I'm so very excited because this was such a fitting sequel. [York: The Clockwork Ghost by Laura Ruby]
I got into the York series because I'd seen this book, The Clockwork Ghost, on display. The Clockwork Ghost (TCG) being the second book in the series, I'd borrowed and read the first, The Shadow Cipher (TSC), and found myself immersed, supportive, and enthralled by the story. And as my re-immersion into deep readership continues, I'm becoming aware of the fact that I'm a sucker for alternate histories. Give me an alternate history, add in some mystery, and if told in a tantalizing way with believable characters and character motivations you get me. The York series hits all the marks.
I won't detail spoilers but try to be as vague as possible. The York series follows a trio of young preteens/teens, a pair of twins, Theo and Tess, and their once-neighbor and friend, Jaime, as they set out to solve an enduring puzzle with clues set throughout New York City. The puzzle, known as the York Cipher in the book, was apparently created and left behind by a pair of twin brother and sister architects, the Morningstars. The first book set up for a sequel very nicely, providing a wide range of possibilities. I feel as though I called a few and I'm not mad at that. Instead I enjoy that TCG expanded on the vagueness of possibilities and now, even more than with TSC, my questions are many. Most of my excitement comes from there being so many questions I need answered.
Another point of praise is the fact that we didn't fall into the sequel trap of following the successful formula of the first, but instead ramping up of the stakes. We saw our protagonists question, doubt, even regret their heroes' journey. Things weren't conveniently falling into place every instance a hurdle was encountered. Though I had no doubt the trio would solve every puzzle they encountered, sometimes it took days, weeks. They had to research and spend hours solving their problems. The stakes and the risks were raised and realism set in, and that was a great plot device.
The puzzle aspect continues strong. At one point I whipped out a pen and paper and started working on it. I was emotionally invested in the emotional well-being and physical safety of characters. I appreciated the animal POVs added in, they were cute and delightful. Towards the end of the book I was screaming audibly. I borrowed this book weeks ago, but from the time I actually started reading to the end was only about three days. That's how enthralled I was.
As far as I understand the York Series is to be a trilogy. The third book, The Map of Stars, is set for release in May of 2020. If the next book is the final one there's a lot of questions I have and a good amount of world to be built and history to be witnessed for me to have a satisfactory ending to this reading experience. That's assuming there's not a spin-off series or supplementary books. Truthfully, for me this book is definitely more than a 4-star rating, but maybe not so squarely a 5-star rating as TSC, That might be because the puzzle was less the focus and more so the personal drama, but I enjoyed that aspect so much I can't not give it a 5-star rating. The tension, the drama, the threat of personal harm? All of it made so much sense. So yes, this book is another 5-star book for me.
Below are some spoilers and some of my speculation as to where the story might go next.
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SPOILERS: It seems that maybe the twins are not their parents' biological children which may explain an instance where questions were raised about people being after the mother. We see artifacts from our reality of New York City. The Statue of Liberty vs the Liberty Statue being one example. This seems to support my theory of alternate versions/different dimensions. Ava O'Neal, seemingly human at more than 200 years old, is alive.
SPECULATIONS: Are the twins the Morningstars? Are they their clones? Is Ava really human? Is she not only dimension hopping but time traveling also? One thought I've had is that both Ava and the Morningstars are not from the York they live in but maybe from our New York. Is that just Ava maybe? How has Jaime been drawing her? Is he a relative? Is Jaime's mother dead? I mean I think she is because otherwise where has she been, but is she? I thought for a long time he was subconsciously drawing a version of his mother. Why and how does Ava know the twins' mother? Did she give them to her? But no, because she was "an imaginary childhood friend?" What is the point of this mysterious technology? Because that technology doesn't exist in our New York. Was it Ava's apartment Esther had visited? I don't think the Morningstars created the cipher, it must have been Ava. And if it was it was also a handful of her friends. Who else was in on it? Is there a society of people working against the cipher and if so how does Darrell Slant fit into it? Why the memory technology?
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So many questions I look forward to seeing answered in the next book. Can't wait!
I won't detail spoilers but try to be as vague as possible. The York series follows a trio of young preteens/teens, a pair of twins, Theo and Tess, and their once-neighbor and friend, Jaime, as they set out to solve an enduring puzzle with clues set throughout New York City. The puzzle, known as the York Cipher in the book, was apparently created and left behind by a pair of twin brother and sister architects, the Morningstars. The first book set up for a sequel very nicely, providing a wide range of possibilities. I feel as though I called a few and I'm not mad at that. Instead I enjoy that TCG expanded on the vagueness of possibilities and now, even more than with TSC, my questions are many. Most of my excitement comes from there being so many questions I need answered.
Another point of praise is the fact that we didn't fall into the sequel trap of following the successful formula of the first, but instead ramping up of the stakes. We saw our protagonists question, doubt, even regret their heroes' journey. Things weren't conveniently falling into place every instance a hurdle was encountered. Though I had no doubt the trio would solve every puzzle they encountered, sometimes it took days, weeks. They had to research and spend hours solving their problems. The stakes and the risks were raised and realism set in, and that was a great plot device.The puzzle aspect continues strong. At one point I whipped out a pen and paper and started working on it. I was emotionally invested in the emotional well-being and physical safety of characters. I appreciated the animal POVs added in, they were cute and delightful. Towards the end of the book I was screaming audibly. I borrowed this book weeks ago, but from the time I actually started reading to the end was only about three days. That's how enthralled I was.
As far as I understand the York Series is to be a trilogy. The third book, The Map of Stars, is set for release in May of 2020. If the next book is the final one there's a lot of questions I have and a good amount of world to be built and history to be witnessed for me to have a satisfactory ending to this reading experience. That's assuming there's not a spin-off series or supplementary books. Truthfully, for me this book is definitely more than a 4-star rating, but maybe not so squarely a 5-star rating as TSC, That might be because the puzzle was less the focus and more so the personal drama, but I enjoyed that aspect so much I can't not give it a 5-star rating. The tension, the drama, the threat of personal harm? All of it made so much sense. So yes, this book is another 5-star book for me.
Below are some spoilers and some of my speculation as to where the story might go next.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPOILERS: It seems that maybe the twins are not their parents' biological children which may explain an instance where questions were raised about people being after the mother. We see artifacts from our reality of New York City. The Statue of Liberty vs the Liberty Statue being one example. This seems to support my theory of alternate versions/different dimensions. Ava O'Neal, seemingly human at more than 200 years old, is alive.
SPECULATIONS: Are the twins the Morningstars? Are they their clones? Is Ava really human? Is she not only dimension hopping but time traveling also? One thought I've had is that both Ava and the Morningstars are not from the York they live in but maybe from our New York. Is that just Ava maybe? How has Jaime been drawing her? Is he a relative? Is Jaime's mother dead? I mean I think she is because otherwise where has she been, but is she? I thought for a long time he was subconsciously drawing a version of his mother. Why and how does Ava know the twins' mother? Did she give them to her? But no, because she was "an imaginary childhood friend?" What is the point of this mysterious technology? Because that technology doesn't exist in our New York. Was it Ava's apartment Esther had visited? I don't think the Morningstars created the cipher, it must have been Ava. And if it was it was also a handful of her friends. Who else was in on it? Is there a society of people working against the cipher and if so how does Darrell Slant fit into it? Why the memory technology?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So many questions I look forward to seeing answered in the next book. Can't wait!
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