Code Orange

by Caroline B. Cooney
PRMS paperback 198 pages
genre: YA science thriller

I wish I'd finished it *before* the 7th grade book club discussed it, but it was enjoyable. Mitty is a slacker rich kid at a private school in NYC. He has to research an infectious disease and what he learns about smallpox changes his world. Based on a true event (someone finding smallpox scabs in an old, old book), Cooney has used modern technology, situations, and politics to write a believable story. I didn't like Mitty as a character - he is WAY too much of a slacker kid with attitude, it was an enjoyable read.