What do you think?
Rate this book
Color Coded
At Mountain View Middle School, everyone knows everyone else's business.
Green. Yellow. Red. Regardless of what is happening in your life, your status and access are determined by the card that hangs around your neck. Principal Fowler delights in giving demerits and knocking her prisoners students down a color.
Five discouraged and beaten down students are thrown together one day when everything goes wrong, and they are locked in a closet during a tornado warning. Five strangers enter, but they leave as one-determined to bring down the system.
Color Coded is a don't-miss adventure of misfits and mettle in the vein of The Breakfast Club meets Louis Sachar's Holes.
Green. Yellow. Red. Regardless of what is happening in your life, your status and access are determined by the card that hangs around your neck. Principal Fowler delights in giving demerits and knocking her prisoners students down a color.
Five discouraged and beaten down students are thrown together one day when everything goes wrong, and they are locked in a closet during a tornado warning. Five strangers enter, but they leave as one-determined to bring down the system.
Color Coded is a don't-miss adventure of misfits and mettle in the vein of The Breakfast Club meets Louis Sachar's Holes.
- GenresMiddle Grade
260 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2023
25 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 25, 2023
This was such a thoughtful, emotional and inspiring middle grade contemporary fiction! I loved the way she wrote each character’s POV and you really could sink into their personalities and their struggles as teens. I adored how they all came together in the beginning and developed a genuine friendship following it. It reminded me of The Breakfast Club (the middle grade version), but focused more on what happens after you have these vastly different characters connect in the moment. I love how they were diverse and talented in their own ways and they worked together to challenge a major stumbling block in their lives. It felt realistic and it was compelling. I highly recommend!
March 25, 2023
Once again, Katie Proctor has delivered an insightful, timely, and relevant middle grade novel. Dare I say, this is my favorite of her three books to date!
Color Coded is reminiscent of “The Breakfast Club” (a reference that none of my current sixth grade students got 🤦🏻♀️) in that it tells the story of a mixed group of kids who leave their shared experience as friends though they definitely did not enter it that way. The middle school in this story requires students to wear color coded cards that correspond with their behavior. (Think: red, yellow, and green card system you’ve probably seen in kindergarten classrooms.) Some of the students decide that they have had enough of this ostracizing, publicly shaming system and make a pact to do something about it. At moments defeating and hopeless, this story is also empowering and optimistic.
Color Coded is reminiscent of “The Breakfast Club” (a reference that none of my current sixth grade students got 🤦🏻♀️) in that it tells the story of a mixed group of kids who leave their shared experience as friends though they definitely did not enter it that way. The middle school in this story requires students to wear color coded cards that correspond with their behavior. (Think: red, yellow, and green card system you’ve probably seen in kindergarten classrooms.) Some of the students decide that they have had enough of this ostracizing, publicly shaming system and make a pact to do something about it. At moments defeating and hopeless, this story is also empowering and optimistic.
March 25, 2023
I loved this book by my friend Katie Proctor!
Told in the alternating viewpoints of 5 different middle school students, we see them bond over their hatred for their school’s discipline system which requires wearing a color coded lanyard in red, yellow, or green. This diverse, unlikely group of friends then works together to advocate for themselves and their classmates and take the system down.
Highly recommend!
Told in the alternating viewpoints of 5 different middle school students, we see them bond over their hatred for their school’s discipline system which requires wearing a color coded lanyard in red, yellow, or green. This diverse, unlikely group of friends then works together to advocate for themselves and their classmates and take the system down.
Highly recommend!
March 26, 2023
This book is fantastic. You can absolutely feel the love and affection that Katie has for her students in these pages and the heart that she has for justice. If you've got a kid that loves the "kids taking back their power" elements of Matilda, or the "breakfast club" elements of any found family middle grade story, this is the perfect one to put into their hands. I love Katie dearly, and hope we get many more books from her in the future!
March 28, 2023
4.5 stars
At Mountain View middle school, your disciplinary status and access to privileges are plain for all to see - hanging around your neck on a lanyard. Green means you haven’t messed up YET, and you get to participate in clubs etc. Red means tardives or late library books or other issues, and no privileges. Yellow just means you’re on your way to read. It’s a culture of public shaming and exclusion.
When five very different students are accidentally trapped together during a tornado, they are free to talk about how the system affects them, and maybe hatch a plan to change it.
The five kids in the story bring different interests and challenges including divorce, sick family members, grief, autism, and anxiety. They come together and develop beautiful friendships while they challenge the status quo.
This was such a great story with fully developed characters, a fast-moving plot, and lots of heart. The thing I loved the most was the exposure of the damage of public-shaming disciplinary systems. When my son was in kindergarten, his classroom had a clip up or down color coded system, which he hated. It was the MAIN reason he wanted to be homeschooled after that.
At Mountain View middle school, your disciplinary status and access to privileges are plain for all to see - hanging around your neck on a lanyard. Green means you haven’t messed up YET, and you get to participate in clubs etc. Red means tardives or late library books or other issues, and no privileges. Yellow just means you’re on your way to read. It’s a culture of public shaming and exclusion.
When five very different students are accidentally trapped together during a tornado, they are free to talk about how the system affects them, and maybe hatch a plan to change it.
The five kids in the story bring different interests and challenges including divorce, sick family members, grief, autism, and anxiety. They come together and develop beautiful friendships while they challenge the status quo.
This was such a great story with fully developed characters, a fast-moving plot, and lots of heart. The thing I loved the most was the exposure of the damage of public-shaming disciplinary systems. When my son was in kindergarten, his classroom had a clip up or down color coded system, which he hated. It was the MAIN reason he wanted to be homeschooled after that.
May 5, 2023
It’s been a long time since I have read any middle grade books, and Color Coded reminded me of the magic these books can hold.
Color Coded is about a rag-tag group of new friends who attend a school with a meanie principal who clearly doesn’t read Brene Brown. Under her leadership, the school enacted an elaborate system of color coded cards as a behavior management strategy, relying primarily on shame to keep the kids in line. This diverse bunch of middle schoolers bands together to stand up for their school and try to put a stop to this system.
I just loved this group of kids. @katie wrote a cast of characters so wide ranging that it felt like a middle grade Breakfast Club. She delved into their lives, showing that all kids have challenges and all kids are worthy of getting to know. I imagine that any young reader could find someone to identify with in this gem of a book.
Color Coded is about a rag-tag group of new friends who attend a school with a meanie principal who clearly doesn’t read Brene Brown. Under her leadership, the school enacted an elaborate system of color coded cards as a behavior management strategy, relying primarily on shame to keep the kids in line. This diverse bunch of middle schoolers bands together to stand up for their school and try to put a stop to this system.
I just loved this group of kids. @katie wrote a cast of characters so wide ranging that it felt like a middle grade Breakfast Club. She delved into their lives, showing that all kids have challenges and all kids are worthy of getting to know. I imagine that any young reader could find someone to identify with in this gem of a book.
July 21, 2023
A great middle grade book about 5 students who get thrown together, form a bond, and try to make some changes for the better in their school.
December 7, 2024
I enjoyed this story, so much! There are five main characters (Sophie, William, Jay, Lizzy, and Xavian), and each chapter is in a different person's head, helping the reader experience the emotions and understandings as that person would--because they are all so different.
These five kids get stuck in a closet together during a tornado warning/lockdown. (I bet you already knew that.) While there, they realize that, even with their very strong differences, they all share a couple of important views that helped them survive being locked in the closet and helped spark some serious friendships that should last a long time. With all their differences came valuable skills and circumstances that gave the rest of the group unexpected strengths. Because of one popular boy pushing to do things and a girl with leadership qualities, they stayed connected and made some very big, very important stuff happen! Maybe they broke the rules a bit, but it was necessary for the sake of all the kids in the school.
The stuff I really liked:
This story showed how different skills, different levels of knowledge, and different levels of bravery and fear can work together to create a very strong team, in ways that a group of people with all the same abilities and understandings cannot do.
The characters grew bolder and stronger together, as they learned to trust each other and to care for each other and their circumstances.
Kudos to the author for adding Sophie's judgmental attitude about Jay's game. Until then, she was almost too perfect. I enjoyed the way she changed during the game.
A good movie sometimes looks like it's about to do something, so you think, "Aha! I know what is going to happen! This story is too easy to figure out!" Well, this story makes you think those things, but you'll be wrong about what is going to happen. The author has done a wonderful job of weaving some great situations together and making things happen that you don't expect, but they constantly move the plot forward and you have to keep reading to see what happens next.
I love the little hints of early romance in the kids. They are just the right amount of emotion and understandings of each other. I remember those days well. How scary for a kid when you first see someone through lenses of such appreciation and emotion. The author did this very well.
I cried like a baby when Jay's grandma was about to leave. Maybe I understand it too well, but it really hit deep.
The stuff that bothered me:
Although the chapters are labeled with the characters' names, I sometimes got lost about whose head I was supposed to be in, and kept having to scroll back to the front page of that chapter to find out. It was especially difficult if I had to put the ebook down in mid-chapter and return to it later. But these issues were not half as big as the story was, so I had to keep on reading.
My only disappointment was not getting to see a letter to Jay from his grandma, and at least a mention of him actually seeing a couple of the things she had done for him. It wasn't a story-killer, but it was the one "unfinished" thing for me. It was too big of a thing to not come back to it and give me at least a tiny tidbit of joy for him. Maybe a memory or two to carry forward.
Overall, this is one of the best stories I've read in a good while. Hard to put this one down! (Take it to the bathroom with you!)
These five kids get stuck in a closet together during a tornado warning/lockdown. (I bet you already knew that.) While there, they realize that, even with their very strong differences, they all share a couple of important views that helped them survive being locked in the closet and helped spark some serious friendships that should last a long time. With all their differences came valuable skills and circumstances that gave the rest of the group unexpected strengths. Because of one popular boy pushing to do things and a girl with leadership qualities, they stayed connected and made some very big, very important stuff happen! Maybe they broke the rules a bit, but it was necessary for the sake of all the kids in the school.
The stuff I really liked:
This story showed how different skills, different levels of knowledge, and different levels of bravery and fear can work together to create a very strong team, in ways that a group of people with all the same abilities and understandings cannot do.
The characters grew bolder and stronger together, as they learned to trust each other and to care for each other and their circumstances.
Kudos to the author for adding Sophie's judgmental attitude about Jay's game. Until then, she was almost too perfect. I enjoyed the way she changed during the game.
A good movie sometimes looks like it's about to do something, so you think, "Aha! I know what is going to happen! This story is too easy to figure out!" Well, this story makes you think those things, but you'll be wrong about what is going to happen. The author has done a wonderful job of weaving some great situations together and making things happen that you don't expect, but they constantly move the plot forward and you have to keep reading to see what happens next.
I love the little hints of early romance in the kids. They are just the right amount of emotion and understandings of each other. I remember those days well. How scary for a kid when you first see someone through lenses of such appreciation and emotion. The author did this very well.
I cried like a baby when Jay's grandma was about to leave. Maybe I understand it too well, but it really hit deep.
The stuff that bothered me:
Although the chapters are labeled with the characters' names, I sometimes got lost about whose head I was supposed to be in, and kept having to scroll back to the front page of that chapter to find out. It was especially difficult if I had to put the ebook down in mid-chapter and return to it later. But these issues were not half as big as the story was, so I had to keep on reading.
My only disappointment was not getting to see a letter to Jay from his grandma, and at least a mention of him actually seeing a couple of the things she had done for him. It wasn't a story-killer, but it was the one "unfinished" thing for me. It was too big of a thing to not come back to it and give me at least a tiny tidbit of joy for him. Maybe a memory or two to carry forward.
Overall, this is one of the best stories I've read in a good while. Hard to put this one down! (Take it to the bathroom with you!)
March 31, 2023
This is Katie Proctor’s third novel. I swear that they just get better and better.
This one takes place in a middle school. Five students become separated from the other students for various reasons during a tornado watch. Each student is struggling in different ways. Soon they realize that they have more in common with the others than previously thought.
In this novel, Katie Proctor tackles the problem of public shaming in education. Each student in the school is required to wear a green, yellow, or red card around their necks. If you have a green card, you have special perks. If you have a red card, then life in school is more difficult.
Each chapter is told from a different student’s perspective. I loved all of the characters. Each of them had their own trails and strengths. William plays cello. Sophie is a natural coder. Jay is the school’s basketball star. Xavian knows all the stats of the school. Lizzy is the resident theater geek.
The ending is heartwarming and realistic. Thank you so much to Katie Proctor and Fawkes Press for my free Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest review. I gave this book 5 stars because I cannot give it more. I am recommending it to everyone I know.
This one takes place in a middle school. Five students become separated from the other students for various reasons during a tornado watch. Each student is struggling in different ways. Soon they realize that they have more in common with the others than previously thought.
In this novel, Katie Proctor tackles the problem of public shaming in education. Each student in the school is required to wear a green, yellow, or red card around their necks. If you have a green card, you have special perks. If you have a red card, then life in school is more difficult.
Each chapter is told from a different student’s perspective. I loved all of the characters. Each of them had their own trails and strengths. William plays cello. Sophie is a natural coder. Jay is the school’s basketball star. Xavian knows all the stats of the school. Lizzy is the resident theater geek.
The ending is heartwarming and realistic. Thank you so much to Katie Proctor and Fawkes Press for my free Advanced Reader’s Copy in exchange for my honest review. I gave this book 5 stars because I cannot give it more. I am recommending it to everyone I know.
April 30, 2023
This middle grade book about friendship and standing up for what you believe in has so much heart. I loved the Breakfast Club vibes as well as the way it worked out in the end, which was both believable and not too tidy, but still very satisfying.
April 18, 2023
I really enjoyed this book! It was a fun story about doing the right thing. The five characters were all interesting and had really fun voice. I will definitely be recommending this book to others!
April 7, 2023
Thank you to Fawkes Press for the review copy of Color Coded by Katie Proctor. I have really enjoyed Katie's previous novels, and jumped at the chance to read this one as well.
The book begins in Meadow View Middle School, where students are labeled with colored cards to show their behavior (green, yellow, and red). On an ordinary morning, a tornado causes the students to find cover, and 7th graders William, Sophie, Jay, Xavian, and Lizzy find themselves locked together in a closet. Their time together helps them realize how much they have in common - including how much they hate the colored cards. Determined to make a change, the new friends work together to put an end to the discipline procedure that is wrecking havoc on the students.
The characters in Color Coded are imaginative, flawed, and wonderfully written. I was invested in this story from the very beginning. What starts as a nod to the Breakfast Club ends in a plea to make good change in the world.
It is absolutely delightful from beginning to end. Highly recommend.
The book begins in Meadow View Middle School, where students are labeled with colored cards to show their behavior (green, yellow, and red). On an ordinary morning, a tornado causes the students to find cover, and 7th graders William, Sophie, Jay, Xavian, and Lizzy find themselves locked together in a closet. Their time together helps them realize how much they have in common - including how much they hate the colored cards. Determined to make a change, the new friends work together to put an end to the discipline procedure that is wrecking havoc on the students.
The characters in Color Coded are imaginative, flawed, and wonderfully written. I was invested in this story from the very beginning. What starts as a nod to the Breakfast Club ends in a plea to make good change in the world.
It is absolutely delightful from beginning to end. Highly recommend.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews