The Reptile Room
Ratings331
Average rating3.9
Full review of the first three books at http://www.mrshields.com/?p=929
Short review. Good young adult books. Tries to take the kids seriously as readers. Love the use of vocabulary. Got a little bored by the end of the third. Not sure if I will read more. Think they would be good for a lot of kids.
Un libro muy mono, como tantos otros para niños pero prácticamente una copia del primero.
No voy a seguir leyendo la serie.
4.5:
INCREDIBLY DEADLY VIPER, NOOO :(
Gee, is there not a single adult in the Baudelaire children's life who isn't either a repugnant jerk, abysmally incompetent and full of themselves, or dead? Why is Mr. Poe in charge, what an irritating little man. But he did deliver the absolute best quote in the whole book:
“Good God! Blessed Allah! Zeus and Hera! Mary and Joseph! Nathaniel Hawthorne!”
This was good! Olaf was nasty Monty was pretty decent! And there was that Herpetological Society dickwad who was rude and dismissive for no reason. Bad, bad, bad. Fuck you, Bruce.
I'm extremely upset at the ambiguous fate given to all the animals, I just can't get over it. WHAT do you mean they might just be put down? I'm heartbroken.
Once again I'm choosing to ignore Lemony Snicket's warnings about this story not going anywhere nice because I'm having so much fun with it. A literal murder takes place in this book, but somehow it's way more hilarious than the first one? Hang in there, Baudelaires!
I find these books really funny!
What strikes me most about these books is how clueless the adults are and how they don't take children seriously. They trust adults just because they are adults, even if they say stupid and nonsensical things.
And this book makes me question a lot. Could it be that when we become adults we ignore children's common sense so much? We think that just because we are adults we are right. It's an interesting concept and one that is very well represented in this book.
Basically, if adults would stop and listen to children, none of what happens in the book would happen.
I switched to the audiobook (narrated by Tim Curry) for The Reptile Room after not enjoying The Bad Beginning. This immensely helped with the repetitive writing, and I stomached the definitions and other such writing quirks a lot more. Tim Curry did a fantastic job narrating. I also love herpetology, so I was bound to like the setting a bit more. I liked that this book seemed a bit more dangerous (to me) and the orphans seemed quickly to understand they needed take matters into their own hands. I liked it!
An exiting sequel to this series of unfortunate events. I felt it better paced than the first and much more enjoyable as an adult reader. Not much else can be said without spoiling the plot as this is a fairly short book. I am looking forward to the next installment in the series.
In the reptile room... 🎶
Same review for The Bad Beginning also applies. After starting the show on Netflix, we were enticed to start the series. My oldest (9) is reading the books either through the library or Libby and we are all listening to the audiobook on our adventures here and there. While I doubt I would enjoy the series for myself, sharing it with the children has been entertaining. We are about to now start The Miserable Mill after finishing up The Wide Window.
Library audiobook. Library book. Libby to Kindle.
~Full series overview here on The Bent Bookworm!~The Reptile Room starts off (after the necessary doom-and-gloom letter from the narrator, of course) on a much better note for the Baudelaires. At last it seems they may be going to live with someone who genuinely cares for them and has their best interests at heart. BUT WAIT. Let's not get too carried away. This is, after all, A Series of Unfortunate Events, and indeed they do seem to be the MOST unfortunate of children.Soon after they arrive at their new home – another relative, this one a eccentric but lovable scientist, disaster strikes and they find themselves being hunted by the horrible Count Olaf once more. Only of course, since they are children and have been greatly traumatized, no one believes them. Because why would you? Naturally, things go from bad to worse and the children find themselves in a desperate fight to avoid being kidnapped right under the nose of the law. Sunny, the little rascal, plays a very important part in this one – eliciting a few eyerolls as somehow she manages to have the mental compact of about a 7-year-old in the body of a 15-month-old, but you know. Realism isn't the point here. In the end, they narrowly avoid Count Olaf once more.Blog Twitter Bloglovin Instagram Google+
4.3
An improvement compared to the first book, although it was basically the same life lessons. This was another quick read and I really loved the storyline of this one. Violet once again shows her cunning knowledge in tools and devices, Klaus's bookish personality saved their lives, and the adorable Sunny is still that too-mature-to-be-an-infant baby. Count Olaf's Stephano disguise was really funny and ridiculous as well! Mr. Monty, on the other hand, is supposed to be this great and perfect guardian for the Baudelaire orphans, too bad we have to see him perish in such a short time. Hope these kids find their perfect guardians soon and get out of all of their misfortunes. Off to the third book, which is “The Wide Window”!
De Baudelaires komen terecht bij Monty, een vriendelijke herpetoloog. Zijn oude assistent was overleden en er komt een nieuwe, Stephano. Stephano is Olaf. De Baudelaires zien dat meteen, maar niemand gelooft ze. Monty wordt vermoord. Stephano probeert de kinderen naar Peru te ontvoeren, maar wordt uiteindelijk ontmaskerd.
Yup, het is formulaïsch, en ik zou dit nog veel liever gelezen hebben als ik klein was, maar het blijft goed.
A falta de inteligencia dos adultos, e a forma que eles subjulgam a inteligencia das crianças me irrita tão profundamente que não da nem vontade de ler o resto da série (btw, a violet já tem 14!)
mas acredito que tudo isso seja proposital, pra fazer com que você se sinta sem esperanças e desesperado como os orfãos, então continuo...
One of the most difficult things to think about in life is one's regrets. Something will happen to you, and you will do the wrong thing, and for years afterward you will wish you had done something different.
It is a curious thing, the death of a loved one. We all know that our time in this world is limited, and that eventually all of us will end up underneath some sheet, never to wake up. And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know. It is like walking up the stairs to your bedroom in the dark, and thinking there is one more stair than there is. Your foot falls down, through the air, and there is a sickly moment of dark surprise as you try and readjust the way you thought of things.
It is very unnerving to be proven wrong, particularly when you are really right and the person who is really wrong is the one who is proving you wrong and proving himself, wrongly, right. Right?
What happens in a certain place can stain your feelings for that location, just as ink can stain a white sheet.
I know that these books are much beloved and considered at this point children's classics, but I just couldn't love them. And it's not that they're written for younger kids. I have no problem with Harry Potter & I love Gregor the Overlander, but maybe I'm just too much in need of happy endings in kids books. And Mr. Snicket constantly reminds us that these books are not happy ending books. At least he's honest about that. I both love & hate the way so many words are defined in the book. Hate because it gets tiresome when I already know the definitions. It breaks up the pace of the book for me. I love them because thinking as a parent this is a great way to introduce words that kids might not know and define words in a fun and easy to incorporate way.
I do also love the ‘back story' of Lemony Snicket. I love how Daniel Handler created this character and made this entire story to explain why Lemony Snicket is writing about the Baudelaire children.
I'm not saying these are bad books, I just could love them and don't have much desire to finish out the series. Maybe Emma will love them!
Example shows that people generally enjoy formulaic plots—James Bond, most cop dramas, most medical dramas, mystery novels, et cetera. Nowhere are formulaic plots more apparent than in children's media: Scooby Doo, nearly every television show written for preschoolers, and the endless series of video games are just a few of the many examples. So I shouldn't be too surprised to learn that A Series of Unfortunate Events follows a formula. (Okay, I confess I looked up reviews of later books in the series to see if I was going to have to deal with this formula throughout and found that the formula slightly changes from time to time. This, my friends, is a huge relief.)
That being said, The Reptile Room is not all that different from its predecessor. What is the same is the darkly drawn plot, the unclear intentions of one of the principal characters, the same neverending series of unfortunate events. What is different is that the plot is a bit more of a stretch and that Snicket/Handler's humor begins to hit its stride. I thought this book, especially in its second half, was funnier than The Bad Beginning. I even had a moment, when Poe, Stephano, and Lucafont were discussing who was going to drive, that I busted out laughing (I have a very dry sense of humor and am not easily impressed with attempts at humor).
I am sure at times, especially during the next few books as Snicket/Handler attempts to set up his formula, that my enjoyment of this series will wane; I am confident, however, that it will have its bright moments, as well. I look forward to the time when this series evolves behind the kids pulling off Count Olaf's mask to the surprise of the authorities and Olaf escaping as he says, “And I would've gotten away with it if it weren't for you meddling kids.”
I do not know why I'm still reading this but I am, so just bear with me.
I know this will lead me nowhere near happy endings, but I still think it's good.
Okay, so the hedges and the house look crazy. Since this book is all about misfortunes and bad luck, I assumed that Dr. Montgomery will be worst than Count Olaf but I was wrong. He was really cool and interesting. Dr. Montgomery or as the Boudelaire children calls him, Uncle Monty's physical description reminds me of Peter Pettigrew or Padfoot of the Harry Potter series.
Anyway, the Reptile Room was really interesting, I would love to visit one. But before I enter, I have to make sure the cages are safely locked. Being friends with a friendly Viper like The Incredibly Deadly Viper sounds fun and I was really relieved that his name isn't literal.
It was really clever of Count Olaf to disguise himself as Stephano; I admire his persistence, really.
If the children didn't told Count Olaf about the ticket being torn by Uncle Monty, he wouldn't kill the latter.
I couldn't believe Mr. Poe didn't believe them again. Seriously, safety is way above politeness when it comes to this. I am really frustrated with him!
Though it wasn't a happy ending, I still could say that they're still fortunate enough to be safe at the end of everything. Count Olaf may still be out there, plotting another evil plan to get his hands on the children's fortune but for the time being, they're still together and safe.