The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket
In the book, The Reptile Room, one of the main characters is Violet Baudelaire. Violet is the eldest sibling in her family. She has two younger brothers and sisters. Their names are Klaus and Sunny. Violet is 14 years old.
She is a great inventor and thinker. Violet has created many inventions such as a lock pick, a pencil sharpener, and a grappling hook.
Violet is about five feet tall and skinny. She has long black hair and wears it in a pony tail.
At the beginning of the book, Violet was very happy that she was in a safe environment with her siblings at Uncle Monty's house. Towards the end of the book she and her siblings were depressed because Stephano (Count Olaf) was hired as Uncle Monty's assistant and was trying to get a hold of the Baudelaire fortune once again. Violet's goal was to get rid of Stephano so that he cannot take the fortune. This was very difficult because if Olaf knew that Violet told someone who he really was, he was going to hurt Klaus or Sunny with a knife. Violet was really scared when she saw the tattoo on "Stephano's" ankle. She knew that it was Count Olaf right away.
Violet is a very smart girl. She has created plans to get rid of Olaf and ideas for new inventions. Violet and Klaus are a lot alike. They both are very intelligent. Klaus loves to read and does it all the time. Violet loves to invent new things. Together they can do almost anything with Klaus' reading and Violet's inventing skills.
Uncle Monty was going to take the orphans and Stephano with him to Peru to search and research new species of snakes. Monty had ripped up Stephano's ticket to get to Peru because he was getting suspicious of him. Olaf kills Uncle Monty and takes his ticket so he and the orphans can go to Peru. Violet has to prove to Mr. Poe that Stephano is really Count Olaf and that he had killed Monty. Violet needs to create a lock pick so that she can get into Olaf's suitcase. Violet has to make one really quick so that no one catches her. She makes it out of a bent coat hanger, tape, and butter so that it will fit into the hole. She is a very witty girl and will do anything to keep her family safe from Count Olaf.
I think one of the themes in the book is once you see a criminal, call the police or tell an adult. When Stephano had arrived at Uncle Monty's house, he had stepped out of the taxi and bent over to grab his suitcases. Violet and Klaus had been watching nearby. When Stephano had bent over, his pant leg rose and Klaus and Violet could see a tattoo of an eye. Right away they realized that this wasn't a real assistant- but it was Count Olaf. Instead of them going and telling Monty that this was not a real assistant, they just stood there awestruck at what they had seen. They should have run straight to Uncle Monty to tell him that Stephano was really Count Olaf. Klaus also could have yelled at the taxi driver to tell him that he had dropped this man at the wrong address or that Stephano was a criminal. This happens in many sequels of books. The bad guy or villain returns and tries again to either kill the main character or to finish the job that he/she was trying to do before.
Another theme is don't trust anyone until you know them pretty well. Uncle Monty had just lost his first assistant, Gustav and had gotten a new assistant a few days after without meeting him in person. Uncle Monty had only talked to Stephano on the phone. For all Monty knew, Stephano could've been a serial killer. Stephano did turn out to be a killer. He had murdered Gustav the old assistant and Uncle Monty. Monty should've met Stephano in person before even considering giving the job of an assistant to him. If Uncle Monty had done this, then he would still be living. It is just the little things that can keep you alive. Monty should have cancelled the trip since he didn't have an assistant he knew very well. Instead he was killed in his own house by his assistant- Stephano. This I have not read in any other books- a man/woman putting on a disguise so that they will not be recognized as the criminals they are. There are many little things that Uncle Monty could have done differently that would have saved his life. These are just a couple themes from the book The Reptile Room.
