Edgar & Ellen-Tourist Trap

While waiting for my friend yesterday at 1 Utama, I thought about visiting the MPH bookstore. There were a lot of books to browse through however, if you were to compare to Kinokuniya Bookstore in KLCC, MPH would seem like a small magazine stand only. Most of the books there were wrapped in plastic wrappers which prohibited me from viewing the contents, so I just had to imagine what were the contents of the books by looking at the cover. I continued browsing for more books until the kid's section. It would be unusual for individuals around my age to browse for books from that section but on the other hand, I sometimes prefer reading stories written for kids and teenagers compared to the novels for adults. This is because it is easier to read and it is difficult to lose track in the stories compared to those novels or books written for the adult readers. I was browsing in the horror compartment of the kid's section as I thought about getting a slight spook when all of a sudden I came across a series of books by the title of Edgar & Ellen by Charles Ogden . Although it was under the horror section, the Gothic comical image of the cover made me thought that this book was cute instead of scary. Furthermore, the blurb of the book that had a mischievous plot and a dark sense of humor triggered my curiosity and interest for the book. Knowing that my friend would be late again, I took the opportunity to read the unwrapped copy of Edgar & Ellen while waiting for her. I was entertained by the humorous story which persuaded me to read further. I was halfway through the book until my friend came ( so you can imagine how late she is) and I thought it would be a waste not to purchase the book. Conversely, I ended up getting a copy of Edgar & Ellen.

Edgar & Ellen are are twins who leave on a 13 story house located at the southern part of Nod's Limbs ( a name of a town). They are woeful siblings whom prefer to stay in the dark and enjoy what the usual people dread of similar to Pugsley and Wednesday from the Adam's family. Unlike these 2 infamous characters from the Adam's Family, Edgar and Ellen were abandoned by their parents long time ago who hoaxed the twins into believing that they (the parents) are going on a long holiday trip. The twins have an animal that looks like a fur ball with a huge yellow eye in the center as a pet. They called this animal of theirs, Pet. Both Edgar & Ellen love playing pranks that usually come to the cost of the people of Nod's Limbs. Like most stories, the twins share a similar arch nemesis-- the Knightleigh family. The head of the Knightleigh family is the mayor of Nod's Limb, little is known about his first name therefore, he is only refer to the name Mayor Knightleigh in the story. Mayor Knightleigh has a daughter by the name of Stephanie. She is Ellen's mortal enemy and she is the popular kid in town who thinks she controls the world with her "sweetness" but is actually a snob who looks down on Ellen. Mayor Knightleigh has a wife called Judith and a younger son named Miles who respects the twins way unlike Stephanie. He also has this klutzy humorous intern named Bob who's very loyal. The Edgar & Ellen series are known to have a variety of characters that has his/her own distinct personality which make the series not only interesting but also unique.

In this second installment for the series, the twins who were happily salvaging for unused items in the nearby junkyard realized they weren't alone when the mayor and her daughter stopped by. While hiding behind a tower of worn out tires, Edgar and Ellen eavesdrop on the mayor and Stephanie's conversation. To the twins horror, the mayor plans to demolish the junkyard for his new hotel project. Seeing that the junkyard has been the twins' favorite playground and it is the home of their beloved carnivorous plant, Berenice, Edgar and Ellen must save the junkyard with whatever clever pranks they have or risk losing the junkyard to a grand looking hotel which they so disgust.

This is a book that you should consider buying if you thought about doing some easy reading or tickling your funny bones. If you haven't read the first book, don't worry, you won't get lost in any confusion or misunderstandings. Although there is several books in the Edgar and Ellen series that seem to go in order, they don't have to be read in order unlike the Harry Porter series. So if you happen to drop by MPH or any bookstore, keep in mind to look out for this book.