The First Escape (The Dopple Ganger Chronicles)

An amazing new book is out for tweens and teens. "The Dopple Ganger Chronicles: The First Escape" is a harrowing tale of two girls that live in an orphanage. They are twins who like to cause a bit of trouble here and there but when a woman comes in who wants to adopt only one girl there is uproar and we get to see the tale unfold of Saskia and Sadie Dopple and their friend, Erik Morrissey Ganger, a former thief. Saskia gets adopted by a rich, but slightly strange woman. While we watch as Sadie and Erik escape the orphanage to find Saskia we also watch a tale unfold at the mysterious mansion that Saskia has been whisked off to. As Saskia stumbles on a plot that puts her life at risk and Erik and Sadie have a gang of enemies chasing them, the three all have to make decisions on who to trust and what to believe. The book is written well and has an interesting feature: it contains comic book illustrations of some of the action and adventure! This book will be interesting to both girls and boys because of that feature I think. I had my 10 year old daughter read it and she absolutely loved it. The comic book illustrations amused her and she called the book, "awesome and very exciting" and declared the illustrations to be "very cool." I enjoyed it as well, so I think that it is a great book for all ages even though it is aimed at youth.

The First Escape has been my introduction to the work of G.P. Taylor, and what an introduction it has been! Part novel, part graphic novel, part artwork, the first book in the Doppleganger Chronicles is the most unusual adventure story I've ever encountered. G.P. Taylor's story features a set of twin sisters, Sadie and Saskia Dopple, who have been abandoned by their mother to Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children. And wayward doesn't begin to describe this mischievous duo! From the very first pages, Sadie and Saskia are troublemakers with a capital T! Ms. Dunstan thinks she is doing herself a favor by allowing a mysterious wealthy contributor to the school to "adopt" Saskia. Separated for the first time, both twins discover that life apart from each other can indeed be treacherous! Sadie finds herself alone and threatened in Ms. Dunstan's school, while Saskia discovers that her new home is filled with many dark and dangerous secrets! Neither girl is sure what will become of them now that they have been separated from the other's presence. Erik Dopple is the only boy among the many girls at Ms. Dunstan's school, and he quickly befriends Sadie and convinces her to go in search of her sister. It turns out that their lives at the school are not entirely safe, and their escape turns into a treacherous chase! By the time they finally find Saskia's new "home" and locate her, all three of the children are up to their eyeballs in trouble of the worst kind! This is a most unusual tale, but I can certainly understand its appeal to children. The variety of print formats in the book are almost as exciting as the story itself! G.P. Taylor created this series specifically to appeal to "reluctant" readers, and so far he has seen great success! Here are a few words from G.P. Taylor about this project. I visit many schools each year for the promotion of reading. Due to these visits I found that we had a reading crisis with many children being reluctant readers. Teachers admit this is a big problem. I decided to do some research and found that children in years 5 to 9 found books that were mostly text, difficult to keep reading. They are the first of a visually stimulated society with pictures, colour and graphics playing an important part of their daily lives. Websites - computer games and the like have had a major effect on this. yet books are lagging behind - yes - we do have manga and comics - but they are not the same as chapter books. After much thought I developed a book that has combined all of these things and much more. It has text (to the reading level of my other books and equivalent to Pullman) as well as full page illustrations - word art - graphics and manga comic strip. Each page is black bordered to keep the childs eye on the page and to mimic a computer screen (to make it familiar). The pages are tinted cream so that children with reading difficulties find it easier to read. [...] So if it is adventure and suspense that you lik

The Dopple twins Sadie and Saskia and their friend Erik are three of the children who reside at Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children. Their normal day is far from normal on this particular day in question. Miss Rimmer, the ruler of the School for Wayward Children had had enough of the Dopple twins antics. When Muzz Elliott decides she wants to adopt a child she chooses one of the Dopple twins. Miss Rimmer is happy to be rid of one of these "trouble makers". Naturally the twins are beside themselves at the thought of being split up. The book is about their lives after being separated from each other and about the mysteries surrounding the School for Wayward Children and the happenings at Muzz Elliotts house. All is not what it seems to be as the twins, along with their faithful friend Erik, try to find each other. The artwork is fabulous and really makes reading the story interesting and unique. My daughter who is an artist found it to be quite clever how they switched from cartoon captions to printed words on the pages and the various ways some of the words were highlighted. This would be an excellent Christmas gift for your young teen/adult. It's the first in a series that I look forward to reading.

Internationally bestselling author G. P. Taylor has entered brand-new territory with his fresh and riveting "illustra-novella" featuring three orphans with enough spirit, spunk and sass to overcome just about any villain or criminal activity out there. Taylor, who is now world famous for his beloved novels SHADOWMANCER, THE SHADOWMANCER RETURNS, WORMWOOD and TERSIAS THE ORACLE, now offers his audience a new type of reading experience. The Dopple Ganger Chronicles, which is told alternately in graphic novel format and plain text with occasional illustrations, is intriguing, beguiling and keeps the pages turning almost by its engaging format alone. Yet Taylor's storyline is what will most grab and maintain his fans' attention. Like all his other works, THE FIRST ESCAPE is chock-full of amazing twists and turns that take readers by surprise with their adventurous impact and then equally subtle message of right/wrong and spirituality. Taylor opens this eye-appealing story with an eerie insider's peek into the dreary and sometimes dangerous life in Isambard Dunstan's School for Wayward Children. With a lightning blast thrown in for good measure, the scene is set for dark bodings of future events. Sadie and Saskia Dopple, identical twin inhabitants of this dreadful establishment, run the show, so to speak, over the other more compliant orphans. By wit and daring, these two sisters find novel ways of wreaking havoc upon the child-hating cook, Mrs. Omeron, and the headmistress, Miss Rimmer. When they can't stand the temptation any longer, the twins give in to fellow orphan-inmate Erik Morrissey Ganger, who challenges them to break the rules. Little do Sadie and Saskia realize that this will set in motion an entire train of events that will first separate them and then place them in grave danger. Enter the wealthy and eccentric writer Muzz Elliott, who arrives at the school and asks the girls to smile and open their mouths. One must go, while the other stays. Sadie chooses for her sister's sake, so Saskia is whisked away in Muzz's chauffer-driven car by Brummagem, the formerly faithful driver now turned traitor. Muzz's home is frightening at best, and Saskia is confronted with various otherworldly forces that try to influence her into compliance. Soon, Saskia is enmeshed in a murderous scheme in which she tries to escape from a number of evil characters attempting to find a missing inheritance and who will not stop at killing Saskia and Muzz to get at the treasure. While she is trying to stay alive, Sadie and Erik embark on their own adventure involving a completely different set of combatants. The two suddenly friends decide to trust one another. They make a run for it from the school and are chased down by police and a huge dog, and fall into the hands of a crazed illusionist and deranged madman. With some luck, Sadie and Erik get away from Potemkin and rush to the aid of Saskia. Once they get to Muzz's mansion, more creepy events and dangers ensue.

I have a 10 yrs old that really enjoyed this book. he even gave it to his good friend as a birthday gift.