Page Count: 219 & 214
Published in: September 30th 1999 & February 25th 2000
Published by: Scholastic, Inc.
Genre(s): Fiction, Childrens Fiction, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mystery, Adventure
Source: Print: Hardback
My Ratings: 3.5 stars & 3.5 stars
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Goodreads synopsis:
The Reptile Room:
Dear Reader,
If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale. I'm afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle, but don't be fooled. If you know anything at all about the unlucky Baudelaire children, you already know that even pleasant events lead down the same road to misery.
In fact, within the pages you now hold in your hands, the three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odor, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp, and the reappearance of a person they'd hoped never to see again.
I am bound to record these tragic events, but you are free to put this book back on the shelf and seek something lighter.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale. I'm afraid you have picked up the wrong book altogether. The story may seem cheery at first, when the Baudelaire children spend time in the company of some interesting reptiles and a giddy uncle, but don't be fooled. If you know anything at all about the unlucky Baudelaire children, you already know that even pleasant events lead down the same road to misery.
In fact, within the pages you now hold in your hands, the three siblings endure a car accident, a terrible odor, a deadly serpent, a long knife, a large brass reading lamp, and the reappearance of a person they'd hoped never to see again.
I am bound to record these tragic events, but you are free to put this book back on the shelf and seek something lighter.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
The Wide Window:
Dear Reader,
If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick-witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and this one may be the worst of them all.If you haven't got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signalling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair.I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
If you have not read anything about the Baudelaire orphans, then before you read even one more sentence, you should know this: Violet, Klaus, and Sunny are kindhearted and quick-witted, but their lives, I am sorry to say, are filled with bad luck and misery. All of the stories about these three children are unhappy and wretched, and this one may be the worst of them all.If you haven't got the stomach for a story that includes a hurricane, a signalling device, hungry leeches, cold cucumber soup, a horrible villain, and a doll named Pretty Penny, then this book will probably fill you with despair.I will continue to record these tragic tales, for that is what I do. You, however, should decide for yourself whether you can possibly endure this miserable story.
With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket
~~~
Review:
Hey guys!This is a really really late review. I read these books during the #BookTubeAThon, and I wasn't impressed. I found the story to be kind of predictable, the adult figures to be portrayed as irrationally stupid. The plot has been kind of predictable and it's kind of boring. I hope that after the first 5 books they get better, but I'm not sure if I want to spend about a week of my life reading something that has no promise of getting better. What do you guys think?
What I Liked:
- The Baudaire children are really close. Snicket really emphasizes the love that they have as siblings.
- The 3rd & 4th books were more dark than the first couple of books. I found it to be more morbid, but I liked it.
- I liked it when Mr. Poe freaked out about the snake in Uncle Monty's reptile room. I literally laughed out loud.
- I liked the bit of girl power in the third book when Mr. Poe realizes that Violet picked a lock: “How did you do that?” Mr. Poe asked. “Nice girls shouldn't know how to do such things... My sister is a nice girl,” Klaus said, “and she knows how to do all sorts of things.” p. 168 WOOO Klaus!
- Sunny is beginning to start to have a bit of a vocabulary. The little words that she use are kind of adorable.
- I like the moral and philosophical instructions. I like that Snicket doesn't want his younger readers to do anything stupid.
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What I Didn't Like:
- Sunny. The baby sometimes is described as walking or doing something that an infant cannot do. It drove me nuts throughout the books.
- Adults aren't stupid. Now sometimes they don't listen to what kids have to say, but the adults in this series are irrationally stupid. They have no common sense whatsoever and it drives me nuts!
- I don't like how Sunny's little noises are "translated" it was ok in the first book but it just got annoying in these books.
- I feel like the dialogue could have been more complex. With all the fuss over how intelligent the characters are that they'd have more complex discussions and dialogue.
- The characters aren't the best. The better characters are the more villainous characters. They are more thought out and kind of entertaining but not very.
Overall I didn't really like these books. They aren't as entertaining as the hype makes them. The characters aren't very complex, the plot got boring, and I just didn't enjoy them as much as I had hoped. If you like dark middle grade books you may like these.
You can read my review of The Bad Beginning, the first in the Series Of Unfortunate Events series here: [click here].
Enjoy guys!
Olivia
~livthebooknerd~
