The Wish Ring Cipher

Ott, Alexandra. The Wish Ring Cipher (Codebreakers #1)
February 3, 2026 by Norton Young Reader
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Emma switches middle schools from Sterling to Afton Academy after her dad and stepmother decide that Afton has more programs tailored to her needs. Emma's recent autism diagnosis makes sense; she is often overwhelmed by noise and people, and is hyperfocused on puzzles and codes, which she loves. Learning coping strategies and being able to visit the school counselor, Mr. B., helps. Switching schools is hard at first, but she meets Nate Lin, who seems to be everywhere at school and is popular. He is also interested in codes, and since his brother Davey is also on the autism spectrum, he deals well with some of Emma's habits, like talking softly and not looking at people when she talks to them. He tells her that it is really important that he solves a local code, although he won't tell her why. Near their town of Riverside, there is the Sablewood National Park, where the ruins of the town of Sablewood lie. There is a legend that dark magic destroyed the town, and Nate tells Emma about an organization of Code Breakers, but students and adults, who are trying to solve codes and find secret artifacts. With Emma's help, the group (which includes Eli, Owen, and Diya) find a box that has a crystal in it. The crystal causes Eli to become invisible! Of the 11 artifacts, six have now been found, but the Code Breakers are at odds with the Division, who split from the group. When Nate disappears, Emma finds out information about the Division that makes her unsure about whom to trust, but meeting Leonora, who is part of the Division, makes Emma not want to trust them, since Leonora locks Nate up! Nate has his reasons for wanting to know the code to find the wish Ring, but Emma thinks the reasons aren't very sound. There are plenty of loose ends for the Code Breakers to investigate in another book.
Strengths: An author's note explains how Ms. Ott could not find many books with autistic characters who were girls or somewhat older, especially in fantasy books. This is definitely the case, although there are a few more with girl characters on the autism spectrum now than there were even a few years ago. Emma is very thoughtful about her reactions to things, and has some good strategies in place. The historic code is interesting, and there are some twists and subterfuge involving the Division that make the book exciting. Nate's reasons for finding the magical objects (and no mistake; this is a fantasy book) make sense, as do his friends objections to them. I loved that Mr. B. was also a Code Breaker. 
Weaknesses: This is a fairly slow paced mystery and includes a lot of puzzles, so this might not appeal to middle grade readers who want slap dash murder-and-mayhem type mysteries. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want mysteries with a bit of danger and a LOT of code solving, like Beckett-King's The House of Found Objects, Grabenstein's Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Currie's The Mystery of the Locked Rooms, or Guterson's The World Famous Nine.