Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Puzzles, codes, laughs in exciting alt-New York mystery.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Back in the 1800s, in this alternate world, the brilliant, eccentric Morningstarr twins created technology that transformed New York, where they'd landed as young, penniless immigrants. Then they vanished, leaving a message about THE SHADOW CIPHER -- a series of clues that would bring wonders and riches beyond belief to the solver. After a few decades without success, New Yorkers pretty much decided the Cipher was just a story for the tourists, but a few determined souls kept trying up to the present day, including Tess and Theo Biedermann's grandfather. The twins and their friend Jaime Cruz live in an apartment building built by the Morningstarrs themselves -- now about to be demolished by a developer -- and the kids decide that the only hope of saving the family home and the Morningstarr legacy lies in solving the Cipher that's baffled seekers for more than a century.
Is It Any Good?
Laura Ruby's middle-grade alt-New York series opens with an imaginative premise, engaging characters, a suspenseful plot, oddball brilliance, relatable issues, and quite a few laughs. Loaded with math humor, historic trivia, and a barrage of puzzles, codes, and ciphers, York: The Shadow Cipher won't be for everybody, but this dense, demanding, time-hopping adventure is a rewarding read for those who persist and offers the promise of more to come.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how York: The Shadow Cipher involves deciphering codes and solving puzzles. Do you think this is really interesting, or do you wish the author would just get on with the action instead?
Like steampunk, York's world took a different turn from ours because a different technology came to the fore in the distant past. How would your life be different if some technology you use every day had never been invented? How might you work around the problem?
In The Shadow Cipher, Jaime's father is away from home working on a solar-energy project in Africa. Do you know kids whose parents have jobs that take them away for weeks or months at a time? How do they deal with it?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Fantasy ( Magic ) , Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , History
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Walden Pond Press
- Publication date : May 16, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 496
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 30, 2025
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