A READERS' FAVORITE FIVE STAR RATED BOOKS FOR KIDS!
Anything Boys Can Do Girls Can Do Better!
Xavier Academy is having a computer coding competition with a huge cash prize! Sixth grader Sophie Washington and her friend Chloe can't wait to enter with their other classmates, Nathan and Toby. The only problem is that the boys don't think the girls are smart enough for their team and have already asked two other kids to work with them. Determined to beat the boys, Sophie and Chloe join forces with classmates Mariama, Valentina, and "brainiac," Rani Patel, to form their own all-girl team called "Code One." Computer coding isn't easy, and the young ladies get more than they bargain for when hilarious mishaps stand in their way. It's girls versus boys in the computer coding competition as Sophie and her friends work day and night to prove that anything boys can do girls can do better!
A READERS' FAVORITE FIVE STAR RATED BOOKS FOR KIDS!
Anything Boys Can Do Girls Can Do Better!
Xavier Academy is having a computer coding competition with a huge cash prize! Sixth grader Sophie Washington and her friend Chloe can't wait to enter with their other classmates, Nathan and Toby. The only problem is that the boys don't think the girls are smart enough for their team and have already asked two other kids to work with them. Determined to beat the boys, Sophie and Chloe join forces with classmates Mariama, Valentina, and "brainiac," Rani Patel, to form their own all-girl team called "Code One." Computer coding isn't easy, and the young ladies get more than they bargain for when hilarious mishaps stand in their way. It's girls versus boys in the computer coding competition as Sophie and her friends work day and night to prove that anything boys can do girls can do better!
âWatch out! Here comes a roll!â I duck my head and clutch my tray close to my body to avoid getting hit by the hard piece of bread, and then wrinkle my nose at the strong smell of bleach, canned vegetables and mystery meat that fills the cafeteria. The smaller boys, who threw the food at me, crack up laughing, scattering to various tables around the room. âSheesh, are those fifth graders immature,â I frown and shake a crumb out of my thick ebony braids. My friends and I were definitely not so silly last year. Lunchtime at Xavier Academy can be a zoo. The teachers sit at tables in the back of the lunchroom, and the kids sit in front near the food line. Since itâs a private school, the price of our lunches is included in the money our parents pay. We can go through the line as many times as we want during the thirty minute lunch period, and that sometimes leads to food fights when the teachers arenât looking.Â
âLetâs sit at that table over there.â My best friend Chloe points to some seats near our other classmates, Nathan Jones, Toby Johnson and Carlton Gibson. Chloe and I usually sit with the other members of our cheerleading squad, Valentina Martinez and Mariama Asante, but I donât see them. âHey, guys, whatâs up?â Chloe asks, then flashes her too-white-to-be-true smile and shakes her glossy, black curls. Sheâs one of the prettiest girls in our sixth grade class, and also one of the most popular. Chloe gets all the attention from the boys, especially Toby, who has followed her around like my dog Bertram chasing a tennis ball, since he transferred to our school last year. Chloe wonât admit it, but she kind of likes him, too. Kids in our class call them ToChlo behind their backs. âHey, ladies,â Toby grins back and shows his dimple. I remember when his smile made my day go from gray to rainbow bright. I had a major crush on Toby when he came to Xavier and went through all kinds of changes to get his attention. Iâm embarrassed thinking about how I acted like I love basketball, which I canât stand, because he is a star player on our schoolâs team, and how I even swiped a cell phone from one of my little brotherâs friends so I could call Toby. I found out he didnât really care about any of that stuff and liked me for myself. We arenât a couple or anything, but Iâm glad weâre friends. Â
âWhatcha reading?â I point at pieces of paper on the table that the boys are staring at like theyâre Willy Wonkaâs golden tickets. âAn invitation for teams to sign up for the new computer coding club,â answers Nathan, pushing his dark-rimmed glasses up on his nose. âXavier is having a coding competition to see who can make the best computer app.â âWhatâs coding?â I ask. âA special language that computer programmers use to tell the computer what to do,â Nathan explains. âlike show a video, or start a game.â âWeâre thinking about making an app thatâs similar to the video game, Fortify,â says Toby. âThe grand prize is two hundred dollars, and itâs split between all the team members. I want some new basketball shoes, and my dad says I have to come up with half the money myself, so this will be a quick way to get it.â âCount us in!â enthuses Chloe. âWe could always use some extra cash for trips to the mall.â âYeah, that sounds like fun,â I add. âWait a minute, ladies,â says Nathan. âCoding isnât as easy as turning a cartwheel. We really want to win.â âWhatâs that supposed to mean?â asks Chloe, putting her hands on her hips. âYou donât think you could win with us on the team?â âI-I didnât say that,â he stammers. âItâs just with yourâŚummâŚdisability and allâŚand all the time you have to practice for cheerleading, I wonder if you could really help us.â
Now heâs done it. I can almost see the steam coming out of Chloeâs curls. My best friend has dyslexia, a condition that makes her see numbers and letters differently. Because of it, she takes longer to read and do math than other kids and is in some special classes. She gets very angry when people make fun of her about it, or act like sheâs not smart. âIf youâre so worried about us being in cheer why would you pick Toby for the team?â Chloe counters. âHe practices his basketball just as much as we practice for cheerleading, and weâre all at the same games.â âToby is a level one Fortify player,â Nathan says. âHe knows everything about the game, so he can help us write a plan for how the app should work.â âOooo, I guess we should bow down to the expert,â says Chloe. âMy eight-year-old brother Cole plays Fortify,â I pipe in. âIâm sure itâs not too hard to figure out.â âYeah, you guys just donât want us,â Chloe frowns. âNobodyâs trying to keep you girls from being on the team.â Carlton holds his palms up to keep the peace. âItâs just that weâve asked a couple other guys to be on our team already, so we donât have room for anyone else.âÂ
âExactly. Weâd love to have the extra âbrain power,â but our group is full,â Nathan agrees. âIn fact, I wish I could make an app to clone myself. Then Iâd have another person to do my school assignments while Iâm working on this.â âWhyâd we want to have two of you?â says Chloe. âThere are enough jerks running around this school. Come on, Sophie! Since their group is so âcrowded,â letâs find a table where there is enough space for us.â She turns on her heels and moves toward another table, and I follow. âChloe, hold up! Donât be like that!â Toby calls. She doesnât look back. âLet her go, man,â says Nathan, âItâs not worth it.â They turn back to the flyers. âThe nerve of those boys!â Chloe huffs as we sit down at a table in a corner of the room. âI canât believe they think weâre not smart enough to help them win the competition.â I shake my head and smooth my uniform skirt. I am especially surprised at Nathan, since I beat him in both the school and regional spelling bees last year. âThey think weâre dumb just because we are cheerleaders and because weâre girls.â âWell, weâll show them!â Chloe yanks a coding club flyer off the cafeteria wall. âLetâs sign up for the competition and beat the pants off them!â âYeah, theyâll wish that they begged us to be on their team!â I agree.Â
We high five, and then start reviewing the contest rules as we eat our sandwiches. The coding club meeting is tomorrow afternoon in the school computer lab. I canât wait to see Nathanâs and Tobyâs faces when we show up with our own winning team. It's game on!
This is the first Sophie Washington story that I've read; I didn't even realise it was part of a series until I started to read! That didn't hinder my enjoyment at all though. If you haven't read any of the other books, don't worry about it, Tonya Duncan Ellis does a great job of setting the scene.
Sophie Washington is an excellent lead character for a series full of diverse and well drawn characters. She knows her own mind, isn't perfect and as a character is realistic for the age group. Her friends are an interesting group and fun to spend time with; they're a mix of characters but it makes sense that they're friends, rather than seeming like stock characters as some stories do.
My only criticism of this book is about the dialogue. It's the part that is probably the hardest to write in a Middle-Grade book, and sometimes that showed. Some of the dialogue does read like an adult trying to imagine how children that age sound, and it doesn't quite work. It can be a little clunky. Don't be put off by this common problem though, it didn't get in the way of my overall enjoyment.
The plot is well-suited to the length of the book, and the characters. The idea of a Coding Competition made it exciting, and the girls vs. boys angle is always a good one. There's more to their conflict than that though; it's cleverly thought out and works well.
Whether you've read all of the Sophie Washington books so far, or you're considering starting with Code One, give this a try; you won't regret it.