7. The Reptile Room

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
Illustrated by Brett Helquist
A Series of Unfortunate Events, Book the Second


Pages: 190
Finished: Jan. 13, 2008
Reason for Reading: next in the series
First Published: 1999
Genre: children, Gothic
Rating: 4/5

First Sentence:

The stretch of road that leads out of the city, past Hazy Harbor and into the town of Tedia, is perhaps the most unpleasant in the world.

Comments: The story picks up with the children in the car driving to their new home. Here they meet their distant uncle, Uncle Monty, who is a pleasant and intelligent man. The children seem to have finally found a wonderful place to live after the death of their parents but, alas, that is not to be. For only a few short days later, Uncle Monty's new assistant arrives and the children are positive he is Count Olaff in disguise. The pace from the first book picks up and this second book is much more fast-paced. The dark, gothic atmosphere continues and added is a touch of Holmesian detecting as the children set out to solve the murder mystery. Both the story and the new characters of Uncle Monty and the Incredibly Deadly Viper are a lot of fun. In the words of my 7yo who said this several times as I was reading aloud to him, "This is better than the first book!" If you enjoyed the first book you will love "The Reptile Room".