Publisher Description

In this innovative middle grade novel, coding and music take center stage as new girl Emmy tries to find her place in a new school. Perfect for fans of the Girls Who Code series and The Crossover.In a new city, at a new school, twelve-year-old Emmy has never felt more out of tune.Things start to look up when she takes her first coding class, unexpectedly connecting with the material--and Abigail, a new friend--through a shared language: music. But when Emmy gets bad news about their computer teacher, and finds out Abigail isn't being entirely honest about their friendship, she feels like her new life is screeching to a halt.Despite these obstacles, Emmy is determined to prove one thing: that, for the first time ever, she isn't a wrong note, but a musician in the world's most beautiful symphony.Shortlisted for a Trinity Schools Book Award (TSBA) 2023

Author Biography

Aimee Lucido is the author of Emmy in the Key of Code, and the upcoming Recipe for Disaster (Versify, Spring 2021). She's a former software engineer, and she got her MFA in writing for children and young adults at Hamline University. She lives with her husband in San Francisco, where she likes to bake, run marathons, and write crossword puzzles. , Twitter: @AimeeLucido, Instagram: @AimeeLucido.

Review

"As Emmy learns Java, the language and structure of programming seep into her poems. Music and code interweave.... and readers will cheer to see them work collectively...to create something beautiful." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"Music, coding, strong female techie role models--this engaging first novel should attract a wide audience." -- Booklist"This timely debut...champions girls in STEM and delivers a positive message about being 'always exactly yourself'....Through the author's creative mesh of coding, music, poetry, and narrative, this story uniquely conveys the art and beauty that can be found in multiple disciplines.... relatable and relevant." -- Publishers Weekly"This unusual tale seamlessly weaves basic computer coding concepts into a compelling story about middle schoolers struggling to forge their own identities in spite of the expectations of their families and society." -- School Library Journal

Review Quote

"As Emmy learns Java, the language and structure of programming seep into her poems. Music and code interweave.... and readers will cheer to see them work collectively...to create something beautiful."-- Kirkus , STARRED review "Music, coding, strong female techie role models--this engaging first novel should attract a wide audience."-- Booklist "This timely debut...champions girls in STEM and delivers a positive message about being 'always exactly yourself'....Through the author's creative mesh of coding, music, poetry, and narrative, this story uniquely conveys the art and beauty that can be found in multiple disciplines.... relatable and relevant." -- Publishers Weekly " This unusual tale seamlessly weaves basic computer coding concepts into a compelling story about middle schoolers struggling to forge their own identities in spite of the expectations of their families and society."-- School Library Journal

Excerpt from Book

California Dreaming I''d never visited California before we moved here but I''d heard about it in songs. Mom even made a playlist and she and Dad sang along the whole drive over from Wisconsin but even after three days straight of Katy Perry the Beach Boys the Mamas & the Papas I still didn''t believe it. Why would people here be different than anywhere else? But now that I''m here on the first day of sixth grade at my new school the hallway is full of kids tapping on cell phones that probably cost more than an entire month''s rent in our new house. Plus everyone looks like they just jumped off the cover of a magazine. Hipster glasses jeans where the only holes were put there on purpose and everyone pulling out a reusable container full of weird grains that must be their lunch. I tug down my Packers hoodie because it''s colder here than the Beach Boys promised and this way no one can see that I look nothing like the cover of a magazine. I wish San Francisco would go back to just being a song. Pretending As I walk down the hallway I head-hum my favorite walking song. Beethoven''s Minuet in G. dum dee dum dee dum dee dum dee dum I move andante matching my steps to the beat left, and right, and left, and right, and left so I can pretend I''m not at all sore from climbing up the hill in front of the school. left, and right, and left, and right, and left I can pretend I''ve been hiking it my whole life. left, and right, and left, and right, and left I can pretend I don''t smell like Wisconsin and that I wore the right clothes to school today and that I''m going to make tons of friends and have an amazing year left, and right, and left, and right, and left just like everyone else. Locker Number 538 Finally I reach my locker 12 clockwise 32 counterclockwise 8 clockwise Stuck. Attempted Duet No. 1 "Hi, I''m new here. My name is-" "That''s my locker."

Details