York: The Shadow Cipher by Laura Ruby

Tess and Theo Biedermann, and their neighbor, Jamie Cruz, live in one of the historic Morningstarr buildings in an alternate New York City.  The Morninstarrs were a family of brilliant architects and engineers who created smart robots and interactive buildings that permeate the York society.  They also created the Cipher, a puzzle that was supposed to lead to an amazing treasure, but during the 50+ years since their preeminence, no one has been able to solve the puzzle.  When an upstart developer threatens to pull down Tess and Theo's apartment building, the twins team up with Jamie in one last effort to solve the cipher and use the money to save their home.  As they pursue what seems to be a new line of clues, they discover that the world around them is more mysterious and dangerous than they could have imagined.

This book is getting a lot of attention.  It is a fast paced, fresh, steampunk mystery that a lot of readers will enjoy.  I enjoyed it, but there were two ways that I felt it fell short.  The first is that the kids found the answers to the clues way to easily.  The text hinted that there was a reason for that, and if Ruby will explain it in the next book, I will forgive that shortfall.  The second is that after the author initially introduces the three kids, they stop being materially different from each other.  Theo is supposed to be the analytical one, Tess is supposed to be the paranoid one and Jamie is the mechanical one, but after the first three chapters, those distinctions kind of fade into the background, and the kids move as one homogeneous mass from one adventure to another.  It is clear to me that the author thought up the plot first, and then fit the characters into it.  My favorite books are those where the character comes first, and the plot emerges out of the character's...well...character.

That said, I will probably read the next book.  I think the reason this one has received so many starred reviews is that it ends with a really intriguing cliff hanger. Plus, the alternative technology in the world is pretty fun. We will see if the second book lives up to the promise of the first. (476 p.)