York: The Shadow Cipher
- Reads 2,058
- Votes 79
- Parts 9
From National Book Award finalist and Printz Award winner Laura Ruby comes an epic alternate history series about three kids who try to solve the greatest mystery of the modern world: a puzzle and treasure hunt laid into the very streets and buildings of New York City.
It was 1798 when the Morningstarr twins arrived in New York with a vision for a magnificent city: towering skyscrapers, dazzling machines, and winding train lines, all running on technology no one had ever seen before. Fifty-seven years later, the enigmatic architects disappeared, leaving behind for the people of New York the Old York Cipher-a puzzle laid into the shining city they constructed, at the end of which was promised a treasure beyond all imagining. By the present day, however, the puzzle has never been solved, and the greatest mystery of the modern world is little more than a tourist attraction.
Tess and Theo Biedermann and their friend Jaime Cruz live in a Morningstarr apartment-until a real estate developer announces that the city has agreed to sell him the five remaining Morningstarr buildings. Their likely destruction means the end of a dream long held by the people of New York. And if Tess, Theo, and Jaime want to save their home, they have to prove that the Old York Cipher is real. Which means they have to solve it.
All Rights Reserved
Join the largest storytelling communityGet personalized story recommendations, save your favourites to your library, and comment and vote to grow your community.
You may also like
The Ruby Hunt
So, five kids-Jade, Peter, Oliver, Rose, and Eddie-are hanging out and playing truth or dare when they stumble upon this weird old journal. At first, it seems pretty boring, but as they read more, they realize it's got some seriously strange stuff in it. Curiosity gets the best of them, and they decide to dig deeper. They end up teaming up with a sneaky thief who once tricked them and an almost-dead old lady who seems to know a thing or two. Together, they're off on a wild adventure to figure out what's really going on with that journal. Is it just an old book, or does it hold some crazy secrets? What kind of challenges will they face along the way? Join them on this fun and mysterious ride to find out what the journal really has in store!Complete![Time Will Tell [Complete]](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/231603561-256-k698206.jpg)
Time Will Tell [Complete]
In 1842, a 17-year-old runaway flees to Ireland to escape her power-hungry brother and is thrust into a catastrophic series of events that may end in life... or death. Back in the 1600's, two brothers created an intricate system to send coded messages through clocks . . . some big, some small, all equally as important. Nicknamed 'Donovan' and 'MNT', these brothers were as close as could be . . . until one little mistake on Donovan's side rips them apart and turns MNT bitter. Now, almost two centuries later, Lizzy Mason is running for her life in London, never staying in one place too long for fear of discovery. Her brother wants something she has and will stop at nothing to get it. Lizzy feels trapped - there is betrayal and danger at every corner, and she doesn't know how to get out. She runs to Ireland, dragging some of the few people she trusts with her, but Lizzy ends up putting herself and her friends even closer to danger. All she wants is a place to rest, but she doesn't know where to find it - and she will risk everything she has to get there. She thinks she already lost everything. Little does Lizzy know that she has much more to lose, and she might just give it all away. What will she risk to discover what she's been trying to find ever since her parents were killed all those years ago in Germany? And is she willing to die just to win?Complete
To Keep It Secret // wattys2017
"My back is stiff because of the hard ground and my feet are ice cold. A little breeze touches my bare skin. The smell of rotten meat invades my nose. My hands are tied with a sharp rope and something is keeping my left foot from moving. My head is spinning. I try to stay awake, but it's too late. BLANK." Jayden and her family moved across the country because of a terrible experience. It's the start of a new school year and Jayden sees it as a new chance in life. But what happens when someone from the past invades Jayden's life again? Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077MNH9HC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1511216390&sr=8-1&keywords=to+keep+it+secret+Laura+smithjesComplete
One More Deal---Billdip
"Why would I make a deal with you? The last time you were here and I made a deal I was turned into a puppet." I said. Last time he seemed confident and insane, but this time... He just seemed desperate. "Please, Dipper. Just this one last deal, then this'll all be over. No tricks this time, Dipper. Just one more deal." The yellow triangle holds out his hand in one last plea. I don't what it was, wether it was his desperate pleading, his story he had told me, or even just instinct, but I shook his hand. I'm Dipper Pines, a nerdy, unpopular teen. Not that it really matters. I have a twin sister named Mabel and we both decided that we were going back to a certain place called Gravity Falls again. A few years ago my sister and I came here for the summer. We found things that you couldn't even dream of! It was probably the best thing I had seen in all my years of being alive. And now I'm finally back...Complete
Of Illnesses And Antidotes
On their 5th birthday, they're dying. By their 18th birthday, they're dead. In a place known only as the Sanctuary, children of an inferior race known as Ebonies are forced into being test subjects. But they have no idea what they are doing. Their lives are no longer their own, their freedom and rights non-existent in a world where they are believed to be the cause of a fatal virus. For that, they must pay by being drugged, abused, ill-treated and experimented on in order to combat the disease they started and cure the Ivories they unleashed it on. Naomi is an Ebony. But she is also an Ivory. Her curiosity and intelligence have led her to the truth. And she knows she must escape. But how can she escape when she is already dead?Complete
LIFE BEGIN AT THE END OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
Ava Morgan, a cautious and risk-averse woman, has spent her entire life inside the boundaries of safety. Routine defines her: the same job, the same commute, the same people. But beneath her quiet exterior lies a deep fear a childhood loss that convinced her the world is dangerous and unpredictable. When her best friend Lila dares her to join an expedition across uncharted lands, Ava reluctantly agrees, thinking it will just be a short trip to break the monotony. What begins as a harmless adventure quickly spirals into a life-altering journey. Alongside Daniel Cruz, a seasoned adventurer hiding his own demons, Ava travels across jungles, deserts, oceans, and mountains in search of a mysterious ancient landmark whispered about in legend. But the journey isn't just about survival it's about facing fear, trust, and the limits of the human spirit. Standing in their way is Silas Ward, a cunning treasure hunter who believes only the ruthless deserve to succeed. Silas becomes Ava's mirror opposite: where she hesitates, he manipulates; where she values people, he exploits them. Through betrayals, storms, hunger, and the constant question of who to trust, Ava is pushed far beyond her comfort zone. Each challenge strips away her old self and forces her to confront what she has been running from her entire life: her fear of loss, her fear of failure, and ultimately, her fear of living. By the time Ava reaches the final test a perilous confrontation with Silas that threatens not only her life but Daniel's and Lila's she realizes the truth: life never begins in safety. It begins in risk, in courage, in the unknown. In the end, Ava is transformed. She started as someone afraid to live. She ends as someone who understands that every sunrise, every choice, every act of bravery only comes once we step outside the walls we build around ourselves.Complete
The Missing Signal
In the bustling city of New York, a tech-savvy journalist named Alex Chen stumbles upon a cryptic signal in the aftermath of a high-profile kidnapping case. The signal, hidden within a series of seemingly innocuous social media posts, appears to be a call for help from a missing person; but it is encrypted in a way that only Alex can decipher. As Alex dives deeper into decoding the signal, they discover that it is connected to a network of underground groups with dark motives. The missing person, Dr. Emily Carter, a renowned scientist, who was working on groundbreaking technology, holds secrets that could alter the balance of power in the city.Complete
Every Day in May (grand prize winner) ✔
***WINNER of the "BREATHTAKING: A FANTASY AND SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL WRITING COMPETITION!" "You are a secret kept from the world, but not from me." So begins the peculiar message found slipped under a bedroom door on the morning of May first. Theo is the heir to a powerful dictatorship. The number of people allowed to know he exists is few. He has spent his entire life walled up in the Tower, the looming stone monolith from which his father rules over the Land. Merryn is the daughter of political prisoners. She's known who Theo is longer than he would think possible, and she is taking a great risk contacting him via handwritten notes in order to convince him he deserves more than the fate his father has designed for him. She has one month to exchange daily messages with him, to answer his questions and open his eyes to the realities of a world he has never been allowed to see. A revolution is coming to the Land at the end of the month, and if Merryn's notes fail to get their point across, Theo may never live to see the sunrise on June first. A/N: The following letters were originally published each day from May 1st-31st, 2014. As you will see,Theo is allowed to write down a question for Merryn each evening, but you, the reader, won't see these within the body of the story. It may or may not be obvious from Merryn's response what Theo is asking. Part of the fun is guessing what his questions might be, but if you really want to know what they are, a list of those questions is at the end of the story. This story is a re-imagining of Rapunzel. Now, without further ado-I believe a young heir is about to unfold a slip of paper found on the tile floor near his door... Let's see what it says!Complete
So, five kids-Jade, Peter, Oliver, Rose, and Eddie-are hanging out and playing truth or dare when they stumble upon this weird old journal. At first, it seems pretty boring, but as they read more, they realize it's got some seriously strange stuff in it. Curiosity gets the best of them, and they decide to dig deeper. They end up teaming up with a sneaky thief who once tricked them and an almost-dead old lady who seems to know a thing or two. Together, they're off on a wild adventure to figure out what's really going on with that journal. Is it just an old book, or does it hold some crazy secrets? What kind of challenges will they face along the way? Join them on this fun and mysterious ride to find out what the journal really has in store!
More detailsContent Guidelines