The Reptile Room - Arya T.
Hey guys, I'm back with another review. This time I chose a kind of strange and somewhat childish book. Hope you enjoy the review!
The Reptile Room is the second book in the series: A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was written by Lemony Snicket (his actual name is Daniel Handler) and tells the story of the Baudelaire orphans, who in the previous book were orphans who were sent to live with Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance.
In this book they are sent to live with a distant relative by the name of Montgomery Montgomery (yes, his first name is the same as his last name). Even in this book, the villainous Count Olaf tries to steal the children's fortune. The book starts off with the kids meeting their new parental guardian: Uncle Monty (otherwise known as Montgomery Montgomery). Uncle Monty's house, unlike their previous living quarters, is huge and plentiful with all the things they need to live a happy life. Violet, the oldest of the Baudelaire orphans, gets a room perfect for her science studies. Klaus, the middle child of the family, chooses the room with a chair and a lamp right above so that he can read his hundreds of books. Sunny (the youngest), on the other hand, chooses a room with lots of hard toys that she likes to play with and bite on with her baby teeth. For the first time, everyone is happy.
For a few weeks, it even seems like they can live a normal life. But then, the unimaginable happens. Count Olaf shows up at their door posing as Uncle Monty's assistant. He's shaved his eyebrows, covered up his tattoo, and grown a beard, but the Baudelaire orphans still recognize him as Count Olaf. Count Olaf is a really bad guy. He starts to threaten the orphans, saying that he will hurt them or Uncle Monty. Despite being the oldest sibling, Violet is especially afraid of Count Olaf. In the previous book, Count Olaf was going to force Violet to marry her as well as inherit her fortune.
Since Count Olaf is now living with them and Uncle Monty, they find it especially hard to live their normal lives. After a few days, Uncle Monty strangely dies from a snake bite from the African snake: the Mamba du Mal. The police and Mr. Poe (another character who cares after the children) deduce that it has to be a snake bite, but the Baudelaire orphans are sure that Count Olaf killed Uncle Monty. They find evidence too. Klaus, the bookworm that he is, finds a book on the Mamba du Mal that states that the Mamba du Mal is a snake that kills by strangling its prey, not biting. Even after this evidence among others, no one believes that Uncle Monty's assistant is Count Olaf.
No one is aware of Count Olaf's nefarious plan to bring the kids to Peru, steal their fortune, and then kill them. He attempts to drive them to the airport to got to Peru, but Uncle Poe accidentally crashes into his car. Despite Count Olaf's best efforts to keep going, they decide to go back to the house. The Baudelaire kids try again to convince Mr. Poe that Uncle Monty's assistant is Count Olaf. He doesn't believe them since Count Olaf should have a tattoo on his ankle. Desperate, Violet creates a distraction and breaks open Count Olaf's case which reveals all his evil plans. They also find that the tattoo on his ankle was being hidden by makeup, proving that he is really Count Olaf. Unfortunately, Count Olaf manages to escape, leaving everyone in disarray.
I would rate this book an 8.3/10. It's a very interesting and enjoyable novel, but I don't feel like the plot of the actual story is very apparent. I mostly enjoyed it due to the Lemony Snicket's writing style and the characters that he portrayed. The book just didn't seem like it had much plot development. If you want a book that makes you think, then this isn't the book to read.
Lemony Snicket has a very particular writing style, and that's what I really enjoyed about this story. He narrated as if he knew the characters personally and he always told the story through their altered views. He also inserted segments into the book where he specifically gave backstories or talked about characters from a different perspective. I actually liked these parts of the book, because I felt like it added a bit more to the plot and characters.
The Reptile Room seems like a book for a people that want a quick read with a lot of action. It's really interesting all the way through, but I kind of feel that the plot didn't move along at a steady pace. Even though there are some negative aspects to this book, I think that overall, it's a really good book that I would recommend reading.
The Reptile Room is the second book in the series: A Series of Unfortunate Events. It was written by Lemony Snicket (his actual name is Daniel Handler) and tells the story of the Baudelaire orphans, who in the previous book were orphans who were sent to live with Count Olaf, who attempts to steal their inheritance.
*Spoilers Ahead*
For a few weeks, it even seems like they can live a normal life. But then, the unimaginable happens. Count Olaf shows up at their door posing as Uncle Monty's assistant. He's shaved his eyebrows, covered up his tattoo, and grown a beard, but the Baudelaire orphans still recognize him as Count Olaf. Count Olaf is a really bad guy. He starts to threaten the orphans, saying that he will hurt them or Uncle Monty. Despite being the oldest sibling, Violet is especially afraid of Count Olaf. In the previous book, Count Olaf was going to force Violet to marry her as well as inherit her fortune.
Since Count Olaf is now living with them and Uncle Monty, they find it especially hard to live their normal lives. After a few days, Uncle Monty strangely dies from a snake bite from the African snake: the Mamba du Mal. The police and Mr. Poe (another character who cares after the children) deduce that it has to be a snake bite, but the Baudelaire orphans are sure that Count Olaf killed Uncle Monty. They find evidence too. Klaus, the bookworm that he is, finds a book on the Mamba du Mal that states that the Mamba du Mal is a snake that kills by strangling its prey, not biting. Even after this evidence among others, no one believes that Uncle Monty's assistant is Count Olaf.
No one is aware of Count Olaf's nefarious plan to bring the kids to Peru, steal their fortune, and then kill them. He attempts to drive them to the airport to got to Peru, but Uncle Poe accidentally crashes into his car. Despite Count Olaf's best efforts to keep going, they decide to go back to the house. The Baudelaire kids try again to convince Mr. Poe that Uncle Monty's assistant is Count Olaf. He doesn't believe them since Count Olaf should have a tattoo on his ankle. Desperate, Violet creates a distraction and breaks open Count Olaf's case which reveals all his evil plans. They also find that the tattoo on his ankle was being hidden by makeup, proving that he is really Count Olaf. Unfortunately, Count Olaf manages to escape, leaving everyone in disarray.
I would rate this book an 8.3/10. It's a very interesting and enjoyable novel, but I don't feel like the plot of the actual story is very apparent. I mostly enjoyed it due to the Lemony Snicket's writing style and the characters that he portrayed. The book just didn't seem like it had much plot development. If you want a book that makes you think, then this isn't the book to read.
Lemony Snicket has a very particular writing style, and that's what I really enjoyed about this story. He narrated as if he knew the characters personally and he always told the story through their altered views. He also inserted segments into the book where he specifically gave backstories or talked about characters from a different perspective. I actually liked these parts of the book, because I felt like it added a bit more to the plot and characters.
The Reptile Room seems like a book for a people that want a quick read with a lot of action. It's really interesting all the way through, but I kind of feel that the plot didn't move along at a steady pace. Even though there are some negative aspects to this book, I think that overall, it's a really good book that I would recommend reading.
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