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York #1
The Shadow Cipher
It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before. Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher—a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.
Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment house—until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long-held by the people of New York. And if Tess, Theo and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.
Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment house—until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long-held by the people of New York. And if Tess, Theo and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.
496 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 16, 2017
527 people are currently reading
11793 people want to read
About the author
Laura Ruby
29 books805 followersRaised in the wilds of suburban New Jersey, Laura Ruby now lives in Chicago with her family. Her short fiction for adults has appeared in various literary magazines, including Other Voices, The Florida Review, Sycamore Review and Nimrod. A collection of these stories, I'M NOT JULIA ROBERTS, was published by Warner Books in January 2007. Called "hilarious and heart-wrenching" by People and "a knowing look at the costs and rewards of remaking a family," by the Hartford-Courant, the book was also featured in Redbook, Working Mother , and USA Today among others.
Ruby is also the author of the Edgar-nominated children's mystery LILY'S GHOSTS (8/03), the children's fantasy THE WALL AND THE WING (3/06) and a sequel, THE CHAOS KING (5/07) all from Harpercollins. She writes for older teens as well, and her debut young adult novel, GOOD GIRLS (9/06), also from Harpercollins, was a Book Sense Pick for fall 2006 and an ALA Quick Pick for 2007. A new young adult novel, PLAY ME, is slated for publication in fall of 2008. Her books have sold in England, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Serbia and Montenegro. THE WALL AND THE WING is currently in development with Laika Studios for release as an animated feature.
Ms. Ruby has been a featured speaker at BookExpo, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention, the Miami Book Festival, the Florida Association of Media Educators (FAME) convention, the Midwest Literary Festival, the International Reading Association's annual convention, and Illinois Reading Council annual conference, among other venues, and she has presented programs and workshops for both adults and children at numerous schools and libraries.
Currently, she is working on several thousand projects, drinking way too much coffee, and searching for new tunes for her iPod.
Ruby is also the author of the Edgar-nominated children's mystery LILY'S GHOSTS (8/03), the children's fantasy THE WALL AND THE WING (3/06) and a sequel, THE CHAOS KING (5/07) all from Harpercollins. She writes for older teens as well, and her debut young adult novel, GOOD GIRLS (9/06), also from Harpercollins, was a Book Sense Pick for fall 2006 and an ALA Quick Pick for 2007. A new young adult novel, PLAY ME, is slated for publication in fall of 2008. Her books have sold in England, Australia, Italy, France, Germany, Denmark, Serbia and Montenegro. THE WALL AND THE WING is currently in development with Laika Studios for release as an animated feature.
Ms. Ruby has been a featured speaker at BookExpo, the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) annual convention, the Miami Book Festival, the Florida Association of Media Educators (FAME) convention, the Midwest Literary Festival, the International Reading Association's annual convention, and Illinois Reading Council annual conference, among other venues, and she has presented programs and workshops for both adults and children at numerous schools and libraries.
Currently, she is working on several thousand projects, drinking way too much coffee, and searching for new tunes for her iPod.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,040 reviews
April 26, 2017
A wise bookseller friend of mine once said (and I’m paraphrasing here because she bloody tweets too often to locate the precise words), “If you work in a bookstore you are only allowed to invoke The Westing Game three times. The first time I did it for Greenglass House by Kate Milford. The second time will go to Laura Ruby’s York." Naturally a librarian reads something like that and their radar starts beeping like mad. A Westing Game invocation is no small matter. And as luck would have it I had a copy of Laura Ruby's very book on my shelf. Sorta. I mean, coming in at a whopping 448 pages I’d sort of assumed that it was YA. I was not without reason. Laura Ruby has written middle grade in the past but at this precise moment in time is probably better known for books like the National Book Award / Printz Award winning young adult novel The Bone Gap. It can also be unwise to have one’s own expectations raised so incredibly high when starting a new novel. They are inevitably going to be dashed
Imagine New York City in the early 19th century. Imagine what would have happened if it had been home to two genius twins. Twins capable of inventing mechanical creations that eliminated waste, used special glass to harness the sun’s energy, and more. Twins who remade the city in their image and created a code in its very streets. Find the code and a treasure is yours. Simple, right? Only no one ever solved it. Now it is modern day and two different twins and a friend in their beloved building have discovered that a greedy real estate developer has bought their home and is mere months away from kicking them out. All seems lost until a mysterious letter arrives. It appears that while the Morningstar twins of long ago did create a cipher for the city to solve, there may have been more than one line of clues to follow. Using their brains, their feet, and more than a little bravery, the three kids set out to solve the mystery and save their building. Yet as they do they come to an unnerving realization. This isn’t just the city that never sleeps. It’s a city that takes pleasure in watching YOU sleep.
Laura Ruby, the author, does not live in New York City. I knew this going into the book. I, on the other hand, lived there for eleven years so I’m very attuned to writers getting that city wrong in their fiction. For example, I once read an otherwise admirable middle grade mystery serious where three of the scenes in the book took place in alleyways in Museum Mile. Do I need to tell you that NYC has no alleys and, even if we did, they certainly wouldn’t be on Museum Mile? And one could argue that since Ms. Ruby is dealing with an alternate world Manhattan (the book is primarily set in Manhattan, though there is a very amusing glimpse of Brooklyn in one of the scenes) that she needn’t be so tied to the reality of the city. One could argue that, and one would be wrong. As far as I’m concerned you do the city then you do the research. So I picked up this book and within, I’m gonna say, three chapters I was convinced that Ms. Ruby must have a second secret life in the heart of the Big Apple that she’s let no one know about. Accurate to the city? Baby, you don’t even know the half of it. Okay, here’s just how well Ms. Ruby captures NYC: In one scene our characters are having a discussion when in walks my own kids’ former preschool, Sunshine Daycare. It’s THAT on the nose with the details. Snafus are of the tiny variety. For example, the A train does appear in this story to be an elevated stop at 116th Street when, in fact, that’s actually the 1 train, but I’ll let it lie. And reading this book I was both floored and suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia. I may not have encountered rollers and Guildmen in my time there, but this is so clearly a love letter to a city I adore that it’s bound to accrue new fans in its travels. After all, it may involve mechanical cleaning caterpillars but this New York also finds the notion of peas in guacamole a crime against mankind. As is right.
Interestingly, this alternate world does retain a fair number of pop culture references. So you’ll see mentions of Spider-Man, Legos, Godzilla, etc. I appreciated this. For whatever reason it drives me batty when authors make up fake names for video games or comic book characters. Ms. Ruby even works in a couple Hamilton references, with a mention of Hercules Mulligan and Eliza Hamilton’s life and achievements. There is the occasional made up thing. Angry Bots instead of Angry Birds, for example. And for some reason there are multiple references to The Matrix though it’s never directly named. Still, all told for the most part the book keeps you grounded in reality.
Jokes. No one ever praises jokes enough. Be serious all you want but a good joke can be worth its weight in gold. Laura Ruby puts a wide array of them in this book. There are the subtle ones that make a comment on our own New York by praising this hypothetical one (example: “… and they could watch for schools of fish darting through the clear blue water of the Hudson”). And like a lot of my favorite children’s fiction, it has jokes that are going to lead to kids looking up further information, just so that they can stay in the know. For example, at one point a kindly therapist asks why Tess draws crows over her heads when she sketches and her reply is, “That’s not a crown… That’s a nimbus of outrage.” My favorite, however, may be Theo’s shirt that says “Schrodinger’s cat is dead” on the front and then a zombie cat on the back with the line, “Schrodinger’s cat is ALIIIIIIVE.” I will be seeking this t-shirt out to buy presently. And for the record, I’m pretty sure there are a lot of references in this book I wasn’t getting. One of the cipherists met in the book is named Omar Khayyam. In light of that I’m fairly certain that Ray Turnage, Adrian Birch, and Imogen Sparks also have meanings worth discovering.
Of course making it funny is all well and good, and you could have a whole novel built on the excitement of the premise alone. Still, when you meet an author that isn’t afraid to delve a little deeper and say something about humanity in a children’s book, that’s pretty neat. As a result, I took note of a lot of really insightful lines peppered throughout the chapters. Things like, “The biggest problem we have is that people like to fool themselves into thinking that they could never be fooled.” Or someone feeling a sense of relief and, “letting out a rush of breath that felt like the pulling of a splinter.” And for some reason I was really moved by a character with dementia hugging an animal and crying for their dog. When told they never had a dog they respond, “I miss the dog I never had.”
Now let’s talk about how you set up a mystery novel for kids. There are two ways to go about it. I call the two options The Agatha Christie and The Chasing Vermeer. The Agatha Christie model is the hardest to pull off. You give your readers all the facts, lay them out plain and clear, and let them solve the mystery alongside you. When done well this engages the reader and makes them complicit in the solution. Instant audience identification! Brilliant! Then you have The Chasing Vermeer method. Now the book Chasing Vermeer was very popular with kids, so you can’t knock it on that account. It was, however, a book where the mystery and solution was based entirely on coincidences. That’s a frustrating way to set up a novel, and The Shadow Cipher isn’t entirely innocent of this methodology. Early on we learn that as you solve the cipher it solves you. Well that’s awfully convenient. It allows for all kinds of coincidences to occur, from finding the right letter at the right time to solving a part of the cipher mere days before the proposed destruction of the characters’ beloved home. Yet for all that, you get the feeling that Ms. Ruby is playing pretty fair with you. Kids will feel pleased to figure out that a mechanical moth is responsible for the partial blackout in town. They may realize what the twins are doing running around keeping track of the position of one star or another in their building. As a result this book is sort of a combination of the best elements of The Agatha Christie and Chasing Vermeer methods put together. I could have done with less coincidences, but at least they’re interstitial.
Creating alternate Americas is not a job for the lazy. I’ve seen it done well in children’s books and I’ve seen it done magnificently catastrophically poorly. Take, for example, the case of The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede, or, as it was known during its publication, “Mammothgate”. In 2009 author Wrede wanted to write a story of an alternate U.S. where magic existed and there had never been a Land Bridge to the North American continent. To avoid pesky racial politics the author had simply erased the Land Bridge and said that there weren’t any Native Americans at all in her fantasy world. Sticky racial politics gone, right? But exchanging mammoths for American Indians (hence the term “Mammothgate”) even in a fantasy is little more than a quick erasing of an entire race simply because they’re inconvenient to your plot. Since the brouhaha that erupted from those choices other authors have tread more carefully. Matthew Kirby in The Lost Kingdom incorporated American Indians into much of his plot (even as he reduced female protagonists to mere fainting females). And here, Laura Ruby could have ignored Native Americans entirely. Or, she could have kept their history identical to that of the real America. Instead, Ruby makes the choice to give them different outcomes. At one point in the background we see an Embassy of the Five Hundred Nations, “flying the colorful flags of First Nations from the Abenaki to the Comanche, Pawnee to the Sioux.” We see Native teens dropping lyrics on the street. Later a mention is made of a fictional superhero named “Super Indian” which, quite frankly, doesn’t exactly sound all that different from the real world Apache Chief. It reminds me of the old Harvey Birdman show where Black Lightning is complaining to Aquaman about his name. When Aquaman doesn’t get the problem Black Lightning says, “How would you like it if I called you White Fish?” Same diff.
As odd as it may seem, the book that this reminded me of the most wasn’t the aforementioned Westing Game or Greenglass House but rather The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. In both cases you have kids encountering old technology with a secret locked inside, just waiting to be revealed. You also have cases where the villain is almost just as much circumstances as it is a big bad guy. I don’t think I’m spoiling much to tell you that the real estate developer with the bad hair who only dates models and is buying up much of NYC (and has five letters in his name, and, and, and…) never makes a physical appearance on these pages. Not this time around. I suspect as the years go by and these books continue to be published we will find ourselves hoping against hope for him to be defeated in a particularly satisfying manner.
Greatest Objection to This Book: No libraries. I shall expect this problem to be rectified in future installments. Ditto trips to Staten Island, Queens, and the poor much ignored Bronx. I have a dream that someday someone will set a mystery or fantasy in the Bronx and at long last that borough shall have its due.
It is one thing to want to write a scavenger hunt. It another thing to set that hunt in a world so like and unalike our own. And when you go even further and pepper your story’s inherent excitement with eloquence, your final product doesn’t shine. It glows from within. The Shadow Cipher glows. Oh sure, I would have changed stuff here and there, but on the whole the book is strong, sturdy and for all that it’s over 400 pages it’s pretty unputdownable. It won’t matter if a kid knows Manhattan like the back of their hand or has never even seen 5th Avenue firsthand. The city today is just like the city in this book. It’s a puzzle, and every person that visits it attempts to solve that puzzle for themselves. I don’t know what the future holds for future installments of this series, but I do know that NYC should hire Ms. Ruby as their current publicist. A graceful paean to the best of Manhattan, and a shocking, gripping, nail-biting, intriguing mystery for fans of codes, ciphers, puzzles, and treasure.
For ages 9-14.
Imagine New York City in the early 19th century. Imagine what would have happened if it had been home to two genius twins. Twins capable of inventing mechanical creations that eliminated waste, used special glass to harness the sun’s energy, and more. Twins who remade the city in their image and created a code in its very streets. Find the code and a treasure is yours. Simple, right? Only no one ever solved it. Now it is modern day and two different twins and a friend in their beloved building have discovered that a greedy real estate developer has bought their home and is mere months away from kicking them out. All seems lost until a mysterious letter arrives. It appears that while the Morningstar twins of long ago did create a cipher for the city to solve, there may have been more than one line of clues to follow. Using their brains, their feet, and more than a little bravery, the three kids set out to solve the mystery and save their building. Yet as they do they come to an unnerving realization. This isn’t just the city that never sleeps. It’s a city that takes pleasure in watching YOU sleep.
Laura Ruby, the author, does not live in New York City. I knew this going into the book. I, on the other hand, lived there for eleven years so I’m very attuned to writers getting that city wrong in their fiction. For example, I once read an otherwise admirable middle grade mystery serious where three of the scenes in the book took place in alleyways in Museum Mile. Do I need to tell you that NYC has no alleys and, even if we did, they certainly wouldn’t be on Museum Mile? And one could argue that since Ms. Ruby is dealing with an alternate world Manhattan (the book is primarily set in Manhattan, though there is a very amusing glimpse of Brooklyn in one of the scenes) that she needn’t be so tied to the reality of the city. One could argue that, and one would be wrong. As far as I’m concerned you do the city then you do the research. So I picked up this book and within, I’m gonna say, three chapters I was convinced that Ms. Ruby must have a second secret life in the heart of the Big Apple that she’s let no one know about. Accurate to the city? Baby, you don’t even know the half of it. Okay, here’s just how well Ms. Ruby captures NYC: In one scene our characters are having a discussion when in walks my own kids’ former preschool, Sunshine Daycare. It’s THAT on the nose with the details. Snafus are of the tiny variety. For example, the A train does appear in this story to be an elevated stop at 116th Street when, in fact, that’s actually the 1 train, but I’ll let it lie. And reading this book I was both floored and suddenly hit with a wave of nostalgia. I may not have encountered rollers and Guildmen in my time there, but this is so clearly a love letter to a city I adore that it’s bound to accrue new fans in its travels. After all, it may involve mechanical cleaning caterpillars but this New York also finds the notion of peas in guacamole a crime against mankind. As is right.
Interestingly, this alternate world does retain a fair number of pop culture references. So you’ll see mentions of Spider-Man, Legos, Godzilla, etc. I appreciated this. For whatever reason it drives me batty when authors make up fake names for video games or comic book characters. Ms. Ruby even works in a couple Hamilton references, with a mention of Hercules Mulligan and Eliza Hamilton’s life and achievements. There is the occasional made up thing. Angry Bots instead of Angry Birds, for example. And for some reason there are multiple references to The Matrix though it’s never directly named. Still, all told for the most part the book keeps you grounded in reality.
Jokes. No one ever praises jokes enough. Be serious all you want but a good joke can be worth its weight in gold. Laura Ruby puts a wide array of them in this book. There are the subtle ones that make a comment on our own New York by praising this hypothetical one (example: “… and they could watch for schools of fish darting through the clear blue water of the Hudson”). And like a lot of my favorite children’s fiction, it has jokes that are going to lead to kids looking up further information, just so that they can stay in the know. For example, at one point a kindly therapist asks why Tess draws crows over her heads when she sketches and her reply is, “That’s not a crown… That’s a nimbus of outrage.” My favorite, however, may be Theo’s shirt that says “Schrodinger’s cat is dead” on the front and then a zombie cat on the back with the line, “Schrodinger’s cat is ALIIIIIIVE.” I will be seeking this t-shirt out to buy presently. And for the record, I’m pretty sure there are a lot of references in this book I wasn’t getting. One of the cipherists met in the book is named Omar Khayyam. In light of that I’m fairly certain that Ray Turnage, Adrian Birch, and Imogen Sparks also have meanings worth discovering.
Of course making it funny is all well and good, and you could have a whole novel built on the excitement of the premise alone. Still, when you meet an author that isn’t afraid to delve a little deeper and say something about humanity in a children’s book, that’s pretty neat. As a result, I took note of a lot of really insightful lines peppered throughout the chapters. Things like, “The biggest problem we have is that people like to fool themselves into thinking that they could never be fooled.” Or someone feeling a sense of relief and, “letting out a rush of breath that felt like the pulling of a splinter.” And for some reason I was really moved by a character with dementia hugging an animal and crying for their dog. When told they never had a dog they respond, “I miss the dog I never had.”
Now let’s talk about how you set up a mystery novel for kids. There are two ways to go about it. I call the two options The Agatha Christie and The Chasing Vermeer. The Agatha Christie model is the hardest to pull off. You give your readers all the facts, lay them out plain and clear, and let them solve the mystery alongside you. When done well this engages the reader and makes them complicit in the solution. Instant audience identification! Brilliant! Then you have The Chasing Vermeer method. Now the book Chasing Vermeer was very popular with kids, so you can’t knock it on that account. It was, however, a book where the mystery and solution was based entirely on coincidences. That’s a frustrating way to set up a novel, and The Shadow Cipher isn’t entirely innocent of this methodology. Early on we learn that as you solve the cipher it solves you. Well that’s awfully convenient. It allows for all kinds of coincidences to occur, from finding the right letter at the right time to solving a part of the cipher mere days before the proposed destruction of the characters’ beloved home. Yet for all that, you get the feeling that Ms. Ruby is playing pretty fair with you. Kids will feel pleased to figure out that a mechanical moth is responsible for the partial blackout in town. They may realize what the twins are doing running around keeping track of the position of one star or another in their building. As a result this book is sort of a combination of the best elements of The Agatha Christie and Chasing Vermeer methods put together. I could have done with less coincidences, but at least they’re interstitial.
Creating alternate Americas is not a job for the lazy. I’ve seen it done well in children’s books and I’ve seen it done magnificently catastrophically poorly. Take, for example, the case of The Thirteenth Child by Patricia Wrede, or, as it was known during its publication, “Mammothgate”. In 2009 author Wrede wanted to write a story of an alternate U.S. where magic existed and there had never been a Land Bridge to the North American continent. To avoid pesky racial politics the author had simply erased the Land Bridge and said that there weren’t any Native Americans at all in her fantasy world. Sticky racial politics gone, right? But exchanging mammoths for American Indians (hence the term “Mammothgate”) even in a fantasy is little more than a quick erasing of an entire race simply because they’re inconvenient to your plot. Since the brouhaha that erupted from those choices other authors have tread more carefully. Matthew Kirby in The Lost Kingdom incorporated American Indians into much of his plot (even as he reduced female protagonists to mere fainting females). And here, Laura Ruby could have ignored Native Americans entirely. Or, she could have kept their history identical to that of the real America. Instead, Ruby makes the choice to give them different outcomes. At one point in the background we see an Embassy of the Five Hundred Nations, “flying the colorful flags of First Nations from the Abenaki to the Comanche, Pawnee to the Sioux.” We see Native teens dropping lyrics on the street. Later a mention is made of a fictional superhero named “Super Indian” which, quite frankly, doesn’t exactly sound all that different from the real world Apache Chief. It reminds me of the old Harvey Birdman show where Black Lightning is complaining to Aquaman about his name. When Aquaman doesn’t get the problem Black Lightning says, “How would you like it if I called you White Fish?” Same diff.
As odd as it may seem, the book that this reminded me of the most wasn’t the aforementioned Westing Game or Greenglass House but rather The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick. In both cases you have kids encountering old technology with a secret locked inside, just waiting to be revealed. You also have cases where the villain is almost just as much circumstances as it is a big bad guy. I don’t think I’m spoiling much to tell you that the real estate developer with the bad hair who only dates models and is buying up much of NYC (and has five letters in his name, and, and, and…) never makes a physical appearance on these pages. Not this time around. I suspect as the years go by and these books continue to be published we will find ourselves hoping against hope for him to be defeated in a particularly satisfying manner.
Greatest Objection to This Book: No libraries. I shall expect this problem to be rectified in future installments. Ditto trips to Staten Island, Queens, and the poor much ignored Bronx. I have a dream that someday someone will set a mystery or fantasy in the Bronx and at long last that borough shall have its due.
It is one thing to want to write a scavenger hunt. It another thing to set that hunt in a world so like and unalike our own. And when you go even further and pepper your story’s inherent excitement with eloquence, your final product doesn’t shine. It glows from within. The Shadow Cipher glows. Oh sure, I would have changed stuff here and there, but on the whole the book is strong, sturdy and for all that it’s over 400 pages it’s pretty unputdownable. It won’t matter if a kid knows Manhattan like the back of their hand or has never even seen 5th Avenue firsthand. The city today is just like the city in this book. It’s a puzzle, and every person that visits it attempts to solve that puzzle for themselves. I don’t know what the future holds for future installments of this series, but I do know that NYC should hire Ms. Ruby as their current publicist. A graceful paean to the best of Manhattan, and a shocking, gripping, nail-biting, intriguing mystery for fans of codes, ciphers, puzzles, and treasure.
For ages 9-14.
August 10, 2017
This was so so so so so good! The pacing overall was pretty slow, but the story was so interesting that I didn't have any problems with it! Middle grade meets National Treasure: ITS ALL I'VE EVER WANTED!
And THERE ARE GOING TO BE MORE BOOKS? So so SO pumped.
And THERE ARE GOING TO BE MORE BOOKS? So so SO pumped.
July 10, 2017
This book was a pretty fun adventure. I loved that Laura Ruby put in a lot of little facts about New York with a combination of fantasy and made up stuff also. It made for a good read with three very likeable three main characters.
September 1, 2022
Mmmmm. The Shadow Cipher wasn't BAD per se, but I definitely expected more going into it and I ended it feeling a bit disappointed. 😬😬☹☹
“The true story of any city is never a single tale; it’s a vast collection of stories with many different heroes. But most storytellers believe that theirs is the only true story and that they are the only true heroes.”
'York: The Shadow Cipher' focuses on New York City, except in some kind of alternative reality where it was created by these genius inventors called the Morningstarr Twins. Although they left behind loads of cool machines and buildings, the disappearance of the Morningstarrs shortly after creating New York was very unsettling. They left behind a cipher now known as the 'Old York Cipher' which has gone unsolved for 150+ years. But now, in order to save their apartment, twins Theo and Tess team up with their friend Jaime to try and solve the cipher once and for all.
This book sounded right up my alley, appearing to be a mix of historical fiction and mystery, and I went in with much enthusiasm, which slowly died throughout the course of the book. Although it DID give me both a mystery and some historical fiction vibes, it just felt a bit... underwhelming.
Let me start with what I liked. I must say, the writing style WAS nice- it had a cool historical feel that definitely suited the book. The bits of worldbuilding interspersed throughout the story were cool too and I liked getting to know about all the Morningstarrs' wacky inventions. I did also enjoy the mystery (MOST of the time), as it was interesting once it got started.
Now, onto the things I DIDN'T like. I think one of the things that bothered me throughout the story was the characters. In the first 100-200 pages, Tess REALLY got on my nerves- I'm not sure why, there's no real logical reasoning for this, but she irritated me sm honestly. She did get a bit better as the story progressed, but if I'm being honest, she and the other characters never really got a personality. Theo, Tess and Jaime (the 3 MCs) were practically indistinguishable. I kept having to flip to the start of the chapter I was reading to see whose perspective I was reading through because I could never tell. This just irked me a LOT 🙈🙈
I also was not a fan of the pacing. It took me sooo long to read the first 200 pages because it was SO. FREAKING. SLOWWW. I was honestly so bored at the beginning and was even considering DNF'ing- which is never a good sign. Thankfully, it did get better once I made it past the halfway point but I still think this book was way longer than it should've been. Like, if this book had been 350-400 pages instead of 500, with a faster beginning, I would've enjoyed a whole lot more.
Also, this is a very minor thing but it still irritated me. I felt like quite a few things about the book were just unrealistic. Like, every clue Tess, Theo and Jaime solved was often purely by chance and then they would just CONVIENANTLY be able to do whatever the clue told them to. Like, (⚠️ and this is a mild spoiler, so just skip this paragraph if you don't wanna be spoiled ⚠️), they figured out they needed to look at the city from above to see the pattern of the blackouts or whatever, and they just HAPPENED to know someone who had an airship. Like ??? And then when they went to some asylum, they just RANDOMLY found a book from hundreds of years ago. Is it just me or that a bit TOO conveniant??
“They think they're the only ones who understand the real truth about the world, and that it's everyone else who's been tricked. . . . The biggest problem we have is that people like to fool themselves into thinking that they could never be fooled.”
Overall, I didn't hate this and there were some things I enjoyed, but it was a bit underwhelming in the end. The ending definitely hints at more to come, but I have zero interest in reading the sequel at this point. Like, it was just meh 🤷♀️🤷♀️😑😑
~ 3 stars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mehh. Definitely wasn't as good as I thought it would be ☹☹ RTC.
“The true story of any city is never a single tale; it’s a vast collection of stories with many different heroes. But most storytellers believe that theirs is the only true story and that they are the only true heroes.”
'York: The Shadow Cipher' focuses on New York City, except in some kind of alternative reality where it was created by these genius inventors called the Morningstarr Twins. Although they left behind loads of cool machines and buildings, the disappearance of the Morningstarrs shortly after creating New York was very unsettling. They left behind a cipher now known as the 'Old York Cipher' which has gone unsolved for 150+ years. But now, in order to save their apartment, twins Theo and Tess team up with their friend Jaime to try and solve the cipher once and for all.
This book sounded right up my alley, appearing to be a mix of historical fiction and mystery, and I went in with much enthusiasm, which slowly died throughout the course of the book. Although it DID give me both a mystery and some historical fiction vibes, it just felt a bit... underwhelming.
Let me start with what I liked. I must say, the writing style WAS nice- it had a cool historical feel that definitely suited the book. The bits of worldbuilding interspersed throughout the story were cool too and I liked getting to know about all the Morningstarrs' wacky inventions. I did also enjoy the mystery (MOST of the time), as it was interesting once it got started.
Now, onto the things I DIDN'T like. I think one of the things that bothered me throughout the story was the characters. In the first 100-200 pages, Tess REALLY got on my nerves- I'm not sure why, there's no real logical reasoning for this, but she irritated me sm honestly. She did get a bit better as the story progressed, but if I'm being honest, she and the other characters never really got a personality. Theo, Tess and Jaime (the 3 MCs) were practically indistinguishable. I kept having to flip to the start of the chapter I was reading to see whose perspective I was reading through because I could never tell. This just irked me a LOT 🙈🙈
I also was not a fan of the pacing. It took me sooo long to read the first 200 pages because it was SO. FREAKING. SLOWWW. I was honestly so bored at the beginning and was even considering DNF'ing- which is never a good sign. Thankfully, it did get better once I made it past the halfway point but I still think this book was way longer than it should've been. Like, if this book had been 350-400 pages instead of 500, with a faster beginning, I would've enjoyed a whole lot more.
Also, this is a very minor thing but it still irritated me. I felt like quite a few things about the book were just unrealistic. Like, every clue Tess, Theo and Jaime solved was often purely by chance and then they would just CONVIENANTLY be able to do whatever the clue told them to. Like, (⚠️ and this is a mild spoiler, so just skip this paragraph if you don't wanna be spoiled ⚠️), they figured out they needed to look at the city from above to see the pattern of the blackouts or whatever, and they just HAPPENED to know someone who had an airship. Like ??? And then when they went to some asylum, they just RANDOMLY found a book from hundreds of years ago. Is it just me or that a bit TOO conveniant??
“They think they're the only ones who understand the real truth about the world, and that it's everyone else who's been tricked. . . . The biggest problem we have is that people like to fool themselves into thinking that they could never be fooled.”
Overall, I didn't hate this and there were some things I enjoyed, but it was a bit underwhelming in the end. The ending definitely hints at more to come, but I have zero interest in reading the sequel at this point. Like, it was just meh 🤷♀️🤷♀️😑😑
~ 3 stars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mehh. Definitely wasn't as good as I thought it would be ☹☹ RTC.
May 23, 2017
The Shadow Cipher was just… meh. I went into this expecting the National Treasure-like puzzle hunt the synopsis promised - which is one of my all-time favourite tropes, just FYI - but I was completely underwhelmed. It did not tap into its potential. At all! The plot left me desperately wanting more… but not in a good way. The puzzles and ciphers were not nearly as exciting as I would have hoped. The story lacked urgency, drive, something to really pull me into the story and never want to leave. I think this may have been because the world-building was so vague. I was confused what time period this story was meant to be set in? Obviously, it is some sort of alternate New York but how futuristic was it? There was new technology but some of it was more magical than machinery. I desperately wanted more details about all of this and I found the story was not captivating enough to distract me searching for these details. If I was more inclined, I could have put this book down and never picked it up again. I was just not that curious about the cipher’s solution and I should have been. I wanted to be that engaged.
Another massive problem for me was that the characters were so mild. I didn’t connect to any of the protagonists. It was not that they were unlikable, they were just… nothing special. They did not stand out. They just didn’t have much of a presence in the story, you know? Does that even make sense? I guess I am trying to say that they did not make an impression on me in the slightest; even as I was reading, I kept forgetting whose perspective I was reading from. They did not have clear, distinctive voices. I felt very distant from them. I did really appreciate that Ruby refrained from ‘dumbing them down’ - which happens more often in MG than you’d think. The effortless diversity was also nice (one of the MCs was Cuban). I was a little confused if Tess was meant to have anxiety or not, though. It is mentioned that she has ‘spells’ and her habit of catastrophizing situations is a major part of her characterisation. I guess I would have liked it to be a little clearer? I do need to say that I was completely rooting for Jamie’s grandmother. Go her for defying gender and age stereotypes and completely owning it!
Overall?
The Shadow Cipher was underwhelming. It had a fantastic premise but I felt that the world was not as developed as it could've been. The plot had its moment but ultimately failed to capture that urgency that a puzzle hunt needs to engage its reader. Maybe I have just read too many good ones now that I have raised the bar too high? Either way, I wish I had loved this one more than I did. I’ll definitely try the sequel because this had a cruel cliffhanger but I don’t have high hopes.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
Another massive problem for me was that the characters were so mild. I didn’t connect to any of the protagonists. It was not that they were unlikable, they were just… nothing special. They did not stand out. They just didn’t have much of a presence in the story, you know? Does that even make sense? I guess I am trying to say that they did not make an impression on me in the slightest; even as I was reading, I kept forgetting whose perspective I was reading from. They did not have clear, distinctive voices. I felt very distant from them. I did really appreciate that Ruby refrained from ‘dumbing them down’ - which happens more often in MG than you’d think. The effortless diversity was also nice (one of the MCs was Cuban). I was a little confused if Tess was meant to have anxiety or not, though. It is mentioned that she has ‘spells’ and her habit of catastrophizing situations is a major part of her characterisation. I guess I would have liked it to be a little clearer? I do need to say that I was completely rooting for Jamie’s grandmother. Go her for defying gender and age stereotypes and completely owning it!
Overall?
The Shadow Cipher was underwhelming. It had a fantastic premise but I felt that the world was not as developed as it could've been. The plot had its moment but ultimately failed to capture that urgency that a puzzle hunt needs to engage its reader. Maybe I have just read too many good ones now that I have raised the bar too high? Either way, I wish I had loved this one more than I did. I’ll definitely try the sequel because this had a cruel cliffhanger but I don’t have high hopes.
Review copy provided by the publisher for an honest review.
June 28, 2017
I'm not the sort of person who refers to books at "tales" or calls myself (or other authors) a "storyteller." I'm a writer. You're a writer. We're writers. Authors or writers.
Except for Laura Ruby. Nope, she's a storyteller. This is a wonderful story, unlike anything you've seen before, and she's telling it to you. I feel the same way about her wonderful, award-winning BONE GAP. Years later I still remember that story. Not the words. The story. This is the same. I don't really remember the words of this, but I can feel and imagine the story of this book.
It's wonderful. It's mysterious. It's adventurous. It's funny. It's scary. Just like any good story, told by a skilled storyteller.
Except for Laura Ruby. Nope, she's a storyteller. This is a wonderful story, unlike anything you've seen before, and she's telling it to you. I feel the same way about her wonderful, award-winning BONE GAP. Years later I still remember that story. Not the words. The story. This is the same. I don't really remember the words of this, but I can feel and imagine the story of this book.
It's wonderful. It's mysterious. It's adventurous. It's funny. It's scary. Just like any good story, told by a skilled storyteller.
March 2, 2019
I had never even heard of this book before, but I won the sequel through a giveaway and wanted to read this one first to better understand the one that I won. And I am glad that I did!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Awesome book! I actually really enjoyed reading this! Even though it is a young adult book, which I typically stay away from, it was a nice and appreciated change of pace from my normal reading! The characters really came to life in this! I listened to the audiobook version because it was all I had access to at the time. The narrator was wonderful and really brought out the personality in each character! That doesn’t always happen, so that is a great trait to have! 👍🏻
Now I am off to start the sequel... 😃 😊
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Awesome book! I actually really enjoyed reading this! Even though it is a young adult book, which I typically stay away from, it was a nice and appreciated change of pace from my normal reading! The characters really came to life in this! I listened to the audiobook version because it was all I had access to at the time. The narrator was wonderful and really brought out the personality in each character! That doesn’t always happen, so that is a great trait to have! 👍🏻
Now I am off to start the sequel... 😃 😊
March 4, 2018
Aufgrund des Klappentextes hätte ich nie erahnt, was für ein Feuerwerk an Ereignissen und Wortwitz mich erwartet…
Die Handlung spielt in einem fiktiven New York unserer Zeit. Da im 19. Jahrhundert die genialen Erfinder Theresa und Theodore Morningstar New York bereits sehr technologisiert hatten finden sich im heutigen York eine mysteriöse Underway Bahn, Tiere aus abenteuerlichen Kreutzungen und Roboter die das Leben angenehmer gestalten (Ich will auch einen Lancelot!!!)
Jedoch nicht jeder weiß das Erbe der Morningstar Zwillinge zu schätzen. Der skrupellose Darnell Slant kauft alle alten Morningstar Gebäude systematisch auf um sie dem Erdboden gleich zu machen…
…so auch das Gebäude Nr. 354 West 73. Straße. Ist es ein Zufall, dass im alten Zuhause der Morningstars nun eine Familie wohnt, deren 12 jährige Zwillinge dieselben Vornamen haben wie Theodore und Theresa Morningstar? Und was hat es mit der mysteriösen Erbin der Morningstars – Miss Ava Oneal – auf sich, von der kein einziges Foto überliefert ist? Auch kann es kein Zufall sein, dass genau an dem Tag, als die Bewohner des Hauses 354 West 73. Straße den Räumungs-Beschluss zugestellt bekommen, ein Brief in die Hände von Tess und Theo gelangt, der darauf hin deutet, dass es hinter dem Code den die Menschen von York seit Jahrzehnten versuchen zu knacken einen weiteren Code gibt – einen Schattencode, der sie womöglich zu dem großen Schatz der Morningstars führt und die Rettung ihres Zuhauses bedeuten könnte.
Theo – ist Pedant. Ein Mathegenie. Und er liebt Lego. Was er nicht liebt sind Veränderungen wie die, dass er womöglich bald seine Lego-Nachbildung des Towers wo anders aufbauen musss.
„Viele Leute lesen nicht gern“, gab Jamie zu bedenken. „warum nicht?“, fragte Theo.
Tess – ist das komplette Gegenteil ihres rationellen Zwillingsbruders – leidenschaftlich, impulsiv und mit einem leichten Hang zum Drama. Für sie bedeutet es den Weltuntergang schlechthin das fast schon lebendig anmutende Gebäude verlassen zu müssen und vielleicht sogar ganz aus der Stadt weg ziehen zu müssen.
„Ich finde es interessant, dass du dich immer selbst mit dieser kleinen goldenen Krone auf dem Kopf zeichnest.“ (…) „Das ist keine Krone“, hatte sie ihm erklärt. „Das ist ein Kranz der Empörung!“
Zusammen bilden sie eine Einheit, die nur ganz schwer von Außenstehenden zu durchdringen ist. Sie ergänzen sich in ihren Eigenheiten. Sogar ihre eigene Geheimsprache haben sie entwickelt. Das ist auch der Grund, warum Jamie, der genauso alt ist wie Jess und Theo noch nie was mit ihnen am Hut hatte.
„Wenn man Euch zuhört, ist das manchmal, als ob man merkwürdiger ausländischer Musik lauscht“ warf Jamie ein. „Neu und interessant, aber nichts wozu jeder tanzen kann.“
Jamie – ist Künstler. Er hat ein einzigartiges Gedächtnis und versteht es mit wenigen Strichen eine Szene perfekt einzufangen. Am allerliebsten zeichnet er Superhelden. Er will seinen einen Superhelden erfinden – doch zunächst will er auch sein Zuhause – und damit die Arbeitssstelle seiner Grandma, die Hausmeisterin in 354 West 73. Straße ist -vor der Abrißbirne retten.
Gemeinsam mit der Hybrid-Katze Nine Eighty-Seven (der sicher in einem weiteren Band noch eine spezielle Rolle zuteil wird) bilden sie eine Zwangsallianz um den Code zu knacken und mit dem Schatz das Haus der Morningstars – ihr Zuhause – zu retten. Eine aufregende Schitzeljad durch, über und unter New York beginnt …
Den Stil von Laura Ruby kann man nicht mit humorvoll beschreiben. Nein. Er ist genial witzig! Knappe Sätze und hohe Schlagzahl an intelligenten Gags machen richtig Laune beim lesen. Die Sprache ist bunt und malt wunderbare Bilder von einem futuristischen New York das ich so selbst gerne besuchen würde!
Das Setting des fiktiven New York ist wunderbar bildlich gelungen. Mit einer Prise Steampunk, einem Archiv der Codisten das an Warehouse 13 erinnert und einer Handlung die Goonies Fans vor Freude tanzen lässt. Ich vergebe absolut verdiente 5 von 5 Lieblingslesesessel für Chroniken von York – Die Suche nach dem Schattencode!
Der Verlag empfiehlt das Buch ab 12 – ich meine, dass es aber auch durchaus für jüngere Abenteurer hervorragend ist – besonders auch zum Vorlesen ruhig ab 8. Natürlich muss man dem komplexen Plot folgen, aber ich glaube das geht schon ganz gut in der dritten Klasse. Was es aber für Jugendliche und und Erwachsene nicht weniger spannend macht. Im Gegenteil!
Ein Wort noch zum Ende: Bösester Cliffhanger ever oder genialster Schluss aller Zeiten? Ich bin mir nicht sicher… aber ich möchte unbedingt ganz bald eine Fortsetzung der Chroniken von York!!! Absolute Lese-Empfehlung!
Die Handlung spielt in einem fiktiven New York unserer Zeit. Da im 19. Jahrhundert die genialen Erfinder Theresa und Theodore Morningstar New York bereits sehr technologisiert hatten finden sich im heutigen York eine mysteriöse Underway Bahn, Tiere aus abenteuerlichen Kreutzungen und Roboter die das Leben angenehmer gestalten (Ich will auch einen Lancelot!!!)
Jedoch nicht jeder weiß das Erbe der Morningstar Zwillinge zu schätzen. Der skrupellose Darnell Slant kauft alle alten Morningstar Gebäude systematisch auf um sie dem Erdboden gleich zu machen…
…so auch das Gebäude Nr. 354 West 73. Straße. Ist es ein Zufall, dass im alten Zuhause der Morningstars nun eine Familie wohnt, deren 12 jährige Zwillinge dieselben Vornamen haben wie Theodore und Theresa Morningstar? Und was hat es mit der mysteriösen Erbin der Morningstars – Miss Ava Oneal – auf sich, von der kein einziges Foto überliefert ist? Auch kann es kein Zufall sein, dass genau an dem Tag, als die Bewohner des Hauses 354 West 73. Straße den Räumungs-Beschluss zugestellt bekommen, ein Brief in die Hände von Tess und Theo gelangt, der darauf hin deutet, dass es hinter dem Code den die Menschen von York seit Jahrzehnten versuchen zu knacken einen weiteren Code gibt – einen Schattencode, der sie womöglich zu dem großen Schatz der Morningstars führt und die Rettung ihres Zuhauses bedeuten könnte.
Theo – ist Pedant. Ein Mathegenie. Und er liebt Lego. Was er nicht liebt sind Veränderungen wie die, dass er womöglich bald seine Lego-Nachbildung des Towers wo anders aufbauen musss.
„Viele Leute lesen nicht gern“, gab Jamie zu bedenken. „warum nicht?“, fragte Theo.
Tess – ist das komplette Gegenteil ihres rationellen Zwillingsbruders – leidenschaftlich, impulsiv und mit einem leichten Hang zum Drama. Für sie bedeutet es den Weltuntergang schlechthin das fast schon lebendig anmutende Gebäude verlassen zu müssen und vielleicht sogar ganz aus der Stadt weg ziehen zu müssen.
„Ich finde es interessant, dass du dich immer selbst mit dieser kleinen goldenen Krone auf dem Kopf zeichnest.“ (…) „Das ist keine Krone“, hatte sie ihm erklärt. „Das ist ein Kranz der Empörung!“
Zusammen bilden sie eine Einheit, die nur ganz schwer von Außenstehenden zu durchdringen ist. Sie ergänzen sich in ihren Eigenheiten. Sogar ihre eigene Geheimsprache haben sie entwickelt. Das ist auch der Grund, warum Jamie, der genauso alt ist wie Jess und Theo noch nie was mit ihnen am Hut hatte.
„Wenn man Euch zuhört, ist das manchmal, als ob man merkwürdiger ausländischer Musik lauscht“ warf Jamie ein. „Neu und interessant, aber nichts wozu jeder tanzen kann.“
Jamie – ist Künstler. Er hat ein einzigartiges Gedächtnis und versteht es mit wenigen Strichen eine Szene perfekt einzufangen. Am allerliebsten zeichnet er Superhelden. Er will seinen einen Superhelden erfinden – doch zunächst will er auch sein Zuhause – und damit die Arbeitssstelle seiner Grandma, die Hausmeisterin in 354 West 73. Straße ist -vor der Abrißbirne retten.
Gemeinsam mit der Hybrid-Katze Nine Eighty-Seven (der sicher in einem weiteren Band noch eine spezielle Rolle zuteil wird) bilden sie eine Zwangsallianz um den Code zu knacken und mit dem Schatz das Haus der Morningstars – ihr Zuhause – zu retten. Eine aufregende Schitzeljad durch, über und unter New York beginnt …
Den Stil von Laura Ruby kann man nicht mit humorvoll beschreiben. Nein. Er ist genial witzig! Knappe Sätze und hohe Schlagzahl an intelligenten Gags machen richtig Laune beim lesen. Die Sprache ist bunt und malt wunderbare Bilder von einem futuristischen New York das ich so selbst gerne besuchen würde!
Das Setting des fiktiven New York ist wunderbar bildlich gelungen. Mit einer Prise Steampunk, einem Archiv der Codisten das an Warehouse 13 erinnert und einer Handlung die Goonies Fans vor Freude tanzen lässt. Ich vergebe absolut verdiente 5 von 5 Lieblingslesesessel für Chroniken von York – Die Suche nach dem Schattencode!
Der Verlag empfiehlt das Buch ab 12 – ich meine, dass es aber auch durchaus für jüngere Abenteurer hervorragend ist – besonders auch zum Vorlesen ruhig ab 8. Natürlich muss man dem komplexen Plot folgen, aber ich glaube das geht schon ganz gut in der dritten Klasse. Was es aber für Jugendliche und und Erwachsene nicht weniger spannend macht. Im Gegenteil!
Ein Wort noch zum Ende: Bösester Cliffhanger ever oder genialster Schluss aller Zeiten? Ich bin mir nicht sicher… aber ich möchte unbedingt ganz bald eine Fortsetzung der Chroniken von York!!! Absolute Lese-Empfehlung!
April 3, 2019
First half of this book was eh. Second half was a step up from eh.
The Shadow Cipher is one of those books that has an awesome cover. That's it. The story was interesting but it ended up being a disappointment. I feel like the story building was good, information dumping was eh, and the characters were a bit forgettable. Honestly, I just kept zoning in and out of this book which broke my heart because I was so psyched for this book.
The kids in this book are probably smarter than I am and they are 12. They were okay (in a sense) but nothing really struck out at me. Maybe it's because I was listening to the audio instead of reading the actual book.. but yeah, I just wasn't invested into them like I should be. I expected to be head over heels with this book and these characters but overall, it was just okay.
Overall, I could see myself diving into the next book because this one is so fresh in my mind. However, I would probably try to get the physical or the ebook of it - just to see if there's a difference in my opinion on these characters.
The Shadow Cipher is one of those books that has an awesome cover. That's it. The story was interesting but it ended up being a disappointment. I feel like the story building was good, information dumping was eh, and the characters were a bit forgettable. Honestly, I just kept zoning in and out of this book which broke my heart because I was so psyched for this book.
The kids in this book are probably smarter than I am and they are 12. They were okay (in a sense) but nothing really struck out at me. Maybe it's because I was listening to the audio instead of reading the actual book.. but yeah, I just wasn't invested into them like I should be. I expected to be head over heels with this book and these characters but overall, it was just okay.
Overall, I could see myself diving into the next book because this one is so fresh in my mind. However, I would probably try to get the physical or the ebook of it - just to see if there's a difference in my opinion on these characters.
July 17, 2017
I desperately wanted to be in love with this book. Instead I was just in like with it. (EXCEPT FOR CRICKET. Cricket rocks. I'd read a whole book about the adventures of Cricket and her raccoon-cat. NO LIE.) This book had great world-building and a killer premise. For me though, it had some pacing problems. The cypher search seemed really random, far-fetched, and slow paced for me in the beginning (I would have liked a bit deeper look into the characters in place of the "so then we went here, and then we went there" business). Then when they're finally making some serious progress on the hunt for clues I look down and realize I'm already at the 75% mark and the book is nearly over! That, plus a really unsatisfying ending (that dreaded..."to be continued" type of build to mysterious nothingness) knocked it down in my books. But Cricket, you guys. So. Very. Metal.
March 10, 2023
Review to come!
February 6, 2017
Wow. Absolutely, awestruck WOW.
Middle grade, contemporary, but not our timeline, not steam-punk, but other science, verging on the magical.
Characters were awesome and real, with foibles and strengths. Diverse.
First "real" book I've read in a while. That may have colored my reading of it slightly in the positive. EBooks are great and all, but nothing beats turning real pages and needing an actual bookmark.
Despite wanting to skip to the end to see what happened, I did not, as I wanted to travel the journey with the characters. Ending leads into a new adventure, but the main story arc is resolved, so while I am foaming at the mouth for the next book, I feel no need to get all Misery on the author.
Fantastic book. I can't recommend it highly enough. Five, I don't REALLY have to wait for the next book do I, stars.
Middle grade, contemporary, but not our timeline, not steam-punk, but other science, verging on the magical.
Characters were awesome and real, with foibles and strengths. Diverse.
First "real" book I've read in a while. That may have colored my reading of it slightly in the positive. EBooks are great and all, but nothing beats turning real pages and needing an actual bookmark.
Despite wanting to skip to the end to see what happened, I did not, as I wanted to travel the journey with the characters. Ending leads into a new adventure, but the main story arc is resolved, so while I am foaming at the mouth for the next book, I feel no need to get all Misery on the author.
Fantastic book. I can't recommend it highly enough. Five, I don't REALLY have to wait for the next book do I, stars.
April 10, 2017
A thrilling start to an epic series! I can't wait to see the final edition with maps!
March 4, 2018
4.5 Sterne.
Mochte es wirklich gerne. Unterhaltsam. Nett. Gut ausgearbeitet. (:
Einfach rasant und abwechslungsreich, genau richtig.
Mochte es wirklich gerne. Unterhaltsam. Nett. Gut ausgearbeitet. (:
Einfach rasant und abwechslungsreich, genau richtig.
June 30, 2017
Tess and Theo Biederman and friend, Jaime Cruz, live in a Morningstar building in New York City. The Morningstar twins came to New York City in the 1800’s and revolutionized the city with engineering feats, such as solar energy, servant robots, skyscrapers, elevators that don’t just go up and down, but sideways, beetle-machines that clean, and an expansive subway system. Then, they vanished, leaving behind a trail of clues to inherit their secrets. Great world-building, and the three feel compelled to find answers when real estate magnate Darrell Slant evict all residents of their building. Unfortunately, I did not think the puzzles and ciphers were all that interesting, nor did I think the logic in solving them made sense. The story and characters fell short, and nothing, except the world-building and mysterious Ava, were compelling. 3.75 stars.
January 31, 2020
Fun and funny and mysterious.
I love the story elements:
-A pair of rich, genius twins, the Morningstars, who created cyphers in the past, many of which remain unsolved
-An alternate world that exists thanks to the Morningstars and all the technologies they created
-the present day Biederman twins Tess
And Theo, who are really smart, and Jaime Cruz, artist and lover of architecture and superheroes
-The evil real estate developer who gets approval from the city to buy the Morningstars buildings, and who evicts Tess, Theo, Jaime and everyone else in their building
-The fascinating cyphers the kids have to crack, and all the places they have to travel in the city to find clues
-Nine the cat
-The friendship that develops between the protagonists
-All the weird and wonderful technologies that are in use in the present day
I really liked this book, and have to know what new puzzles the kids have to solve and where they’ll have to go next to do so in book two.
I love the story elements:
-A pair of rich, genius twins, the Morningstars, who created cyphers in the past, many of which remain unsolved
-An alternate world that exists thanks to the Morningstars and all the technologies they created
-the present day Biederman twins Tess
And Theo, who are really smart, and Jaime Cruz, artist and lover of architecture and superheroes
-The evil real estate developer who gets approval from the city to buy the Morningstars buildings, and who evicts Tess, Theo, Jaime and everyone else in their building
-The fascinating cyphers the kids have to crack, and all the places they have to travel in the city to find clues
-Nine the cat
-The friendship that develops between the protagonists
-All the weird and wonderful technologies that are in use in the present day
I really liked this book, and have to know what new puzzles the kids have to solve and where they’ll have to go next to do so in book two.
June 4, 2017
This book!!
Set in an alternate New York City, three kids race against the clock to solve a cipher designed by the city's greatest architects and inventors, the Morningstarrs. Though it's a hefty tome, this mystery is full of twists and turns as three kids discover a new clue that takes them down a path of alternate clues to solve the cipher. I am not normally a big mystery fan, but I loved the details in the setting - the interesting inventions from the Morningstarrs that resulted in an alternate New York City. This is a very rich story and one that I had a hard time putting down.
I would suggest this to tweens who like an immersive mystery story, like Greenglass House or Chasing Vermeer.
Set in an alternate New York City, three kids race against the clock to solve a cipher designed by the city's greatest architects and inventors, the Morningstarrs. Though it's a hefty tome, this mystery is full of twists and turns as three kids discover a new clue that takes them down a path of alternate clues to solve the cipher. I am not normally a big mystery fan, but I loved the details in the setting - the interesting inventions from the Morningstarrs that resulted in an alternate New York City. This is a very rich story and one that I had a hard time putting down.
I would suggest this to tweens who like an immersive mystery story, like Greenglass House or Chasing Vermeer.
December 1, 2019
This book was fantastic! Great page turner with enough drudgery between to slow down your brain in anticipation of the next clue.
The story revolves around a set of twins and their neighbor trying to solve a riddle to save their apartment building. My summary pales in comparison to the actual novel: the clues, the characters, the magic within. I’m certainly glad there is a sequel.
The story revolves around a set of twins and their neighbor trying to solve a riddle to save their apartment building. My summary pales in comparison to the actual novel: the clues, the characters, the magic within. I’m certainly glad there is a sequel.
February 22, 2021
York: The Shadow Cipher, by Laura Ruby, is the story of three teenagers who set out on a quest to save the only homes they have ever known. Twins Theo and Tess Biedermann, along with Jamie Cruz, must solve a centuries-old puzzle called the Old York Cipher. Created by the legendary Morningstarrs sometime in the 19th century, the Cipher has remained unsolved for over 150 years, though many have tried and failed. After an uber-rich real estate developer buys their apartment building and wants to tear it down, their last hope is to solve the Cipher and find the treasure, so that they can afford to buy back their apartment building.
There are some important things that tie the twins to Jamie. Both the Biedermann and Cruz families live in the same apartment building, managed by Jamie’s grandmother. Another thing that establishes a connection between the three of them is that although we are given relatively little information about their past, we learn that they were all considered social misfits at school from a young age. This last statement foreshadows one of the main lessons of the novel, that you can never judge a book by its cover. These kids, considered to be awkward, go on a wild and exciting adventure that many of their “cooler” peers will never go on during their entire lives. And finally, the building has a significant emotional meaning to all of them. It has been their home for most of their lives, and they are forced to make hard decisions that are the difference between the building’s survival, or its destruction. I would recommend this book because of the way it is written. The author combines a strong frame with an exciting plot, ending with a cliffhanger that will make readers pick up the sequel.
-Ethan K., PWPL Teen Reader
Click here to find the book at the Prince William Public Libraries.
There are some important things that tie the twins to Jamie. Both the Biedermann and Cruz families live in the same apartment building, managed by Jamie’s grandmother. Another thing that establishes a connection between the three of them is that although we are given relatively little information about their past, we learn that they were all considered social misfits at school from a young age. This last statement foreshadows one of the main lessons of the novel, that you can never judge a book by its cover. These kids, considered to be awkward, go on a wild and exciting adventure that many of their “cooler” peers will never go on during their entire lives. And finally, the building has a significant emotional meaning to all of them. It has been their home for most of their lives, and they are forced to make hard decisions that are the difference between the building’s survival, or its destruction. I would recommend this book because of the way it is written. The author combines a strong frame with an exciting plot, ending with a cliffhanger that will make readers pick up the sequel.
-Ethan K., PWPL Teen Reader
Click here to find the book at the Prince William Public Libraries.
Read
November 10, 2017First a note on the audiobook: the narrator's voice really didn't work for me, and almost turned me off the story completely. I managed by speeding the voice up, which made it far more tolerable. :)
The premise of this middle-grade novel sounded really interesting - if also rather similar to Ready Player One - but opens up into more of a conspiracy magiteck story than a straightforward competition to solve a puzzle for cash. I found the beginning _really_ hard to get into, in part from a feeling of having quirkiness thrown at me from every direction, but eventually it settled down into a readable adventure tale.
There's a lot of fantastical worldbuilding in this book, and a lot of rather unbelievable non-fantasy events that kept jerking me out of the story (I refuse to believe anyone, no matter how rich and corrupt, could have wangled the destruction of the building without massive protests etc). And, though I knew this was the beginning of a series, I felt rather unsatisfied by the resolution.
It also assumes a lot of knowledge of US historical figures that might pass non-USians by.
Still, it was interesting, and I finished it. I don't think I'll go on with the series, but can suggest it for readers looking for something slightly different in the middle grade realm.
The premise of this middle-grade novel sounded really interesting - if also rather similar to Ready Player One - but opens up into more of a conspiracy magiteck story than a straightforward competition to solve a puzzle for cash. I found the beginning _really_ hard to get into, in part from a feeling of having quirkiness thrown at me from every direction, but eventually it settled down into a readable adventure tale.
There's a lot of fantastical worldbuilding in this book, and a lot of rather unbelievable non-fantasy events that kept jerking me out of the story (I refuse to believe anyone, no matter how rich and corrupt, could have wangled the destruction of the building without massive protests etc). And, though I knew this was the beginning of a series, I felt rather unsatisfied by the resolution.
It also assumes a lot of knowledge of US historical figures that might pass non-USians by.
Still, it was interesting, and I finished it. I don't think I'll go on with the series, but can suggest it for readers looking for something slightly different in the middle grade realm.
July 30, 2017
SAVE ME FROM SERIES WITH CLIFFHANGER ENDINGS, SOMEONE. I'm knocking off a star just for that.
Otherwise, this is a good fit for anyone who likes The Westing Game (though this isn't quite as smart) or the Kate Milfords: it's a story about kids solving puzzles. There are good motivations in place and appropriately slimy villains; the kids actually run into obstacles, get scared, and find themselves constrained by their parents; a timeline is established and adhered to, so there are real consequences.
What I didn't like: this just-barely-alternate New York. For one thing, the "Underway." It's too familiar to the subway (same lines! which go to the same places! and yes, the cable car to Roosevelt Island takes Metrocards!) for its robots who keep cars spotless, and people who are unceremoniously removed for violence or littering, to read as an alternate universe. Instead it just reads as wish fulfillment, and so the science fiction turns feel like they come out of left field.
PS: Fix the typos before the paperback. There are quite a few missing words: you don't "ride in police car", and "Why would hate yourself?" isn't a sentence.
Otherwise, this is a good fit for anyone who likes The Westing Game (though this isn't quite as smart) or the Kate Milfords: it's a story about kids solving puzzles. There are good motivations in place and appropriately slimy villains; the kids actually run into obstacles, get scared, and find themselves constrained by their parents; a timeline is established and adhered to, so there are real consequences.
What I didn't like: this just-barely-alternate New York. For one thing, the "Underway." It's too familiar to the subway (same lines! which go to the same places! and yes, the cable car to Roosevelt Island takes Metrocards!) for its robots who keep cars spotless, and people who are unceremoniously removed for violence or littering, to read as an alternate universe. Instead it just reads as wish fulfillment, and so the science fiction turns feel like they come out of left field.
PS: Fix the typos before the paperback. There are quite a few missing words: you don't "ride in police car", and "Why would hate yourself?" isn't a sentence.
April 25, 2022
That beautiful cover caught my eye! (Me currently having 6 library books at home.) 5 stars for cover.
This took way too long. Okay read. I like the mysterious tone and the riddles.
Characters: 4.5 stars
They were weird. Puzzling. A bit childish. A bit 2D.
Writing Style: 5 stars
Mysterious and elementary school level.
Pace/Plot: 4.5 stars
The pace was okay. The plot was alright. Children trying to solve a cipher while everyday life gets in the way.
Action: 4.5 stars
Written in an interestingly different way.
World-Building: 4 stars
So these two twins call Morningstarr invent a bunch of stuff and built a whole city called New York.
It was an okay book. The plot was nice. The new tone was nice. I just couldn't get myself into it.
This took way too long. Okay read. I like the mysterious tone and the riddles.
Characters: 4.5 stars
They were weird. Puzzling. A bit childish. A bit 2D.
Writing Style: 5 stars
Mysterious and elementary school level.
Pace/Plot: 4.5 stars
The pace was okay. The plot was alright. Children trying to solve a cipher while everyday life gets in the way.
Action: 4.5 stars
Written in an interestingly different way.
World-Building: 4 stars
So these two twins call Morningstarr invent a bunch of stuff and built a whole city called New York.
It was an okay book. The plot was nice. The new tone was nice. I just couldn't get myself into it.
October 6, 2017
So much fun! I just love Laura Ruby's writing. In this book she makes a lot of changes to New York, but it retains the essence of the city. An awesome middle grade that's definitely worth your while!
June 20, 2017
There is a special type of agony in reading a book that you are increasingly enchanted with, with the knowledge that you're not going to get your hands on the sequel for another year, at least.
Such was the case with Laura Ruby's exceptional York: The Shadow Cipher. Ruby has created a fantastic steampunk version of New York, where inventions from the fabled Morningstarr twins, have dominated and ruled the city since 1792. But in 2017, the legacy of the twins - including a cipher, allegedly promising treasures beyond the finder's imagination - have faded from memory. It's not until a chance situation involving the young Biedermann twins and the loss of their home, sets them on a course to proving that the Old York Cipher is real.
It's not that often that I say, "I want to live in this book and never leave," but that's pretty much how I feel about The Shadow Cipher. Ruby has created an extraordinary world, full of inventions and buildings that are designed to make the world operate more effectively, but also with a quirk and charm that reinforce just how wonderful the world can be.
But even in the midst of these marvels, the world is still a capitalist one. Protagonists Tess, Theo and Jaime have to deal with the potential loss of their Morningstarr-created apartment, as a developer seems invested in tearing down their marvelous, historical building, in order to build new ones. Gentrification is a tough issue, and Ruby does a thorough job in explaining the developer's motivations and the larger impact on the city, without necessarily drawing the developer as a cartoon villain.
(Though each and every piece of snark against the developer, will likely be taken in good humor and appreciated by the reader. Especially when some of the snark seems to refer to current events.)
But like any good adventure story, Ruby eventually guides her intrepid young characters into believing that there is a will and a way to save their beloved home. What follows is a madcap tale full of codes, extraordinary inventions, and even some subtle snark about male-only organizations, that will make any intrepid young reader feel grateful that they have fictional heroines who understand their quirks and thirst for knowledge, the way that Tess, Theo and Jaime do. This isn't just an adventure that we're reading; it's one we're living alongside them.
Outside of the adventure aspects of the story, Ruby does a solid job in also acknowledging the many joys that come with knowledge and being well-informed. Theo and Tess especially are purveyors of knowledge, and it's that information that helps the trio move forward in their adventures. It's a nice nod to any reader that may have felt different in their lives, and will be highly appreciated.
All in all, highly, highly recommend, full stop. You cannot miss this one.
Such was the case with Laura Ruby's exceptional York: The Shadow Cipher. Ruby has created a fantastic steampunk version of New York, where inventions from the fabled Morningstarr twins, have dominated and ruled the city since 1792. But in 2017, the legacy of the twins - including a cipher, allegedly promising treasures beyond the finder's imagination - have faded from memory. It's not until a chance situation involving the young Biedermann twins and the loss of their home, sets them on a course to proving that the Old York Cipher is real.
It's not that often that I say, "I want to live in this book and never leave," but that's pretty much how I feel about The Shadow Cipher. Ruby has created an extraordinary world, full of inventions and buildings that are designed to make the world operate more effectively, but also with a quirk and charm that reinforce just how wonderful the world can be.
But even in the midst of these marvels, the world is still a capitalist one. Protagonists Tess, Theo and Jaime have to deal with the potential loss of their Morningstarr-created apartment, as a developer seems invested in tearing down their marvelous, historical building, in order to build new ones. Gentrification is a tough issue, and Ruby does a thorough job in explaining the developer's motivations and the larger impact on the city, without necessarily drawing the developer as a cartoon villain.
(Though each and every piece of snark against the developer, will likely be taken in good humor and appreciated by the reader. Especially when some of the snark seems to refer to current events.)
But like any good adventure story, Ruby eventually guides her intrepid young characters into believing that there is a will and a way to save their beloved home. What follows is a madcap tale full of codes, extraordinary inventions, and even some subtle snark about male-only organizations, that will make any intrepid young reader feel grateful that they have fictional heroines who understand their quirks and thirst for knowledge, the way that Tess, Theo and Jaime do. This isn't just an adventure that we're reading; it's one we're living alongside them.
Outside of the adventure aspects of the story, Ruby does a solid job in also acknowledging the many joys that come with knowledge and being well-informed. Theo and Tess especially are purveyors of knowledge, and it's that information that helps the trio move forward in their adventures. It's a nice nod to any reader that may have felt different in their lives, and will be highly appreciated.
All in all, highly, highly recommend, full stop. You cannot miss this one.
October 9, 2018
Rating: 4.5 stars
I wish this book would have been around when I was middlegrade age. This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved at that time. This series is a steampunky fantasy story about three kids who embark on a journey through an alternate version of New York, to decipher a century-old puzzle, left by the architects of the city.
Not only does this sound like a very interesting premise, the execution, in my opinion, is pretty great. The characters are exactly the kind that I would have loved at that age: they are smart, curious and a little nerdy. The writing is full of sass, funny and engaging, and even thought this book is almost 500 pages long, you will fly through it.
The main appeal of this book to me was how smart it was. This is reflected in the characters who make being scientificly interested and intelligent look cool. They are the kind of kids nerdy-eleven-year-old me would have love to relate to.
Laura Ruby also does not underestimate the intelligence of her reading. Middlegrade can sometimes seem a little oversimplified, as authors are afraid to go over their readers head. Laura Ruby does not shy away from complexity, which I think many smart middlegraders will absolutely appreciate.
Full disclosure: reading this as an adult, it wasn’t on the same level as some other 4 star books are. There were some moments where I didn’t enjoy myself. However, I try to judge books for what they are within their genre. As far as that’s concerned: great book. I would definitely recommend this to any middlegrade reader who likes to be challenged, and even to YA or adult readers who just crave a fun and inventive adventure with a bunch of sassy 12-year old.
I wish this book would have been around when I was middlegrade age. This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved at that time. This series is a steampunky fantasy story about three kids who embark on a journey through an alternate version of New York, to decipher a century-old puzzle, left by the architects of the city.
Not only does this sound like a very interesting premise, the execution, in my opinion, is pretty great. The characters are exactly the kind that I would have loved at that age: they are smart, curious and a little nerdy. The writing is full of sass, funny and engaging, and even thought this book is almost 500 pages long, you will fly through it.
The main appeal of this book to me was how smart it was. This is reflected in the characters who make being scientificly interested and intelligent look cool. They are the kind of kids nerdy-eleven-year-old me would have love to relate to.
Laura Ruby also does not underestimate the intelligence of her reading. Middlegrade can sometimes seem a little oversimplified, as authors are afraid to go over their readers head. Laura Ruby does not shy away from complexity, which I think many smart middlegraders will absolutely appreciate.
Full disclosure: reading this as an adult, it wasn’t on the same level as some other 4 star books are. There were some moments where I didn’t enjoy myself. However, I try to judge books for what they are within their genre. As far as that’s concerned: great book. I would definitely recommend this to any middlegrade reader who likes to be challenged, and even to YA or adult readers who just crave a fun and inventive adventure with a bunch of sassy 12-year old.
May 10, 2017
This is an excellent choice for any and all readers who love puzzles, ciphers, and strategic solving of things. As I am not so much a fan of those, the book took me longer to get through than it normally would. The writing is excellent. Ruby knows how to draw in an audience, develop characters, and create meaningful, layered relationships. All of that was definitely my thing. Theo, Tess, and Jaime are all excellent characters and their friendship along with the relationships with their wider families was well done. The world of New York City Ruby created with its alternate history is a fascinating one. Honestly, that is the book I would rather be reading. The Prologue was so much fun (as was the end). I would read the heck out of that series. I'm going to continue reading this one as well, but there were definitely places where I wished this book were shorter and the pace a bit quicker. But again, I'm not a puzzle person.
November 29, 2019
2nd time reading
This is so much fun to read. I feel like middle grade mysteries are so much fun because the young main characters believe easier in strange things and are more willing to take the next step. There's no romance and kids have an uncanny ability to see through lies, even if adults think they're ignorant. The story plays out well, giving little clues that build up to something bigger. It's exciting and also shows a range of emotions from the kids that I loved. The ending makes me want to read the sequel asap!!
***********************************
I loved everything about this book. The characters were fun and the mystery of the cipher had me hooked from the beginning.
This is so much fun to read. I feel like middle grade mysteries are so much fun because the young main characters believe easier in strange things and are more willing to take the next step. There's no romance and kids have an uncanny ability to see through lies, even if adults think they're ignorant. The story plays out well, giving little clues that build up to something bigger. It's exciting and also shows a range of emotions from the kids that I loved. The ending makes me want to read the sequel asap!!
***********************************
I loved everything about this book. The characters were fun and the mystery of the cipher had me hooked from the beginning.
October 1, 2020
The Shadow Cipher (York #1) by Laura Ruby is a solid middle grade mystery adventure. The steampunk elements of the story are also quite delightful. My only main issue is that the longer I read, the more I began to lose interest in the overall story. This book definitely didn't need to be almost 500 pages. I think quite a bit of could have been trimmed and the story would have been all the better for it.
June 11, 2017
This book started out very strong but sort of fizzled out at the midway mark. I wish the author had focused more on the back story,especially Ava's character and her history.
I may read the second book in the series but I will borrow it from the library instead of purchasing it.
I may read the second book in the series but I will borrow it from the library instead of purchasing it.
finish-maybe-someday
August 21, 2019I'm putting this aside for now. It could be my mood, but this just seems slow and doesn't really grab me.
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