The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events #2)
Author: Lemony Snicket
Published: 1999
On Goodreads
My Rating: 
Rated S for sneaky, slithering, villainous acts in disguise.
So I must tell you that if you have opened this book in the hope of finding out that the children lived happily ever after, you might as well shut it and read something else. (p. 3)
After the dreadful events with Count Olaf and his horrible play, the Baudelaire orphans are sent to live with a distant relative, Uncle Monty. A scientist and joyful man, you’d think the children finally found a place to call home. They even get to go to Peru with him on an important trip.
However, this isn’t a happy story. The kids didn’t go to Peru and they didn’t truly get a place to call home with Monty when a villain in disguise tries to once again steal their fortune. The tragic events of these children continue in this book.
A Series of Unfortunate Events is 1 of 3 books series I am rereading this year as a part of my New Year’s Resolution. This is book 2 of 13.
ASOUE: The Bad Beginning review
Snicket’s ability to bring a moment of relief and follow it up with sudden grief and wretchedness is astounding. The Baudelaire children find themselves in a tricky position, a rock and a hard place, a…place where the dastardly Count Olaf re-enters their lives and ruins them. In his first disguise of many, he poses as an assistant and nobody listened when the children tried to tell others. Getting the backseat to the story from the author really gave an all-around feeling of fun, and of course, tragedy. Incredibly interactive and stimulating.
The children faced new problems and old problems. Count Olaf finds them and even though his disguise is horrible, he manages to fool several people, but not the children. I’m continuously impressed with how smart they are and how they represent those who feel like they are never heard. The focus on that was perfect. It makes you think and consider things. It seemed to be an important theme. That, and tragedy, even when you know it’s coming, is heartbreaking nonetheless.
Overall
This book actually helped with me liking snake more. Not all snakes are horrid. This is honestly where I believe the adventure really begins. This was where Olaf went too far and when he started with his disguises. His disguises are one of my favorite bits in this series. They’re so horrible and I can’t believe that people don’t see through them. This book was vibrant and verging on joyful. Still, the promise of tragedy led me to believe in triumph for the children. A good book in a great series.
Quotables:
“Something will happen to you, and you will do the wrong thing, and for years afterward you will wish you had done something different.” (p. 43)
“It is very unnerving to be proven wrong, particularly when you are really right and the one who is proving you wrong and proving himself, wrongly, right. Right?” (p.109)
More to come soon…
-K.
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The Scarlet Reader 
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