Case of the On-Line Alien

Wishbone Mysteries #9

by Alexander Steele

David Barnes agrees to go on a radio show, taking the against side in a debate about the existence of extraterrestrials. But he begins to doubt his convictions when he sees an eerie, green glow in the sky--and then receives an e-mail from the aliens themselves!

Genres: Mystery, Childrens, Middle Grade, Fiction

Library Binding

First published January 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jerry (Rebel With a Massive Media Library) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not only was this a fun whodunit, it also is a reminder of how the Internet was back in the day.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of my quest to read the silliest books I can find at the library sale. This was exactly what you’d expect from a book with this title. Wishbone himself didn’t contribute too much to the plot, but that’s okay considering dogs can’t use computers.

[M · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was actually a pretty good mystery. I just finished reading "War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells, and this book is written with that classic in mind. I really read the book because I wanted to see the literary device of mingling a modern day fiction with a classic. At first I was disappointed, because I didn't see much of the book in the story. However, in the end, some of the plot was "taken from" or "inspired" by both the movie and the 1938 dramatized version. It was fun to see how he incorporated the classic book.

[Jenny Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love aliens so this was a very entertaining book for me. As with the other Wishbones, it's meant for a middle grade reader, having simple words and plots, but it is not so simple that an adult would not be at least somewhat entertained by it. It's also not so complex that an elementary reader could not enjoy it if read to them.
Overall, I highly recommend all the Wishbone books, be they the Classics, Adventures Of or Mysteries, to all young readers!

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

A David mystery case! YES! Always loved him and his nerdy, geeky obsessions on the show. Plus, very cute to read any 90s-era computer stuff. They don't really solve the mystery (the main initiator anyway, the green glow in the sky), but I enjoyed David using his skills to figure out a way to prove/disprove alien contact.

[Colleen]

This is the book that informed my understanding of the internet when I was 8 years old. Clearly, I had a really great understanding of the internet.