Swap'd: 03/23/19

Swap'd by Tamara Ireland Stone is the second CodeGirls book. Allie Navarro wants to redeem herself after the fiasco with Click'd. Her advanced computer science teacher has assigned everyone to make programs that uses code already created, basically to learn how to rapid prototype with code libraries, rather than reinventing something each and every time.

Meanwhile, Allie also has tickets to an upcoming coding event and wants her Code Girls buddy Courtney to join her. They have less than a month to get the money together to pay for the flight but with such short notice, flights are expensive.

The solution to both problems is a school app for selling things where Allie and Courtney take a small percentage of the sales for a transaction fee. Allie can build it from her Click'd app as well as bits and pieces from other CodeGirl apps.

Although I enjoyed every single moment of this second book, the climax hinges on the teacher saying that Swap'd (the new app) is illegal because selling things on school campus isn't allowed in California. Curious, I went through and read through the California Education Department's laws regarding school regulation and while there are restrictions on types of food sales (both for consumption by students on a regular basis and for the sake of fundraising), I couldn't find a single law that would prohibit an app like Swap'd or the general selling of things between students.

That leaves a big plot hole. Was the teacher lying because of misconceptions of state law? Does the teacher just want Allie to fail to boost Nathan's program (even though he only seems to be a one trick pony when it comes to programming)? Or is this just authorial oversight?

Regardless of the plot hole, I still enjoyed the book. I hope there is a third one.

Five stars

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