10% First Impressions: York - The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby
I'm not a fan of the fact that I'm starting a book in an ongoing series, if only for the fact of the waiting and anticipation of story completion. Still the book series caught my attention in the library and I'm very intrigued. As I understand it The Shadow Cipher (TSC) is the first in the York series, a planned trilogy of which the first two parts are published. The story follows the adventures of our YA protagonists, siblings Tess and Theo and their friend Jaime, as they work a puzzle laid out in the city of New York by two mysterious and enigmatic architects.
I'd planned to read A Darker Shade of Magic next but I decided to start the book (from the three I'd borrowed that same day) that looked like it'd be the quickest read, and TSC was that book. At about 480 pages, 10% rounded to the next chapter meant a read of the first 57 pages, the first two chapters. I'd read the book flap and looked at the beautiful cover art several times since I'd borrowed the book but hadn't realized that TSC was not a historical alternative cyberpunk YA novel as I'd been expecting. Rather a more apt description for the book might be an alternative history/cyberpunk-ish YA novel that takes place (so far) in the present day, possibly and presumably with historical flashbacks.
The second chapter focuses on Tess and from this chapter the books seems to having some good representation for neuroatypical children. She has an support animal and those around her work around her issues. My impression is that her brother Theo will also be coming to terms with his own deviations from the norm, so I'm looking forward to that aspect.
Avoiding spoilers, my guesswork for where the book is headed took me from clones to reincarnation. I love me a good conspiracy novel, and while I hope we get some aspects of that now I'm thinking maybe we're dealing with alternate dimensions? And dimension hopping maybe? Time travel? Causal loop? I might be being a bit fanciful and jumping through giant hoops, but that's part of the fun.
So far it's looking like a 5 or a 4-star review. From the first chapter to the second we seem to be establishing a lineage, and from that lineage it seems at least two of our protagonists are somewhat melanin-gifted. So there was a moment with "curly" hair that made me raise an eyebrow, but besides that I'm really liking the pacing and the story that's being told. Based on 10%, I'd definitely recommend this book.
The second chapter focuses on Tess and from this chapter the books seems to having some good representation for neuroatypical children. She has an support animal and those around her work around her issues. My impression is that her brother Theo will also be coming to terms with his own deviations from the norm, so I'm looking forward to that aspect.
Avoiding spoilers, my guesswork for where the book is headed took me from clones to reincarnation. I love me a good conspiracy novel, and while I hope we get some aspects of that now I'm thinking maybe we're dealing with alternate dimensions? And dimension hopping maybe? Time travel? Causal loop? I might be being a bit fanciful and jumping through giant hoops, but that's part of the fun.
So far it's looking like a 5 or a 4-star review. From the first chapter to the second we seem to be establishing a lineage, and from that lineage it seems at least two of our protagonists are somewhat melanin-gifted. So there was a moment with "curly" hair that made me raise an eyebrow, but besides that I'm really liking the pacing and the story that's being told. Based on 10%, I'd definitely recommend this book.
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