Laura Ruby

From award-winning author Laura Ruby comes the first book in an epic alternate-history series about three kids who try to solve the greatest mystery of the modern world: a puzzle and treasure hunt laid into the very streets and buildings of New York

The Shadow Cipher

National Book Award finalist Laura Ruby returns with the middle chapter in her epic alternate-history adventure—a journey that will test Tess, Theo, and Jaime and change their lives forever. It was only a few weeks ago that the Biedermann twins, Tess and Theo, along with their friend Jaime Cruz, followed the secrets of the Morningstarrs’ cipher further than anyone had in its century-and a-half history—and destroyed their beloved home in the process. But the Old York Cipher still isn’t solved. The demolition of 354 W. 73rd Street only revealed the next clue in the greatest mystery of the modern world, and if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to discover what lies at the end of the puzzle laid into the buildings of New York by its brilliant, enigmatic architects, they will need to press on. But doing so could prove even more dangerous than they know. It is clear that the Morningstarr twins marshaled all the strange technology they had spent their lives creating in the construction of the Cipher, and that technology has its own plans for those who pursue it. It's also clear that Tess, Theo, and Jaime are not the only ones on the trail of the treasure. As enemies both known and unknown close in on them from all sides and the very foundations of the city seem to crumble around them, they will have to ask themselves how far they will go to change the unchangeable—and whether the price of knowing the secrets of the Morningstarrs is one they are willing to pay.

York: The Clockwork Ghost

Sarah Sammis

OK.... the last 10% took a fascinating tangent. 

This book doesn't need any time to establish the validity of the cipher. That question has been blown wide open and now it's clear that the twins and their former neighbors are attuned to it in ways that no one previous has been.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...

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The thrilling conclusion to two-time National Book Award finalist Laura Ruby’s epic adventure through the streets of an alternate New York City. It was only a few days ago that Tess Biedermann, Theo Biedermann, and Jaime Cruz, along with a mysterious figure from the past, managed to survive an assault on the location of the latest clue in the Morningstarr cipher—and, in the process, made a shocking discovery about their own connection to this one-hundred-sixty-year-old enigma. Now the friends are divided. Tess and Theo have no idea what the photo they found in Greenwood Cemetery means, but Jaime is convinced that they do, and that they’ve been keeping their own secrets from him. As the city continues to break around them, suddenly solving the greatest mystery of the modern world seems less important than saving their own friendship. The stakes of completing the cipher, however, have never been higher. Darnell Slant, real estate developer and owner of all the Morningstarr buildings, knows that they hold one last secret: a power that even the Morningstarrs themselves never revealed. The world has rested on a precarious balance of power for generations; now Slant and his shadowy business partners aim to unbalance it. It’s up to Tess, Theo, and Jaime to uncover the Morningstarrs’ final mystery in a desperate attempt to set things right. The world—theirs, and possibly others—depends on it.

York: The Map of Stars

The Map of Stars by Laura Ruby is the conclusion to the York series. Tess, Theo, and Jamie are at the edge of solving the Morningstarr cipher, but the friendship between the twins and Jamie is strained to the breaking point. Can they mend their friendship?

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http://pussreboots.com/blog/2020/comm...

The main characters, Tess and Theo Biedermann are the children of the current super the most famous Morningstar building. Now there is a developer who has plans for the building and everyone has been given eviction notices. Besides their own apartment, they have their grandfather's apartment, full of a lifetime of research on the cipher (as well as a hoarding issue)

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2018/comm...

Christine

5/13/22: loving the new jersey slander. Still obsessed with this York. maybe I'll go stand in front of W 73rd Street in three weeks.

the parrot is my spirit animal

quotes edgar allan poe and sings hamilton 



wait now i have to wait another year for the next book....

5/14/22: sometimes a book is both cheesy and heartbreaking.
I am going to be honest I came to reread this to try and make sense of something I've never made sense of it (oh cool I just realized it's been exactly 2 years since I first read this) but I left even more confused than before. I am incredibly, unrelentingly, confused. This is going to continue to haunt me for the next few years. I don't UNDERSTAND. 
(view spoiler)[Yes I know.. multiverse shadow world mirror world whatever etc etc... but I don't GET IT!!! Is this one timeline or is this two or three or what? Did the machine yeet Jaime into another timeline? How did Ava come back? DID she come back? Why was the epilogue set in 2114? 
So. The twins travelled. I know that. From where? Was it time travel alone, or was it into another timeline altogether? The Cipher was set up in a way they Knew the young twins would be able to solve it, because they lived it themselves, I know that. What I don't know is if this is a causality loop. Is everything just one giant loop? What happened to Jaime? In one timeline they mention he moved away when they were in the 5th grade. In the story timeline, he was with them until almost 8th grade. In the end, he's at their house, and it's the same scene as the beginning of the first book, but slightly different. I am so confused. What is going on. I thought I had this figured out 2 years ago but I was Very Wrong. VERY wrong. 
What is UP with Ava and Samuel I don't understand that EITHER girl WHAT. What does Ava know - she must know all, she was the Morningstarrs' friend. But. Has she travelled? What's up with the three separate iterations of Samuel mentioned in the books? (in the past, modern-day, and 2114). #girl 
Dr. Cruz? What happen. Literally it was never properly explained unless I'm just dumb which is very possible. What did she DO. Where did she GO. Is she in the Mirror World. Who. What :) :(
Slowly losing my mind. IS THIS A LOOP OR A MULTIVERSE OR BOTH OR WHAT IS GOING ON. I think I need sleep. (hide spoiler)]

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2020: I don't know whether to laugh or cry right now but all I know is that this was confusingly incredible an I jus-

Emily S

Guys. We did it. We finished this series that has completely stolen my heart over the last few months. I am sad and filled and heartbroken and desperate and lovey-squeezy and confused and satisfied and unsatisfied and 🥰🥰🥰 all at the same time.

General [spoiler-free] synopsis: 7th graders Tess and Theo Biedermann along with their friend Jaime Cruz set out to save their beloved alternate-history version of New York from the likes of villains intent on destroying the best of it…and they discover QUITE A BIT in the process!

I will say, I did NOT see the major plot twist in this third book coming, and even though I’ve read dozens of reviews online, I still don’t totally understand the ending. That being said that, I love this series with everything I am, and maybe I’ll just reread it so much that I figure it all out one day 🤓

Please read this series. It is seriously so good. Easily will be in my top books of the year!

Rating: the biggest and brightest [map of] 🌟 FIVE STARS 🌟 imaginable 💕

I. LOVE. THIS. SERIES.

It feels soooooo good to have a series to get lost in, laughing out loud in public and audibly gasping at all the reveals. 

This book continues to follow Tess, Theo, and Jaime as they try to decode a cipher put in place by the famous Morningstarr inventors in an alternate-history-version of NYC in the 1800s. It’s National Treasure with 7th graders and a diverse cast of characters and the perfect amount of references to Hamilton, Taylor Swift, and Edgar Allan Poe. I can’t think of anything else I could possibly want.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️. 5 for now, but once I read the third book, I reserve all rights to up my rating to a full 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟. Good luck getting me to be quiet about this series.

~ a lesson in giving authors a second chance ~

When I read Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All last year, I expected I would love it, but it actually didn’t resonate with me at all. 

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I hear about a middle grade series by that same author that’s basically National Treasure but 7th graders in an alternate-history-version of NYC. Sold on the synopsis, and sold on the final product ☺️

This book was absolutely delightful, exactly what I needed. The world the author created is so dazzling to me, and I can’t wait to continue the series and delve deeper into it. Leggo!

From National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner Laura Ruby comes the first book in an epic alternate history series about three kids who try to solve the greatest mystery of the modern world: a puzzle and treasure hunt laid into the very streets and buildings of New York City. 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—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.

York: The Shadow Cipher

Lisa Beasley

This was a brilliant adventure mystery which had me hooked right from the start. I liked all the characters as well as the plot. The setting is great (admittedly I may be biased as I have been to New York a few times and it is one of my favourite cities to visit) and I liked the mystery aspect a lot. It was never too easy to guess and in some cases things were a complete surprise. I am looking forward to the next book.

I gave this one 4 and a half stars.

I listened to this one on audiobook and really enjoyed it. It wasn't quite as good as book one and I felt it didn't answer as many questions as I was hoping it would. But I still love the characters and some new mystery elements are added in which make it even more intriguing. The ending though! I need the next book now! What a reveal cliffhanger!

“The pleasures of the novel go far beyond the crackling, breathless plot and the satisfaction of watching the puzzle fall into place. The book is shot through with humor, both laugh-out-loud and subtle.” —New York Times Book Review From National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner Laura Ruby comes an epic alternate history series about three kids who try to solve the greatest mystery of the modern world: a puzzle and treasure hunt laid into the very streets and buildings of New York City. 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—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. "An epic mission to solve one of the greatest mysteries of their time. I loved this book. It is full of twists and turns" (from the Brightly.com review, which named York: The Shadow Cipher one of the best books of 2017).

I have enjoyed this series and the characters are great but I have to admit the direction this ended up going in was not something I saw coming. I liked it but I felt it could have been developed a little more had more been revealed earlier on. But it was fun and I do think the audiobooks are well done.

The Shadow Cipher

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