Lemony Snicket’s 13 Shocking Secrets!

Warning: Before you scroll down, I must remind you that this is a SPOILER!

I myself searched the entire 13 books like one of the VFD volunteers and finally I came down to the 13^th of the 13 secrets... You could also do your own research in LemonySnicket.com

The book told about the Baudelaires narrated by Lemony Snicket. But here, Lemony Snicket is in the spotlight!

he searched for the Baudelaire orphans

#1           Lemony Snicket is not who you think he is.

#2           Lemony Snicket is one of the three orphans/siblings.

#3           Lemony Snicket’s niece is an orphan.

THE BAD BEGINNING

The wretched book that started all the trouble.

Book the First, in which:

•  The Baudelaire mansion is destroyed by a suspicious fire.

•  Count Olaf, criminal mastermind, adopts three orphans.

•  Violet Baudelaire invents a grappling  _  _  _  _.

My answer:        grappling hook

THE REPTILE ROOM

More venomous than a viper, and almost twice as unnerving.

Book the Second, in which:

•  Dr. Montgomery Montgomery, world renowned

herpetologist, unveils the Incredibly Deadly Viper.

•  The Baudelaire orphans and their uncle attend  _  _  _  _  _  _  _

IN THE SNOW, a film by Dr. Gustav Sebald.

•  Someone important disguised as a taxi driver

passes unnoticed.

My answer:        zombies

THE WIDE WINDOW

More destructive than a hurricane, and almost as damp.

Book the Third, in which:

•  Aunt Josephine reveals that her mother-in-law had only one

eyebrow.

•  Someone tells the story of how  _  _  _   Anwhistle was

eaten alive.

•  A secret message is sent using grammatical errors.

My answer:        Ike Anwhistle

#4           Lemony Snicket’s wanted for arson.

#5           Lemony Snicket grew up with a terrible villain.

THE MISERABLE MILL

More arduous than hard labor, and almost as rewarding.

Book the Fourth, in which:

•  The Baudelaires are put to work in a factory owned

by a man known only as  _  _  _ .

•  Lemony Snicket mentions a 200-page book written by Beatrice.

•  Sunny Baudelaire defends herself in a sword fight using her teeth.

My answer:        Sir

THE AUSTERE ACADEMY

More ghastly than boarding school, and almost as interminable.

Book the Fifth, in which:

•  At boarding school, the Baudelaires befriend the Quagmire

triplets, who also lost everything in a suspicious fire.

•  Duncan Quagmire discovers an article in the Bangkok Gazette

regarding an escaped murderer matching the description of

Count Olaf.

•  Sunny Baudelaire is impersonated by a sack of  _  _  _  _  _ .

My answer:        Flour

THE ERSATZ ELEVATOR

More eerie than an elevator shaft, and almost as dark.

Book the Sixth, in which:

•  Two of the orphans are imprisoned in a dark cage

deep underground.

•  A plot involving a secret island is briefly referred to.

•  A box containing V.F.D. is opened, revealing

Very Fancy _  _  _  _  _  _  _ .

My answer:        Dollies

#6           Lemony Snicket attended boarding school.

#7           When he was a baby, Lemony Snicket was kidnapped by a secret organization.

THE VILE VILLAGE

More terrifying than a mob, and almost as ill-tempered.

Book the Seventh, in which:

•  The Daily Punctilio publishes an inaccurate story

regarding the death of Count Olaf.

•  Crows are used to transmit secret messages.

•  Someone tries to escape in a  _  _  _  _  -  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _

hot air mobile home.

My answer:        Self-Sustaining

THE HOSTILE HOSPITAL

More distasteful than medicine, and almost as sick.

Book the Eighth, in which:

•  The Snicket File is discovered.

•  14-year-old Laura V.  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  is wheeled

into an operating theater to have her head removed.

•  The existence of a secret pocket in the Baudelaires’ mother’s coat

is revealed.

My answer:        Laura V. Bleedotite

THE CARNIVOROUS CARNIVAL

More frightening than a fortune teller, and almost as suspicious.

Book the Ninth, in which:

•  A fortune teller’s crystal ball is broken – for the second time.

•  The expression “the belly of the beast” appears eight times.

•  A person is devoured by  _  _  _  _  _ .

My answer:        lions

#8           Lemony Snicket was fired from “The Daily Punctilio”.

#9           Lemony Snicket helped Beatrice commit a serious crime before her death.

THE SLIPPERY SLOPE

More chilling than winter, and almost as icy.

Book the Tenth, in which:

•  The Baudelaires discover V.F.D. Headquarters.

•  Klaus Baudelaire recalls finding a box of Verdant Flammable

Devices inside his father’s desk.

•  Sunny Baudelaire prepares False Spring Rolls for her

captors on Mount  _  _  _  _  _  _  _ .

My answer:        Mount Fraught

THE GRIM GROTTO

More mysterious than the ocean, and almost as deep.

Book the Eleventh, in which:

•  The water cycle takes on unusual importance.

•  The rare and poisonous Medusoid  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  _  spreads.

•  The Baudelaire orphans return to the site of their first misfortune.

My answer:       Medusoid Mycelium

THE PENULTIMATE PERIL

More uncomfortable than a hotel, and almost as unsettling.

Book the Twelfth, in which:

•  Carmelita Spats, the least delightful person on earth,

is given a harpoon gun.

•  Count Olaf is put on trial.

•  The Baudelaires murder  _  _  _  _  _ .

My answer:        Dewey Denouement

#10         Lemony Snicket was disguised as a bullfighter when he was captured.

#11         Lemony Snicket’s work is filled with secret messages meant for his associates.

#12         Lemony Snicket has a tattoo of an eye on his ankle.

#13         In my answers, combined the bold letters and you’ll also get what’s Lemony Snicket’s 13^th secret!

Comment down below if you know the answer! Happy Hunting VFD Volunteers!

Book Review: Lemony Snicket's The Series of Unfortunate Events Book 2: The Reptile Room

Lemony Snicket's The Series of Unfortunate Events Book 2: The Reptile Room

In the reptile room,

Where the baby screams,

Weirder creatures loom,

Than in all of your dreams.

In the reptile room,

Hither and thither,

Creatures from cartoons,

Slither any-whither.

In the reptile room,

Anacondas dance,

Will they be our doom,

Will we be their bon-bons

And you wanna know, wanna know, wanna know why I

frown,

Well I'm smiling, I'm just smiling upside down. 

In the reptile room,

There's an evil man,

In a strange costume,

Do not ride in his van.

In the reptile room,

Are pythons at play?

In the murky gloom,

What a horrible day

The second book is included in the film starring Jim Carrey as Count Olaf, Emily Browning as Violet Baudelaire, Liam Aiken as Klaus Baudelaire and twins Kara and Shelby Hoffman as Sunny Baudelaire.

The Reptile Room is a place on Dr. Montgomery's mansion where different kinds of reptiles are kept and taken care of altogether with a library about herpetology. Count Olaf's threat continues here that wraps a shadow over the Baudelaire's future.

Dr. Montgomery Montgomery 

Dr. Montgomery Montgomery is a well known herpetologist, a zoologist that specializes on reptiles, amphibians, turtles and crocodiles. He wants the children to just call him Uncle Monty and he is fond of calling the children "bambino" which is an Italian word for small children. According to the banker Mr Poe, if Count Olaf was their "third cousin four times removed, or their fourth cousin three times removed",  Dr. Montgomery is the Baudelaire's 'late father's cousin's wife's brother." (made my head ache a little while analyzing that! lol) Uncle Monty wants to do an expedition to Peru with the children and his assistant Gustav Sebald who mysteriously resigned on his job. 

children meeting the Incredibly Deadly Viper!

Since Uncle Monty is friendly, the children adjust easily and feel at home instantly! They were fascinated by Uncle Monty's reptile collection stored including the Incredibly Deadly Viper which he recently discovered. The snake's name is a misnomer (misleading) since it is actually harmless, Uncle Monty named the snake in such manner to play a practical joke on the Herpetologist Society in revenge for ridiculing his name; Montgomery Montgomery. Uncle Monty gave each children a task on the Reptile Room to prepare themselves for their upcoming journey to Peru. Violet to invent traps that'll be use for the new snakes they will found without hurting the animals. Klaus to read books about snakes that can be found in Peru and Sunny to bite ropes into usable pieces. Sunny found a new friend in the Incredibly Deadly Viper. :)

Mr. Poe, the banker

When Count Olaf denies that Sunny is in danger because the snake is not really poisonous when he claimed awhile ago that he knew nothing about snakes, Mr. Poe started to doubt. Just in time, Violet's invention of an improvised key opened the Count's luggage, she showed up and presented the evidences which includes a powder puff and the syringe used to inject snake venom into Uncle Monty.

Everything was happy until Stephano arrives, the children easily recognize him as Count Olaf in awful disguise! They try to warn Uncle Monty but failed all the time. Count Olaf always threatens the children privately. If only the children didn't told the Count that he will not join them in their trip to Peru and that Uncle Monty even torn his ticket already, they wouldn't see Uncle Monty dead in the reptile room the day they are about to leave. With more threats, Count Olaf still intends to take them to Peru where he can easily find ways to get their fortune. 
However, on their way to out, Count Olaf's car crashes into that of Mr. Poe who plans to visit the children before they leave and gave them their luggage.
After knowing what terrible thing happened to Dr. Montgomery, Count Olaf and Mr. Poe discuss things to do with the children, while the three orphan desperately try to prove it was Count Olaf, who disguise himself as Stephano who killed Uncle Monty.
Since Mr. Poe cannot believe the children's accusations. Violet, Klaus ans Sunny decided they have to have evidences, So, while Klaus pretends that the Incredibly Deadly Viper is attacking Sunny, Violet put her hair in a ribbon and thought of an invention on how to open Olaf's suitcase in where the real poison that kills Uncle Monty is hidden.

Immediately, Mr. Poe asks Count Olaf to show his left ankle, where a tattoo of an eye is inked. The tattoo was there, and to consent the children's insistence that it was covered with powder, Mr. Poe wipes his ankle with a handkerchief, and an eye was revealed. And, since Mr. Poe avoid violence, Count Olaf run away again and the Baudelaires are to be drop off to another guardian. They were horrified while watching the reptiles taken away by Bruce including the Incredibly Deadly Viper that Sunny befriended.

The Count, The Herpetologist, The Grammar Enthusiast and The Orphans

Trivial Facts:

In the bad beggining, the Baudelaire mansion was destroyed by a suspicious fire, Count Olaf adopts the three orphans and Violet invented a grappling hook to save Sunny.
In the reptile room, a herpetologist, Dr. Montgomery Montgomery discovered the Incredibly Deadly Viper. Uncle Monty, Violet, Klaus and Sunny watched a film "Zombies in the Snow' by Dr. Gustav Sebald. And someone disguised as a taxi driver passed by (and I bet it was Lemony himself).
My say: Things are getting more and more exciting! I was saddened that their happy days with a loving guardian, Uncle Monty was short lived. And I wished they kept the Incredibly Deadly Viper as a pet, to make their lives less unfortunate.
I'm thrilled to meet the next guardian and the Lake Lachrymose, its leeches and wrong grammars in "The Wide Window".

Book Review: Lemony Snicket's The Series of Unfortunate Events Book 1: The Bad Beginning

"Dear Reader,
I am sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.
With all due respect,Lemony Snicket"

Hardbound Book 1
Photo Courtesy of LemonySnicket.com

I first saw this in a 3books-in-1movie "Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events".

After watching, I was curious about the elaborated details of each scenes so I decided to find a book. And I'm sorry to say, all of the bookstore I searched and find all of the books we're OOS!

But it's ok, since the book is too slim for a fat price! Thank goodness for the audiobook edition! I love the british accent of the narrator, Tim Curry. The music gave me LSS too. The book was superbly narrated and dramatize the dark humor, the creepy Count Olaf and even the cough of Mr. Poe makes me laugh! 

The plot is very engaging it will drawn you closer to the Baudelaires orphans as they strive to survive the wake of their parent's death in a mysterious fire and at the same time strive to escape the watching eye of Count Olaf! you wanna finish the entire series in just one sitting! The writer's style is very descriptive and even the images on the book beautifully detailed.

If your looking for a smart book with characters that are just-in-the-nick-of-time problem solver, the entire series is perfect! The main characters were the three Bauldelaires. The youngest and the infant, Sunny who loves to bite things and have shrieks and baby gurgles only her siblings can understand and translate. Klaus, the middle child, the only boy, who is a brainy bookworm that helps in answering and defining things that'll surely help them out escape the peril. And last but not the least, Violet, the eldest, the mechanic and inventor.

Let's start off with Book 1: The Bad Beginning

Soft bound Book 1
Photo Courtesy of LemonySnicket.com 

The Bad Beginning is the first of thirteen books in Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events that narrates a fictional story about the start of all the tragedies in the lives of the three Baudelaire children. The mysterious fire that killed both their parents and leave them as orphans.

The Baudelaire were in the seashore when they receive the awful news from the coughing Mr. Poe, who is a banker in charge of their enormous fortune their parents leave them when they'd die on a fire that burned down their house. The will stated that the guardian must be a close relative and should be near or inside the city where they live. Hence Mr. Poe searched and found the nearest relative and sent them off to live with him, Count Olaf who in fact the children never heard or seen before.

The instant they entered the ugly smelly house they knew that the count is a terrible person! He is even   forward to the children on his pursuits on their money. Together with his theatre troupe, weird looking beings that includes the hook-handed man, neither a man nor a woman, two white-faced women and others, Count Olaf they plot an evil schemes to get the fortune for themselves!

Scream and Run Away - The Gothic Archies

Overall:

After reading the first book, my questions wasn't answered yet. How did the Baudelaire mansion got burned? Is it just an unfortunate event? An Accident? Or was Count Olaf behind it? These question made me wanna read more! It has a lot of twist and can be very misleading, which in turn makes it more fun to read, exciting and thrilling!

The book states the fact that people can get very greedy and envious on other's fortunes and blessings and is ready to do anything just to take them away.

This book is quite a bit hard for kids, so I personally recommend this for teenagers due to some mature contents and sophisticated enough for adult readers as well.