The Cool Code

‘The Cool Code; by Deirdre Langeland, illustrated by Sarah Mai, is a graphic novel that does a nice job capturing not only the angst of being a teenager, but the desire to find a way out of that angst. For her whole life, main character Zoey has been homeschooled, but several weeks after school starts, she starts her own new school life, joining the eighth grade class at her local middle school. All she wants is to fit in, but figuring out how to do that isn’t as easy as she wishes it to be.

She thinks that she has found something that can help her—a secret weapon of sorts. Thanks to her aptitude for coding, she has created “the cool code,” an app that will help her figure out how to be popular, from how to dress to how to talk to the cool kids. Little does she know that the app will take on a mind of its own, convincing her to do things that she might not have otherwise done, and allowing her to realize that sometimes the answers aren’t as straightforward as they might seem. Achieving one’s goal is all well and good, but doing it the right way, without stepping on anyone’s toes in the process, is often more important, and a harder balance to maintain.

As Zoey realizes that her friends may be more important to her than the popularity she so desperately sought when starting at her new school, she decides to take matters into her own hands. In doing so, she learns that “cool” is all in the eyes of the beholder, and while friendship can be messy, and people unpredictable, the spontaneity of it all might just be what makes it all worthwhile.