“‘It was this wonderful time between magic and so-called rationality.’ - Wally Feurzeig, co-creator of the Logo programming language, on the early days of Logo.”

This quote is the epigraph for the novel, chosen by Yang to place at the very beginning as a way to frame readers’ understanding of the story. It captures the excitement and wonder that Eni and Hopper feel when they start to understand the codes around their school and encourages young readers to approach coding with the same enthusiasm. The phrase “between magic and so-called rationality” mirrors the way coding appears to be an abstract mystery at first, but later becomes a structured, logical system that can be understood and mastered, reinforcing the theme of Computer Coding as a Fun and Accessible Discipline.

“Listen. I’m going to tell you a story—a story about me. But I’m telling you so that you’ll remember—remember about you.”

This quote is on the first page of the story, and it is just disembodied words on a black page; the speaker and the character to whom they are speaking are unknown. It provides a sense of mystery and a hint at a conflict that might come later in the story. The repetition of “remember” suggests that the story is not only about Hopper’s journey but also about universal experiences of self-discovery, connecting to the theme of