Talia’s Codebook for Mathletes
Marissa Moss
Walker Books
June 13, 2023
Ages 8 to 12

Talia loves cracking codes and doing math, but can’t seem to solve the puzzle that is middle school. Joining the mathlete team was supposed to help with her transition, but as the only girl on the team, the boys make her the outcast. When her mathlete best friend, Dash, gets too embarrassed to be best friends with a girl, and wants to hide their friendship, there’s only one thing Talia can do—make her own all-girls mathlete team! With her new friends by her side, Talia becomes determined to bring their team to victory, get her friend back, and figure out the social rules of middle school.

The comic diary form gives a personal touch to the feelings, actions, and reactions Talia has to daily life as a middle school student. The book is broken down into observations, deductions, quizzes, and puzzles, which act as chapters. With this style, readers get a fast-paced book with no breaks in the plot. The illustrations are meant to look like doodles in a diary but are still expressive with the use of postures and facial expressions. The colors are bright with the use of watercolors and gouache with ink to give definitions to characters and objects. The overarching themes of friendship, discovering a sense of self, and finding the courage to do something outside the norm make this book perfect for readers entering middle school. Talia evolves in her social development, starting as self-centered and refusing to see her friend’s perspectives then becoming conscious of her actions and how they affect other people’s feelings. Talia’s friends and family don’t have major character developments during the book, but they do support and encourage her on her journey through middle school. Talia’s Codebook for Mathletes is a STEM-oriented book that teaches young readers, especially girls interested in math or science, to be courageous and forge their own unique path in middle school.