Reviewed by Me for TeensReadToo.com

As the Baudelaire children--Violet, Klaus, and Sunny--narrowly escape the marriage scheme of Count Olaf and his theatre troupe of THE BAG BEGINNING, we pick up with Mr. Poe once again leading the children to the home of another relative. Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, a revered member of the Herpetological Society, is a man who has spent his life studying snakes. As the children arrive at his home, via Lousy Lane, they are at first leary of "Uncle Monty" and his REPTILE ROOM. They soon learn, however, that their newfound Uncle is a kind man, providing them each with their own room and entertaining activities that they each enjoy--space and materials to invent for Violet, books and a reading nook for Klaus, and plenty of biting material for Sunny.

As the orphans settle in to their new abode, Uncle Monty teaches them about snakes, most especially his new discovery, the Incredibly Deadly Viper. As we learn that said snake is a misnomer--the word "misnomer" here meaning "a wrong name"--the children become excited about the upcoming trip to Peru to study new snake life. Unfortunately, as most everything in the lives of the Baudelaire children is, Uncle Monty's new assistant, Stefano, is no other than Count Olaf in disguise.

Alas, just as with their previous adventures, no one listens to the children's concerns until it is too late. As Stefano aka Count Olaf threatens the children into silence, he begins to hatch his evil plan, which includes getting rid of the snake-loving doctor and absconding to Peru with the children, where he can wait for Violet to come of age, grab her fortune, and dispose of the children.

Saved in the nick of time--yet again--by a convoluted series of events, we find the children once again looking for a kind relative to care for them. As THE REPTILE ROOM ends, Mr. Poe drives off into the sunset with a miserable Violet, Klaus, and Sunny, and we wait to see which new series of unfortunate events will befall the children.

Another quick read, THE REPTILE ROOM is highly recommended depending on the maturity of your child. Another dark tale of misery and woe, this book is highly entertaining for those who understand that it's fiction. ( )

I think this was a delightful book, a word which here means "it was even better than the previous one, partly because I've stopped expecting rational plots and am starting to really enjoy this series" ( )

Book 2 in the "Series of Unfortunate Events" has all of the charms of the first novel, but an improved plot which makes the sequel a better book than the first. Once again, the narrator is quite self-conscious about writing a story, and so explains and uses terms such as "dramatic irony." He continues to explain difficult words by saying "which means in this case..." and while such things can be tiresome to an adult reader, it seems appropriate for a early chapter book reader. I am looking forward to reading the 3rd entry in the series. ( )

very good mostly excellent! ( )

The unfortunate and exciting tale of the Baudelaire children continues. They find great happiness with their Uncle Monty until the return of an old nemesis. ( )