Secret Coders

Secret Coders opens with a page that is completely black, except for several text boxes that say, “Listen. I’m going to tell you a story—a story about me. But I’m telling you so that you’ll remember—remember about you” (3). Is the speaker Hopper, Yang, or both?

At first, Hopper does not like her new school and has trouble making friends. How does her natural curiosity and personality ultimately help her in making friends?

Even though Hopper has several interactions with her mom and with her Mandarin teacher, Ms. Hu, in early parts of the novel, it is not revealed that Ms. Hu actually is Hopper’s mom until Page 66. Why do you think the author chose to do that? What effect does it have on the reader’s understanding of the characters?

What is the significance of the number nines painted on the outside of Stately Academy? How do Eni and Hopper figure out what they mean, and how does this parallel with Hopper’s discovery about the number zero and its effect on the birds?

In what ways does coding work almost like magic in the novel? What effect do you think portraying coding and computer programming this way has on the reader?

Near the end of the book, Mr. Bee recognizes the name on Hopper’s jersey and asks if her father is Arthur Gracie. Why do you think Hopper’s father had this effect on Mr. Bee? What evidence is there from the novel to support your idea? Discuss the use of foreshadowing and the potential significance of Mr. Bee as a character.

Because the first Secret Coders book is the first in the series, it leaves many questions unanswered and mysteries unsolved. What are three major questions or mysteries that you believe will be resolved in later books? Do you have any predictions about them?

Several of the characters in the first Secret Coders book change by the end of the novel. Explore the character arcs of two figures, and use specific examples from the text.