[The Mark of Conte] is a spoof, of course, but it's a spoof just this side of reality, because all of the daft, hilarious things that happen and the people in Conte's life could be true. [Sonia Levitin] writes with zest and vitality, poking fun at everything in sight, but doing it with affection, and while Conte's rocky path is strewn with some peculiar stony obstacles, the problems he and his friends cope with are very real concerns for most adolescents.

Zena Sutherland, "New Titles for Children and Young People: 'The Mark of Conte'," in Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (© 1976 by the University of Chicago; all rights reserved), Vol. 29, No. 11, July-August, 1976, p. 177.