I wanted to like this book, mostly because of the unique format, which mixes text pages with graphic novel style pages and illustrated pages. But the art styles don't complement each other well -- the graphic novel pages are an anime style, as are some of the illustrated pages, while other illustrations are more realistic.

The story is a bit much, too. There are twins with the last name Dopple, whose friend bears the surname Ganger (get it?); there's a miserable orphanage, the previous matron of which mysteriously disapeared; there are 2 strangely missing parents (the Dopple mom and the Ganger dad); there's a strange house with strange rules and mysterious occurences; there's a ghost (or is she an "angel"?); there's a seance and a talking puppet; there's a deranged disgraced magician... It's just too much.

The blurbs compare the author to C.S. Lewis and the Harry Potter series, but this book, at least, doesn't have the intriguing fantasy or allegorical nature of Lewis's work, nor is it as richly detailed and developed as Rowling's Potter series. I don't see this series (as it's set to be a series) gaining anywhere near the following that Narnia or Potter have. ( )

I am always on the look out for suitable reading material for my four children. Especially for my tween daughter who is too young for teen fiction but yet too old to still enjoy childrens books. I found the illustrations very interesting and all the type fonts used made it visually intriqueing. I will admit that because I am not used to reading this type of book that changing between traditional writing to comic-book style writing took some getting used to. In fact I had to turn back several times to "read" the comic-book page because I skipped over it taking it merely as an illustration.

However, once I got the hang of how to read this I enjoyed the book and fast pace of this story. I do think the author skipped over character development in order to put more focus on the antics and trouble the characters were in. Because of this the reader does not really get to "know" the character. I do think that most children will like this because it moves from one action filled scene to the next.

Twins Sadie and Saski Dopple and their friend Eric Ganger are in constant conflict. There is action and mystery surrounding them the entire story. I did not care for some of the dark images and in fact when readig this to my youngers I skipped over those parts. This is said as a caution to parents who will most certainly want to read this prior to letting their children read this so that they can address these things.

My oldest daughter (a 4th grader) loved this book and is begging to read the others in the series. My oldest son (a 2nd grader) liked looking at the comic-book style pages, the different font styles and illustration but did not show much interest in reading the rest of the book. My youngers (age 3 and 4) enjoyed the story read to them because they also liked the illustrations.

Thank you Tyndale for this review copy ( )

The First Escape is the story of Saskia and Sadie Dopple, a set of fiery haired twins who have a temperament to match. The are living in a orphanage in England when Saskia is suddenly taken from Sadie and placed into an adoptive home. Sadie escapes from the orphanage with help from the school handyman (and lackey) Erik. Sadie and Erik find themselves drawn into the home of a man who claims to know Sadie's mother. (And he ends up being a nutcase murderer.) Saskia ends up with an old woman who owns a large house- and knows immediately something is very very wrong.The theme of this book is part graphic novel and part regular novel. I thought the combination of the two flowed seamlessly and really added to the over all character of the book. I was not a fan of the style of graphics, but they grew on me- they felt very Gothic. This book in itself was a very Gothic novel- it reminded me of a Series of Unfortunate Events. Although I felt that the plot seemed to jump around- I enjoyed this book for the novelty that it was.If you are interested in the Series of Unfortunate Events books- then I would recommend this book to you! ( )

This is the first book in the Dopple Ganger series by G.P. Taylor. The main characters are twins Saskia and Sadie Dopple and Erik Morrisey Ganger. They have been left at Isambard Dunstan’s School for Wayward Children. Sadie and Saskia are troublemakers with a capital T. They seem to be spurred on by Erik. The person in charge of the school, Miss Rimmer wants the girls gone. When Muzz Elliott, a famous novelist and benefactor to the school comes in with plans to adopt an heir, Miss Rimmer seizes her chance to get rid of one of the girls. Saskia is chosen and whisked away. Erik and Sadie run away to try to locate Saskia and rescue her. Saskia finds herself facing many challenges while living with Muzz Elliott. Saskia is comforted by someone named Madam Raphael who keeps telling her that she can call on “The Companion” when she needs help. The author has used Madame Raphael and the companion to bring a light Christian theme into the book. I was given the opportunity to review the second book for Tyndale and after doing so decided I needed to read book number one. I at first looked at this series because my students love graphic novels. I on the other hand don’t care for them. When I looked at these I found that they were a mixture of novel and graphics that balanced each other out quite nicely. I will definitely buy the physical book to add to my shelves and will recommend this to anyone who likes a good adventure and especially to those who love graphic novels. ( )

When Saskia Dopple is taken from her twin sister and the orphanage they have lived in; Isambard Dunstan’s School for Wayward Children; the sisters are angry and frightened. They have never been apart before. Now Saskia is living in a small room in a tall tower of a creepy house, while her sister Sadie and a former thief, Erik Morrissey Ganger, escape from the orphanage to try to rescue Saskia. Along the way they are chased by men and dogs, captured by a mad scientist type magician, and nearly drowned. And the adventure has just begun.

I personally did not like this book. I do not feel that the story is well written, though I think the story line has potential. It is too hard to keep up with what is happening along the way throughout the story. The story jumps around from person to person’s point of view, as well as jumping from action scene to action scene throughout. Several of the chapters or scenes could have been left out and I believe the story would have had a better flow to it. I had to give it 2.5 out of 5. I’m sure there are some who will enjoy this story, unfortunately I did not. ( )