How many books have you read that include a teenage boy sniffing scabs? Mitchell Blake, a carefree teen who lives in Manhattan, ends up doing this when he's researching for a late school assignment. While looking through old books to find information, Mitty comes upon an envelope which contains smallpox scabs from the early 1900s. In this fascinating book by Caroline B. Cooney, Mitty goes through experiences like no other - all while having to worry about infecting the millions of people in New York with this deadly disease.

The smallpox scabs aren't supposed to contain a living virus anymore, but what if they do? As Mitty does more and more research on the internet, he learns about the dangers of variola major. He could keep it to himself, and hope the virus has passed with the years, but the risk of infecting New York was clearly a possibility.

Extremely nervous and experiencing sleepless nights, Mitty decides to contact many different people, specialists, and newspapers. He gets responses he would have never imagined. As he worried, smallpox became all he could think about. Mitty even wrote letters as he planned a possible suicide, but some kidnapping got in the way.
Until read, the rest remains a mystery. You won't be able to put down this suspenseful thriller as you read through the ups and downs of teens like you. With Mitty, Derek, Olivia, and others, you're guaranteed to find a relatable character.

This fictional book is clearly unique, but fascinating. An idea like this isn't read about every day. I would recommend this page-turner to any reader who gets interested easily; it's an exceptional novel. I have read nothing like this before, and Code Orange was overall an abundant read!