From School Library Journal
Grade 7 Up Three teenagers, hoping to stop the cut in funding of the radio-electronic survey of space for evidence of intelligent life, plant a "message from the stars." Then the real aliens show up. Bill Keester is sucked into this madness by Brandan Torrance, a child of hippie parents who bribes Bill into playing Avalon Hill war games with him by tempting him with sister Courtney's vast science fiction collection. Gorgeous Courtney is the moving force. Enamored with a Carl Sagan sound-alike, she wants to save her idol's pet project by computer subterfuge. Brandan's along for fun; Bill's along for love. The Torrance parents are eccentric gems. Mrs. Keester's fundamentalist approach might be overdone at firstshe seems to treat dieting the same way some medieval monks used self-flagellationbut it leads the way to some delightful ironies. The language and wordplay are clever and funny, the teen banter is right on the mark, as are the cultural references. The '60s revivalists will love it, as will war gamers, computer hackers and science fiction fans. Additionally, the science aspects are solid. A laugh-aloud book. When they come back raving over Sleator's Interstellar Pig (Dutton, 1984) give them this. Annette Curtis Klause, Montgomery County Libraries, Md.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
