Book Review of York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby

Since I read Bone Gap, I've added Laura Ruby to my list of must-read authors, so I was very excited when I received an arc of The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby in the mail, free from the publisher for the purpose of this review. Unlike Bone Gap, however, The Shadow Cipher is a middle grade book, and the cover says it is geared toward kids ages 8-12 or grades 3-7. The Shadow Cipher serves an underserved audience: younger, more advanced readers, with higher critical reading abilities and higher lexile scores. From working in a bookstore for several years, I know that kids in that demographic are hungry for longer books (this one clocks in at 448 pages) that have content their parents or teachers will deem age-appropriate, that don't condescend to them, and have a more advanced plot with plenty of twists and turns to keep them on their toes as they read. I was just such a kid, and having to choose between books teachers might have frowned upon me reading because of their "inappropriate" content, and books that I zipped right through because they were short and too easy to read was a constant problem. Ah, if only The Shadow Cipher had been around for me! And, the best part? The Shadow Cipher is the first book in the York series, so there will be more to come.

I must say, though, I'm not a fan of the cover. While it does accurately depict the three main characters, it doesn't represent the setting well. Most of the book is set in the mysterious and wondrous Morningstarr apartment building, and a cover featuring either the interior or exterior of that all-important structure would've been much more effective.

I am ultra picky about MG titles. I have my favorite authors in that reading level (E. L. Konigsberg, Kirsten Miller, Lois Lowry, Blue Balliett), and I've found many other reading ventures to be disappointing. The Shadow Cipher felt like a mix of Kiki Strike by Kirsten Miller and Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett, which is a huge compliment coming from me, and it also reminded me of another beloved title: The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.

Ultra-intelligent and observant Tess and Theo Biedermann, fraternal twins, and their resourceful and charming friend and neighbor Jaime Cruz (all three seventh-graders) are trying to save their beloved Morningstarr apartment building from an evil real estate developer by solving the infamous centuries-old Old York Cipher, an encoded puzzle built into the very fabric of this alternate reality version of New York city by Tess and Theodore Morningstarr (after whom the Bidermann twins were named). Though many tourists and puzzle mavens alike have attempted to solve the cipher, none have succeeded in claiming the promised treasure awaiting the victor at the end of the riddles. Can three seventh-graders do what countless adults have failed to accomplish, and also save their beloved home?

The characters and story were so engaging that reading this book in one sitting was a total breeze--I didn't want to put it down! Two of my favorite characters are some of the most unexpected personalities to appear in the book. Six-year-old Zelda "Cricket" Moran pairs ballet tutus with skull and snake bedecked t-shirts and bridal gowns accessorized with gas masks... or, maybe it was scuba gear? Clueless adults might pass over her quirky ensembles as those of a child merely playing dress-up, but Cricket is always costuming herself for a part... sometimes, a role so obvious someone who didn't know her would miss it completely. She trafficks in the highly-prized commodity of secrets, and has the powers of observation only a child frequently ignored by those who assume they're more important than she could possess without attracting notice. Cricket also busts out SAT words like there's no tomorrow, and she uses them correctly and sincerely, which made me smile every time.

The Biedermann twins' Aunt Esther is introduced when she presents them with a large spotted cat, and says, "I have brought you an animal. This animal is called Nine Eighty-Seven. I have also brought you some Fig Newtons. But not for the animal." From there, both her eccentricity and her keen awareness of what matters most to her young relatives and her treatment of those priorities as sacrosanct reign supreme in her ultimately witty and endearing characterization.

Pleasingly for this diverse book reviewer, Shadow Cipher is rife with diversity. Of the main characters, Jaime Cruz's grandmother actually emigrated to the US from her native Cuba, and the Bidermanns are Jewish--Ruby incorporates plenty of Cuban and Jewish cultural references and Yiddish words, and all of the Jewish references are completely on-point and were delightful, appropriate, and enjoyable to me as a Jewish reader. Also, Tess seems to have some sort of unspecified anxiety disorder, resulting in her having a service animal--the cat, Nine Eighty-Seven. Though her disorder is referenced (respectfully and consistently), it is never explained explicitly. Ruby seems to go out of her way not to call things or people "crazy" or "insane," instead using words like "bananas" is sometimes used to describe strange or unbelievable situations, thus making The Shadow Cipher very sensitive in terms of neurodiversity.

My one complaint about this book is the HUGE cliffhanger of an ending and the fact that I can't find the release date of book two anywhere. Highly recommended.