The Unbreakable Code

The events of The Unbreakable Code demonstrate that success and understanding come not from individual effort, but from collaboration. This theme is especially clear in the group’s efforts to solve the unbreakable code—a central mystery that can only be solved when many people each contribute their own unique insights, skills, and expertise. Emily is the first to realize that folding the code reveals a map and a hidden “X.” Yet her discovery is only one part of the puzzle. James contributes critical insight when he identifies a Chinese character and suggests reading the message right to left. His grandmother even helps translate, identifying the characters as the word for “hope.” Later, Ms. Linden offers her knowledge of San Francisco history to locate Gull Island and provides the boat that takes them there. Each character brings unique strengths to the problem, and together they arrive at a solution that none of them could have achieved alone.

Emily experiences some emotional friction when James makes the final breakthrough. She momentarily feels jealous, wishing she had cracked the code on her own and describing her feeling as a “full-blown popcorn-sized piece of disappointment” (277). Her own identity and sense of pride are wrapped up in the Book Scavenger quests, and she momentarily loses sight of how important the collaboration is to the process.