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jennifermreads 's review for:

The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby
5.0

Received advanced reader copy from publisher via Baker & Taylor book supplier

Tess, Theo, and Jaime learn they are to be evicted from their beloved apartment building. The only thing that may save them is solving the elusive Old York Cipher – the cipher that many have tried to solve for decades.

Why, oh why, did I save this ARC to start reading on its release date?!?! What a wondrous world to escape into! Incredible futuristic details: those trains and Guildmasters are mesmerizing! And the puzzles are, well, puzzling! I gave up trying to solve them myself and just allowed myself to be carried along by the extremely clever Theo, nervous Tess, and artistic Jaime. It was a ride that was so enjoyable that I raced to see when the second book would be released and I found … nothing! Not a nibble! Not a sign of it anywhere! Nooooooooo!

Even with its hefty size at 431 pages (in the ARC form), this is an excellent middle grade read – and even for those who are older. Hand this one to those who loved Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library and/or The Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman. In fact, hand this to anyone who loves a good puzzle!