Mitty is a bit of a slacker. He is not really interested in school, but he is oddly transformed at times by his fascination with his infectious disease project and even his exploration on Beowulf - once he finally gets around to reading it. He finds an envelope marked 1902 and in it some small pox scabs. As he dives more deeply into his research, he wonders if he has gotten infected by breathing in the scabs. He doesn't tell anyone for a long time. After posting a message on the Internet, suddenly everyone is looking for Mitty - the FBI, CDC, and even some terrorist seeming types.
I found this novel to be a bit pedantic. It hits you over the head with its American patriotism and admiration for American heroes. Although it definitely kept me turning the pages, I thought the novel tried to do too much, and I don't know if I believed the ability of Mitty to get out of the situation he found himself in at the end of the book. ( )

It dindnt get to me ( )

The sort of book you have to keep reading, if only because you want to know if a smallpox pandemic will hit the world. The plot is engaging, even if it's not great writing, but the clichés of the evil Arab terrorists and good, brave American lad are rather cringe-worthy. The neo-conservative, xenophobic message is clear. The quickly moving plot, the only redeeming feature of the novel, starts to fall apart at the end; I wasn't quite sure what happened, when Cooney tried to tie it up all nicely without answering any of the obvious questions. Not a book I would read again. ( )

Susan says: This book was recommended by Julia, and it is definitely creepy. Mitty Blake finds an envelope full of smallpox scabs and unwittingly exposes himself to smallpox. Then it is a race against time to find out as much as he can about smallpox to learn whether or not he has the disease, and whether he is exposing the whole world to an epidemic. Even though he is only a high school student, his girlfriend Olivia is smart and a good researcher, so they research this thoroughly - on the grounds of writing a paper. I thought the creepiness came from the possibilities that this could happen, and the bioterrorism aspects of what happens to Mitty. Definitely suspenseful and it made my skin crawl. ( )

Code Orange is a fast-paced action/adeventure/thriller by Caroline B. Cooney.

Mitty Blake is your average slacker. But one day it becomes necessary to break this mold when he's faces the threat of being kicked out of Advanced Biology, the class his crush, Olivia, is in.

Faced with the challenge of writing a report on an infectious disease, Mitty turns to some of his Mother's old books for information the night before notes are due. The scabs from the variola major virus he finds in an envelope inside one book will change Mitty Blake, and possibly all of New York City forever...

I loved this book and finished it in about 12 hours. I just couldn't put it down. It's fantastically written and makes you think about what it truly means to be a hero. ( )