The Great Computer Dating Caper

by T. Ernesto Bethancourt

When eighteen-year-old Eddie, aided by a friend, concocts an elaborate computer dating service to finance his father's carburetor invention, the big three auto manufacturers threaten to sue for patent infringement and the teenagers are accused of runninga sex-for-profit ring.

Genres: Fiction

146 pages, Hardcover

First published December 25, 1985

About the author

Pen name of Tom Paisley, a singer, guitarist, and composer.

Reviews

[Wordwizard]

I was a little disappointed that the computer part was just for scheduling times and figuring out the finances of the business and a YA author in the eighties didn't anticipate the arrival of OKCupid a few decades in advance. It is goofy, with the larger-than-life characters you expect from a kid's book, but has some real stuff in it too. It's no A Year Down Yonder or anything, but it's got some of the same mix of outrageous nonsense and real heart.

I wonder what the intended audience age is. Eddie is 18 and there's definitely mentions of sex (mostly that they aren't having it, but realistic parental concern about it, it being a real possibility, etc.) but other parts of it are so, well, goofy and not nuanced that it seems like it's meant for early teens, not high schoolers. Maybe there's just been a shift in writing styles/topics considered appropriate for different age groups since 1984.

Also, apparently Bethancourt was one of the early authors writing about Hispanic kids for a general YA audience, so that's neat.