The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket | Book Review

I probably wouldn’t have picked this book up for yet another decade if it wasn’t for my TBR Jar. So, thank you TBR Jar!

The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket

Happiness is always just out of reach for the Baudelaire children, and in book two of this series it is no different. As expected, this was an enjoyable sequel filled with all the same reading pleasures as the first book.

“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?" – p.109

I just love Snicket’s writing; it is so beautiful and poetic. I strongly believe he has brought something truly unique to children’s fiction. Just everything about this book is exciting and stays in character, from the synopsis on the back of the book, to the “editor’s letter" at the end.

“It’s 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 to readjust the way you thought of things.” - p.96-97

I find myself overwhelmed with nostalgia whenever I read these novels, so I find them incredibly hard to rate as I can’t objectively form an opinion on them due to how special they are me and my childhood. 

But what the hell, this may be the nostalgia talking but I am going to go ahead and give this book 5 stars anyway. I truly cherish and appreciate these books and I cannot wait to read them to my children.