Code Orange is a great book by Carline B. Cooney. It's filled with suspense and a mixture of probable and outrageous events. The book portrays a normal teen life but adds a great adventure to the plot.

Cooney does a great job of creating characters that any teenager can relate to. Mitty Blake is an everyday procrastinating teenager. His best friend Derek is a smart kid who isn't a fan of Mitty's love interest, Olivia. Olivia is a brilliant student who always puts school work first.

Code Orange takes place in present-day New York City. The setting makes the story exciting. It's hard to think of anything more threatening than a smallpox epidemic hitting all of New York, which makes the story even more thrilling.

The book shows that courage can help you through anything. It also displays acts of true friendship.

In Code Orange, Mitty Blake finally decides to do an assignment. As he tries to think of a topic to do his biology term paper on, he comes across a book with the subject variola major, which is better known as smallpox. When he inhales particles of smallpox scabs, he fears for his life. The more research he does, the more scared he gets. As he tries to keep this a secret, he also looks for help. While he's emailing doctors about this situation, he gets the attention of bio-terrorists. When Mitty Blake gets captured by these terrorists, he must use his smarts to get away before these people try to wipe out New York City. In the mean time, Derek and Olivia are doing everything they can to find their beloved friend before it's too late.

I thought this book was fantastic! It left you hanging at the end of every chapter, making it hard for you to stop reading. I don't think I would have changed a single thing. The story was totally unpredictable because it was so far-fetched. Even though the odds of these events happening are pretty much impossible, it was still a good read. The ending was clear, unlike most suspense books. I give Code Orange five stars!