Secret Coders

“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.”

This quote is on the first page of the story, and it is just disembodied words on a black page; the speaker and the character to whom they are speaking are unknown. It provides a sense of mystery and a hint at a conflict that might come later in the story. The repetition of “remember” suggests that the story is not only about Hopper’s journey but also about universal experiences of self-discovery, connecting to the theme of Finding Your Place in a New Environment.

“I wasn’t all that thrilled about moving, but I downright dreaded transferring to Stately Academy.”

This quote introduces Hopper as the narrator and protagonist of the story; it also gives readers an idea of one of the major conflicts of the book—that Hopper is not happy to be at her new school. The word choice of “dreaded” establishes the intensity of her discomfort, reinforcing the idea that adjusting to change is not easy, a key idea in finding your place in a new environment.

“‘Drop me off in the front.’

‘No. I’m parking in the back. We can—’

‘I wanna walk in by myself, Mom. Please.’”

Hopper has this argument with her mother on her first day of school. Once readers know that Hopper’s mom is also a teacher at her school, they will understand that there is a hint in this quote—that her mother plans to park in the back. Before that is revealed, though, this quote shows Hopper’s hostility toward her mother and how she wants to separate from her when she walks into her new school. The dialogue structure, with interruptions and abrupt statements, reflects Hopper’s desire for independence and resistance to parental guidance, reinforcing her struggle in finding your place in a new environment.

“What’s up! My name’s Hopper. I’m new around here. You guys into basketball? Me too!”

Hopper sees a student holding a basketball and tries her best to make a new friend by connecting over that. This approach is not very effective, because Josh rudely tells her to go away. Later she admits that she hasn’t been playing basketball for very long, but she has found that she can connect with Eni over their curiosity about the school’s secrets and learning how to code, which is a much more unique interest and builds a stronger bond between them. This moment illustrates a failed attempt at belonging, setting up her eventual realization that true friendship comes from shared passions rather than surface-level commonalities, reinforcing finding your place in a new environment.

“Your earrings confirm a suspicion I’ve had since the first grade…these birds are robots. Their eyes display binary numbers.”

This is a significant moment in the novel because when Eni realizes that there is a connection between the number on Hopper’s earrings and the birds’ eyes, he realizes that the birds have been displaying binary code for numbers all along. This revelation demonstrates how coding can make sense of seemingly strange or chaotic details, reinforcing computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline. It also highlights Eni’s observational skills and scientific curiosity, which align with Curiosity as a Positive Trait in a Child.

“Something about this whole place has bugged me since kindergarten. Like it’s haunted…but not by ghosts.”

Eni confides in Hopper that he has had suspicions about strange things happening at their school for a long time. This quote shows that they both have the same sense of strangeness, and they haven’t been able to talk about it with anyone else who understands what they mean. It also shows that Eni is observant and possibly more sensitive to his surroundings than his peers. The word “haunted” adds an eerie tone and hints at a deeper mystery to be unraveled, fueling curiosity as a positive trait in a child.

“What were those creepy birds trying to tell us? What was the combination?”

This quote is the last sentence of the first chapter. It is a prompt for readers to think about what they have learned about binary code and gives them the opportunity to figure out the numbers that the birds are displaying with their eyes before Hopper says them in the next chapter. Each chapter ends with a question or problem that the reader can try solving themselves. This interactive element reinforces computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline by encouraging active participation in problem-solving.

“And that’s when I knew for sure that Eni and I were friends.”

This quote is significant because until now, Hopper has been feeling alone in her new school and unsuccessful at finding a place to fit in. She tried to connect with Eni over basketball, but now, they have really become friends, and it is their interest in coding and curiosity about the secrets of their school that has brought them together. The moment marks a shift in Hopper’s development, showing that real friendship is built on shared experiences and intellectual connection, reinforcing finding your place in a new environment.

“‘Can’t. I got practice tonight.’ I was lying. Girls’ basketball hadn’t started yet.”

In this scene, Hopper’s mother has invited her to go to a cafe where they could get hot cocoa and work together. She reaches out to Hopper and tries to connect, but Hopper declines and even lies about where she is going. Readers can see the dramatic irony here because there is a difference between what Hopper says to her mother and the truth that she says in the narration box. This lie underscores Hopper’s reluctance to engage emotionally with her mother, a recurring conflict that affects her sense of belonging at home and school.

“So this next part, where Eni and I figured out the turtle? I need you to pay extra attention. This is where we started changing into what we’d eventually become.”

In this quote, Hopper, as the narrator, is addressing both the reader and whomever she is talking to at the very beginning of the novel. She wants them to pay special attention to this moment; it is significant to her because this is when they really become coders. This moment serves as a turning point in Hopper’s personal journey, as she shifts from feeling lost in her environment to finding her identity through problem-solving and coding, reinforcing finding your place in a new environment.

“The program makes him clear the leaves and dirt off the sidewalk so Mr. Bee doesn’t have to! Pretty smart for a creepy old janitor!”

Eni and Hopper are surprised to learn that Mr. Bee, the school custodian, is behind a lot of the strange things they’ve noticed at Stately Academy. In the custodian’s shed, they find programs that Mr. Bee has written for the robotic turtle to complete different tasks, including clearing the sidewalks. The phrase “pretty smart for a creepy old janitor” highlights Hopper’s initial underestimation of Mr. Bee, reinforcing the theme of curiosity as a positive trait in a child, as their curiosity leads them to rethink their assumptions about people and their skills.

“15?! What’s that supposed to mean?!”

When Mr. Bee catches Hopper and Eni snooping around his shed, he shines the number 15 at the birds outside. This is an example of how numbers play a significant part as symbols in the novel. When the birds see this number, they display the number 15 in binary code with their eyes, which causes all four of them to open. This moment further cements numbers as a key motif in the novel, where they serve both as practical coding concepts and as tools of control and mystery, reinforcing computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline.

“Those birds must have some sort of attack sequence programmed into them. It gets activated when all their eyes are open.”

Eni is figuring out how and why the birds behave the way they do. He realizes that Mr. Bee has programmed them to attack when all four of their eyes open, and they go after Hopper and Eni. This realization mirrors the way coding works in real life—understanding a program’s logic allows the user to manipulate it, reinforcing computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline while also tying into curiosity as a positive trait in a child.

“Of course! Give me your jersey! […] Hey, creepy birds! Look at this!”

When Eni wonders what can deactivate the birds when they attack, Hopper has an idea. If the birds attack when all four eyes are open, displaying the number 15, then maybe they will stop when all four eyes are closed, which is the number 0 in binary code. Luckily, Eni’s jersey number is 0 and when Hopper holds it up to the birds, they stop chasing after them. This moment is significant because it shows how Hopper is now actively applying coding logic to real-world problems, reinforcing computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline and solidifying her as a problem solver.

“?”

When Eni shows Hopper that he took the robotic turtle from the shed the day after they broke into it, he explains how a person can give it verbal commands after it beeps. In the graphic novel, Yang indicates that the turtle has beeped with a question mark in a speech bubble. This visual cue mirrors how computer programs require precise inputs before responding, making the robotic turtle both a plot device and a teaching tool for the idea of computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline.

“I’m both proud and not proud of what happened next. Proud, because, really, that was the first time I ever coded. Not proud because, well…”

Hopper is narrating here to tell the readers about how she felt about what happened next. She is proud of herself for coding something, which shows that she is starting to find her place at school, and she feels empowered by coding, but she is also not proud because this little bit of coding is going to get her in trouble. This moment reflects the duality of knowledge—it can be empowering but also carries responsibility, reinforcing the theme of computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline.

“‘You ruined my life, Mom!’

‘I’m going to tell you one last time. When we are at school, you will address me as Ms. Hu.’”

When Hopper has this exchange with Ms. Hu in the lobby of the principal’s office, this is the first moment that readers understand that her mother is actually Ms. Hu. This revelation helps readers understand more about why Hopper is unhappy at home and at school; she is angry with her mother for separating from her father and she can’t even escape that conflict at school. The rigid separation between school and home further alienates Hopper from her mother, emphasizing finding your place in a new environment as a personal as well as academic struggle.

“Tell me, Ms. Hu, why did he leave?”

Hopper says this, sarcastically addressing her mother as Ms. Hu, implying that she thinks her mother is to blame for her parents' separation. At this point, her mother leaves Hopper to face Principal Dean by herself. This moment highlights Hopper’s deep-seated resentment and her struggle to reconcile the personal and professional roles her mother plays in her life, reinforcing finding your place in a new environment.

“My time is precious, Principal Dean, but so is yours. Find me what you want and you’ll finally have a way out of this…how did you put it? Oh yes. ‘Prison of a school, filled with sniveling brats.’”

The strange man who comes out of Principal Dean’s office says this as he is leaving; his statement creates another mystery for Hopper and Eni to solve. This character and his comments will likely be part of future books in the series. This moment establishes a larger external conflict beyond Hopper’s personal journey, reinforcing the mystery elements of the plot and aiming to maintain the reader’s engagement with curiosity as a positive trait in a child.

“If they ever give out awards for creepiness, the grand prize would go to the guy who walked out of the principal’s office. No question.”

Hopper has called everyone and everything at Stately Academy “creepy,” but the man she sees in Principal Dean’s office is the creepiest of them all. Yang emphasizes his startling appearance and sinister demeanor to create a sense of intrigue for the reader. This moment plays into Hopper’s observational nature, reinforcing her role as a detective-like protagonist who is driven by curiosity.

“I am new to basketball. I started playing six months ago.”

Hopper admits this to Eni in a moment of vulnerability; up to this point she had talked about basketball as if she had been a star on her old team. The truth is that she only recently started playing because she hopes that her father will come watch her games. This moment reinforces finding your place in a new environment, as Hopper’s initial attempt to fit in was based on external validation rather than true personal interest.

“Each player is a collection of statistics. Every move he makes changes those statistics, for good or ill. You get it? Basketball is math in motion!”

When Hopper’s father lived at home, he always tried to get her to watch basketball with him, but she was not interested. Now, she has a flashback that shows the reader that her father was not only interested in basketball but also in statistics and math. This connection between math, coding, and basketball reinforces computer coding as a fun and accessible discipline, showing how different disciplines are intertwined.

“Is your father Albert Gracie, by chance?”

Mr. Bee asks Hopper this when he sees her basketball jersey. When she confirms that he is, Mr. Bee’s behavior toward her changes. This indicates to the reader that Hopper’s father has some connection to Mr. Bee and may become an important part of future books. This moment introduces an element of legacy and foreshadows a deeper mystery surrounding Hopper’s father, which connects to her struggle in finding your place in a new environment.