At first, she and her friend Linda investigate the communication as a prank; their suspects are Willie Lomax and Frank Wilkins.

gambit, and the true-to-character humor holds up well enough to keep readers going--even if the thwarted space-comedian bombs out.

"[3] Caroline Ward from the School Library Journal did not view the book as positively, commenting that the book's "[p]lot and characterization fall short of Byars' usual perceptive fare" and it is "not convincing as either an alien-from-another-world story or as an addition to the plethora of computer fiction.

"[4] Zena Sutherland, writing for Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, stated the book was "at times funny," but that "it's not up to Byars' usual high standard in plot or cohesion of content.

"[5] The Times Literary Supplement's Julia Briggs felt the book failed to "exploit the intriguing if unpoetic possibilities of computer language.