The Reptile Room (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book 2)

by Lemony Snicket, Brett Helquist | Mystery & Thrillers |
ISBN: 0064407675 Global Overview for this book
Registered by HoserLauren of Burlington, Ontario Canada on 4/25/2006
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1 journaler for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by HoserLauren from Burlington, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, April 25, 2006
I got this off Titletrader and it's in great shape!

From Chapters:
The second book in A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Reptile Room picks up where The Bad Beginning left off. Saved in the nick of time from the evil machinations of Count Olaf, the Baudelaire orphans find themselves cast out into world once again. But this time, prospects seem brighter: the guardian of choice is a somewhat eccentric but utterly good-hearted herpetologist (that's someone who studies snakes) named Montgomery Montgomery who is glad to receive his unfortunate relations, so much as to have them come along on an exciting expedition to Peru!

Of course, as the unapologetically dour author is quick to establish, the Baudelaires are destined to have unhappy endings and so things go downhill from there and pick up a surprising amount of speed. Not to give away the unpleasant events of the story, we will simply say that the prose continues in the same vein as Book the First, quirky and blackly humourous, but always intelligent and challenging. The author's device of false deterrence -- encouraging the reader on the jacket and within to abandon the book in favour of something lighter if they wish -- has exactly the desired effect.What could be so horrible, you wonder? Dare to find out and you'll be pleasantly -- and grimly -- surprised.

Journal Entry 2 by HoserLauren from Burlington, Ontario Canada on Tuesday, December 5, 2006
This book is #2 in A Series of Unfortunate Events. It's really quite cute, even though absolutely miserable for the children. You sort of wonder why a publisher would publish this for kids when the kids are always in such miserable circumstances!
I swear this book is a person with obsessive compulsive disorder's dream. Everything is always neatly done with 3 - one for each of the children. All 'big' words are always explained. If nothing else, this book does try to teach kids that if they use their imagination and read (and bit hard objects, I suppose), they can do almost anything.
The story itself is more enjoyable than the first book just because I found it uncomfortable that Count Olaf wanted to marry Violet. This time around, they are put in the custody of a distant relative who studies snakes for a living. Everything around them is snake or reptile oriented. Sunny makes friends with "The Incredibly Deadly Viper", which is a 'misnomer', as Snicket teaches us! A great book for kids, although it is a little depressing.

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