The prolific author, Caroline B. Cooney is best known for her suspenseful YA books, most notably her 1990 novel, The Face on the Milk Carton. A lifelong learner, when Cooney turned fifty, she moved to Manhattan for school, inspiring the setting for today’s spotlight Code Orange. Cooney’s novel takes place in 2004, a time when the city is still marred by the tragedy of the September 11th attacks, but recovering. Exploring through the eyes of a native New Yorker who feels an immense sense of pride and civic duty, we see how a child’s psyche can be unmistakably shaken by threats on his home, especially when he believes he is the key to the terrorist’s next attack.
A biology assignment. An old book. An envelope. Scabs turning to dust. Before Mitty Blake can realize what’s happening, he’s possibly infected with one of the world’s oldest and most deadly diseases. Smallpox! Just days ago, Mitty was a laid-back teenager, who didn’t care about schoolwork or history. And now he’s fighting for his life, afraid that he is about to subject New York City and the world to an outbreak that could leave millions dead in its wake, especially if the wrong people were to find out his secret.
“The city would go through hell, all because Mitty Blake had done his homework for a change.”
Caroline B. Cooney
Cooney writes in a young teen voice that’s not only realistic but fun! Despite the weight of the world on his shoulders, Mitty is funny, charming, and a little self-deprecating. What makes Code Orange stand out from other YA thrillers, is that commitment to well-researched science. Not only does Cooney include a bibliography at the end, but her work was commended by the National Science Teachers Association as an “Outstanding Science Trade Book for Students K-12”. The reader learns all about smallpox and effective ways to research alongside Mitty as he goes on his adventure. Written in 2005, Code Orange is surprisingly still relevant. Mitty’s fear of quarantine and what viruses can do to the body gives an interesting reflection to the COVID-19 pandemic that would come almost 15 years later. And like in the novel, the CDC is still on guard for threats of smallpox bioterrorism. Students and Adult Book Club Groups can compare how Cooney described the spread of the disease through New York City against how it happened in real-time, and discuss what has and hasn’t changed in the past 20 years regarding how we handle illness, internet safety, and the duty to our home.
If you’re interested in requesting Code Orange for your book club, you can find the Request Form here. There are 23 copies. (A librarian must request items)
Cooney, Caroline B. Code Orange. Random House. 2005
