The Wish Ring Cipher (Codebreakers #1)

A sweet-natured, cryptology-loving middle schooler builds confidence solving magical puzzles and mysteries in this smart series launch from Ott (Legend of the Realm). Following a recent autism diagnosis, Emma Avery is feeling especially nervous about starting seventh grade at Afton Academy. As she struggles to make eye contact and converse with most of her classmates and teachers, a literal hallway collision with kind and popular Nate Lin becomes a turning point in her social landscape when she learns that he’s a fellow codebreaker aficionado. Nate invites Emma to his lunch table and, more interestingly, into the Codebreakers, his crew of puzzling pals, who are intent on cracking a series of ciphers that purportedly lead to enchanted artifacts buried in the ruins of a nearby decimated village. Though she’s skeptical about magic, Emma relishes the challenge of solving a tricky mystery to obtain a supposedly wish-granting ring, a task that becomes all the more urgent when it’s discovered that an evil splinter group of adult codebreakers also seeks the item. While adult reactions to a climactic denouement strain credulity, fans of interactive, puzzle-filled volumes will enjoy the ciphers and code symbols embedded throughout. Experience-informed prose, per an author’s note, portrays Emma’s neurodivergence with care and clarity, while suspenseful ambiance keeps the pages turning. Characters are described as having varying skin tones. Ages 8–12. Agent: Victoria Doherty Munro, Writers House. (Feb.)