I’ll be honest. I got this book exclusively based on the teaser quotes on the back cover: “The new C.S. Lewis” and “Hotter than Potter.” Wow! I thought.
The first book in The Doppleganger Chronicles, The First Escape (Tyndale Press, 2008) introduces us to the Dopple twins, Saskia and Sadie, who have been abandoned at Isambard Dunstan’s School for Wayward Children. Although their mother said she would return, the twins are now fourteen and she hasn’t returned. Still they have each other to rely on. That is, until the wealthy writer Muzz Elliott adopts Saskia . . . but not Sadie. As Sadie joins forces with Erik Morissey Ganger (janitor and former orphan himself) in a scheme to reunite with her sister, twin Saskie unwittingly becomes embroiled in a dangerous conspiracy plot. Soon all three are running for their lives.
The tone of this book has a retro-Victorian feel akin to Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events. However, this book is quite different in that it is illustrated like a graphic novel with Asian-inspired manga-style art. Tyndale Press calls these books “illustra-novellas–a new kind of book designed to enhance the reading experience for a visually oriented generation of kids, especially reluctant readers.” Think half novel, half comic book and you’ll have an idea of what this book is like.
British author G.P. Taylor is a former punk roadie turned Anglican minister. He’s also the New York Times best selling author of Shadowmancer. This “illustra-novella” is a different style book than you might be used to, but well worth reading.
