Novel: Code Orange

Overview

Code Orange follows Mitty Blake, a bright and curious teenage boy in New York City whose fascination with history and pathology leads him into a frightening brush with bioterrorism. A chance discovery in an old book sets off a chain of events that forces him to confront scientific uncertainty, public panic, and the moral weight of knowledge about deadly diseases. The novel builds suspense by tracking Mitty's increasing alarm and the widening circle of adults, scientists, and strangers who respond to what might be an unprecedented public health threat.
Cooney blends medical detail with teenage voice to create a tense, believable portrait of a young person caught between adolescence and a crisis with global stakes. The narrative raises questions about how information spreads, how institutions respond under pressure, and how curiosity can become dangerous when mixed with ignorance and fear.

Main characters and setting

Mitty Blake is a high school student with a quirky intelligence and a taste for medical oddities. He lives in New York City, attends a public high school, and is part of a typical adolescent world of friends and family that suddenly feels unreal when the discovery occurs. The professional figures he encounters, school nurses, local doctors, Centers for Disease Control investigators, represent the adult institutions that must manage both the scientific reality and the social consequences of a potential infectious disease.
The city setting amplifies anxiety: dense population, media attention, and the logistics of public health response create a claustrophobic backdrop. Mitty's age and perspective are central; he views events through the lens of a teenager trying to understand complex threats while dealing with normal teenage concerns about identity and responsibility.

Plot summary

Mitty finds an envelope of preserved "scabs" in an old leather-bound book and becomes obsessed with the possibility that they could be from smallpox, a disease officially eradicated but still feared. After an accidental exposure, he begins to worry he might be infected. His symptoms and the tangible evidence prompt an escalating response: initial medical consultations give way to laboratory tests, quarantine procedures, and involvement by public health authorities. As scientists race to determine whether the material is viable and whether Mitty poses a risk to others, rumors and speculation begin to spread.
The discovery also attracts dangerous attention. Word about the potentially infectious material leaks beyond official channels, and Mitty becomes a target for people who see the scabs as a way to weaponize a disease. That threat intensifies the stakes and complicates the efforts to contain the situation. Mitty must navigate a world in which scientific processes are slow and uncertain, while fear, political agendas, and the internet accelerate panic and misinformation.

Themes and tension

Code Orange explores the tension between curiosity and responsibility, showing how a harmless interest can have hazardous consequences when it intersects with forgotten biological materials. The narrative interrogates how modern societies handle threats that are partly scientific puzzles and partly social crises, with attention to the limits and processes of public health institutions. Issues of trust, the ethics of information sharing, and the ways fear can shape behavior recur throughout the story.
Mitty's internal journey is as important as the external danger. He wrestles with guilt, the consequences of youthful recklessness, and what it means to be accountable when one's actions might endanger others. The book also examines how media and rumor can amplify a problem, making containment as much a social challenge as a medical one.

Conclusion

The climax resolves the immediate medical mystery and the direct danger to Mitty and those around him, but the novel leaves lingering questions about vulnerability and preparedness. Mitty emerges changed: more aware of the ethical dimensions of knowledge and more skeptical of simple answers to complex problems. Code Orange finishes as a cautionary tale about the fragile boundary between the past and the present, how relics can harbor threats, and about the responsibilities that come with curiosity and competence in an interconnected world.