Friday, January 11, 2013

Blog 93 - The Reptile Room Review


The Reptile Room: Book the Second (A Series of Unfortunate Events)

Author: Lemony Snicket
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 190
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date: August 28, 1999
ISBN-13: 9780064407670

About the Book
Violet, Klaus, and Sunny Baudelaire are intelligent children. They are charming, and resourceful, and have pleasant facial features. Unfortunately, they are exceptionally unlucky.
In the first two books alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, a lumpy bed, a deadly serpent, a large brass reading lamp, a long knife, and a terrible odour.
In the tradition of great storytellers, from Dickens to Dahl, comes an exquisitely dark comedy that is both literary and irreverent, hilarious and deftly crafted. Never before has a tale of three likeable and unfortunate children been quite so enchanting, or quite so uproariously unhappy
My Review

Things that I liked: I really liked how the villain carried through from the first book, and now I know that he will be in each of the books still trying to get the Baudelaire fortune. I really liked how inventive Violet is with household materials, making things out what she has lying around in order to get the evidence that she needs to prove Stephano is really the villain and not who he says he is from the beginning. These kids are really brilliant throughout the book. I like how the author set them up that way. I enjoyed reading the ending and the way that Violet solved the mystery and how the story ended in general.

Things that I didn’t like: I’m still getting use to the whole “the word here means (insert definition here)” pieces that are sprinkled throughout the story. I almost wonder what the books would be like if we didn’t have parts where the definitions are inserted into the story.

Overall: I enjoyed reading this story and I look forward to reading the rest of the series to see how the children survive Count Olaf’s attempts to get their fortune. I would recommend these books to my friends (and children who re at this reading level – middle grade).


My rating is   

Until next time, Happy Reading!

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