chapters that cover topics such as family, work and school, to name a few. It contains what the author Lemony Snicket calls "alarming but inescapable truths." He says he has written them in unpublished papers and spoken about them at dinner parties. Parts of the book remind people that life isn't always easy; there are things that are dreadful and there are bitter truths you cannot avoid in this world. For example, in the chapter "School", the author says: "Recess is a part of the school day designed to give children a break from the more unpleasant aspects of the education system. But so many school yards are full of villainous students that recess can often turn out to be the most unpleasant part of the day." If you find Snicket's take on recess funny, this is the book for you.
Were the characters believable? What made them believable or unbelievable?
This book is not a novel, but a collection of truths and philosophies discovered by the author in real life. There are, however, some characters in the "Introduction" section. The characters are believable because they are the people who have done things that some people might really do in their lives. The wife character, for example, gets up and leaves in the middle of a conversation and starts a long journey. She is not seen for months. While that's a strange occurrence, it could still happen in real life.
Would you recommend this book to kids? Why or why not?
I would recommend this book to older kids because some parts of the book can be confusing and difficult to understand for younger kids. I am ten years old and there are ideas in the book I don't quite understand. However, this book can still help older kids to think about their experiences, even though at this point they might be too young to understand certain things.
What's not-so-great about the book?
As I said, this book, in certain ways, does not seem to be written for kids. It covers many complicated topics in life such as "Work," Emotional Health," "Affairs of the Heart" and "The Mystery of Life" to name a few. These are the aspects of life a young kid will have less experience with, so he or she might not be able to fully understand this book.
Also, since this is a book about truths in life and does not have exciting stories to tell, it may be boring to read. On the other hand, fans of Snicket's humor may enjoy his musings.
On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being best), how would you rate this book? Explain.
I would give it a 7 because overall it is a pretty good book which is full of life lessons and "bitter truths." But at the same time, it can be confusing and difficult. Some may have to read the book more than once to fully understand it.
