York by Laura Ruby - ADVISABLE

Ruby, Laura York (The Shadow Cipher #1), 476 pages.  Walden Pond Press (Harper), 2017.  $18.  

Content: G.

Tess and Theo Biedermann love their Morningstarr built New York home.  When they and their neighbors receive the news that a ruthless property developer, Darnell Slant, has purchased their homes outright, with plans to demolish the entire building.  Supposedly the Morningstarrs left behind a cipher, The Old York Cipher.  The siblings are positive that if they can solve the cipher then they will be able to save their home.  Pitted against them, however, are two of Slant’s henchmen who are also trying to solve the Cipher, or just steal anything of value from the building that they can lay their hands on.  The race against time and the enemy is on.

Flabbergasted!  I won’t give anything away, but when the final clue is solved and the consequences of the puzzle are evident, I think you will be flabbergasted also.  I couldn’t believe the author took things in that direction and had that happen.  Maybe young readers will see it all as part of the course of solving the mystery, but I was stunned that the author chose that as the way to start the next phase – there had to be other great options.  Well, when it comes to adventure its about on level with other puzzle novels. My favorite is still the Gollywhopper Games series; each of the many puzzles is on the page to be solved and its so much fun. 

EL, MS – ADVISABLE.  Cindy, Library Teacher