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My Teacher Is an Alien #2
My Teacher Fried My Brains
The first day of seventh grade was probably the worst day of Duncan Dougal's life. He knows that things are really bad when he finds an alien's hand in a dumpster and then gets plugged into an alien brain fryer.
136 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 24, 1991
About the author
Bruce Coville
331 books1,249 followersBruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)
His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.
Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)
Bruce has published over 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.
His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.
Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)
Bruce has published over 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.
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January 15, 2023Another fun read for a young person. If I recall correctly, it was about as good as the first.
January 14, 2020
Just read the author bio and see he grew up not far from me. Sweet!
This was the best of the first three books. The main character has his “brain fries,” which makes him smarter. Thus we get a character who is emotionally a child but in most other cognitive capacities is as smart as an adult. This gives the author the chance to write in a more natural voice, I have to assume, which made the story work better, at least for me.
The story featured a bit more deductive reasoning. The mystery unfolded at a more reasonable pace, keeping tensions going, with a bit of a twist as to who the alien is.
Anything that was flawed about the first book was rectified in this narrative, which was great.
It is happening at the same time as the third book, so towards the end the overlap was a bit redundant (because I read the third book first), but that’s on me.
This was the best of the first three books. The main character has his “brain fries,” which makes him smarter. Thus we get a character who is emotionally a child but in most other cognitive capacities is as smart as an adult. This gives the author the chance to write in a more natural voice, I have to assume, which made the story work better, at least for me.
The story featured a bit more deductive reasoning. The mystery unfolded at a more reasonable pace, keeping tensions going, with a bit of a twist as to who the alien is.
Anything that was flawed about the first book was rectified in this narrative, which was great.
It is happening at the same time as the third book, so towards the end the overlap was a bit redundant (because I read the third book first), but that’s on me.
January 11, 2022
Well, a bit ago I started Bruce Coville's four part alien saga. I figured now was a good chance to read the next one, with plans to finish it off in the first half of the year. Previously on My Teacher is an Alien, it was a pretty solid read with some clever humor and commentary alongside mostly good characters, but it didn't explain everything and ended on a bit of a rushed note.
Now we have the sequel where it's clear this was all a planned as a big saga. And it's also quite solid, better than the first in a lot of ways now that everything has been settled. This time we pull a Haunted Mask 2 as bully Duncan Doogal is our narrator. He's still a bully but here we find more of his depth. His family is a mess with his brother being a bully to him and his parents being unattentive at best.
With this going on, he tends to act up and such. After the ending of the last book, everyone is kind on edge as spoilers, Peter has vanished. One day while hiding in a dumpster (don't ask), Duncan finds a fake human hand that clues to the fact that aliens are still here even after Broxholm has left.
There are four new teachers this school year, and he must figure out which is the alien. But ontop of that, this experiment in one class fries his brains, making him super smart. This is good at first but like an addict, he goes back to the machine for more and this really creates complications.
So first, I really like the development for Duncan. We already had him soften up a bit in the first but this goes further into him. It captures how someone do a poor job handling a lot of bad stuff going, rather well. There's a bit where he wants to cry but he can't with his brother in the room and he just thinks about how he wishes he wasn't born. Damn.
Speaking of, the dad is straight up abusive, we're told as such. Most of it is past tense but at least one thing we're told was like damn. A bit real there. The smart thing works. He says it's more like he thinks he's dumb rather than being actually dumb which is a bit nuance, although weirdly Brain Juice goes more into that aspect.
This one gets more like a drug allegory, where he can't stop at just one hit. A few layers to this story that made complex. We also finally find out what the aliens are even up to. The mystery of who the teacher alien is is a bit obvious but just because I'm an adult who has read a lot of these, it's not badly done it has a solid misdirect.
The explanation of what is going in makes sense and I was like "yeah that actually checks out". Wow, an explanation in one of these that all works? That's rarer than a unicorn made out of four leaf clovers. The bigger explanation for the aliens adds in extra themes that I know the whole saga gets more into. Let's say we start to go into Weirdo Waldo zone. Oh yeah.
The story flows well, mixing these elements well. It takes a bit to get to the brain frying but I wasn't impatient as I was into Duncan's story. Susan is in this far less but that works fine for what it is. I do feel the writing is a bit weaker here, with too many parenthetical remarks. The first also had more clever humor than this does, although this has its moments.
The abrupt ending is worse here as it's full on to be continued without a more proper ending. That's fine as the next came soon but I do like multi part stories more than they can stand alone better. Still, not a big deal, it just means I'll get to the next one quicker, hopefully next month.
So I wouldn't day it's a step up in a hugely amazing way but it's still pretty good. As a sequel it changes things up well and makes Duncan a solid and fleshed out protagonist. We get solid depth as a few elements are juggled well and it ends on a solid note that makes me wanna push on.
These are shaping to be pretty solid, this one especially. How will things go from here? Find out sometime later, same Bruce time, same Bruce channel.
SIDE NOTES:
This is the first time reading any of these where dumpster is not capitalized. Given it’s done cuz Dumpster was a brand, I wonder how he got away with it.
This says hell, another slightly surprising moment for a book with a few illustrations in it.
Now we have the sequel where it's clear this was all a planned as a big saga. And it's also quite solid, better than the first in a lot of ways now that everything has been settled. This time we pull a Haunted Mask 2 as bully Duncan Doogal is our narrator. He's still a bully but here we find more of his depth. His family is a mess with his brother being a bully to him and his parents being unattentive at best.
With this going on, he tends to act up and such. After the ending of the last book, everyone is kind on edge as spoilers, Peter has vanished. One day while hiding in a dumpster (don't ask), Duncan finds a fake human hand that clues to the fact that aliens are still here even after Broxholm has left.
There are four new teachers this school year, and he must figure out which is the alien. But ontop of that, this experiment in one class fries his brains, making him super smart. This is good at first but like an addict, he goes back to the machine for more and this really creates complications.
So first, I really like the development for Duncan. We already had him soften up a bit in the first but this goes further into him. It captures how someone do a poor job handling a lot of bad stuff going, rather well. There's a bit where he wants to cry but he can't with his brother in the room and he just thinks about how he wishes he wasn't born. Damn.
Speaking of, the dad is straight up abusive, we're told as such. Most of it is past tense but at least one thing we're told was like damn. A bit real there. The smart thing works. He says it's more like he thinks he's dumb rather than being actually dumb which is a bit nuance, although weirdly Brain Juice goes more into that aspect.
This one gets more like a drug allegory, where he can't stop at just one hit. A few layers to this story that made complex. We also finally find out what the aliens are even up to. The mystery of who the teacher alien is is a bit obvious but just because I'm an adult who has read a lot of these, it's not badly done it has a solid misdirect.
The explanation of what is going in makes sense and I was like "yeah that actually checks out". Wow, an explanation in one of these that all works? That's rarer than a unicorn made out of four leaf clovers. The bigger explanation for the aliens adds in extra themes that I know the whole saga gets more into. Let's say we start to go into Weirdo Waldo zone. Oh yeah.
The story flows well, mixing these elements well. It takes a bit to get to the brain frying but I wasn't impatient as I was into Duncan's story. Susan is in this far less but that works fine for what it is. I do feel the writing is a bit weaker here, with too many parenthetical remarks. The first also had more clever humor than this does, although this has its moments.
The abrupt ending is worse here as it's full on to be continued without a more proper ending. That's fine as the next came soon but I do like multi part stories more than they can stand alone better. Still, not a big deal, it just means I'll get to the next one quicker, hopefully next month.
So I wouldn't day it's a step up in a hugely amazing way but it's still pretty good. As a sequel it changes things up well and makes Duncan a solid and fleshed out protagonist. We get solid depth as a few elements are juggled well and it ends on a solid note that makes me wanna push on.
These are shaping to be pretty solid, this one especially. How will things go from here? Find out sometime later, same Bruce time, same Bruce channel.
SIDE NOTES:
This is the first time reading any of these where dumpster is not capitalized. Given it’s done cuz Dumpster was a brand, I wonder how he got away with it.
This says hell, another slightly surprising moment for a book with a few illustrations in it.
April 27, 2009
This is the sequel to My Teacher Is an Alien (the second in a series of four), and while it didn't have a climactic alien defeat scene to make my kids jump with excitement, it was a much deeper character study, which meant it stimulated some great conversation amongst us. The protag of this story is not good girl Susan (protag of the previous book) but class bully, Duncan Dougal. The book opens with Duncan at home getting bullied by his own older brother. Most bullies are victims of bullying themselves, and this book illustrated the cycle process clearly to my kids, which takes away some of the fear of bullies just as much as it elicits sympathy. The next few chapters show Duncan in school, illustrating the impulsivity and anger that get him into so much trouble. Then it gets really interesting when Duncan discovers his brain has been fried. He undergoes a real character transformation after that, so that overall, this book becomes a fun story that challenges kids' beliefs about being smart and being dumb, reading vs. television. Some might say the television rant was a bit heavy-handed, but I thought it was brilliant. I can only hope some actual bullies get hold of this book. Duncan is a character they can learn from, and this kind of brain-frying would do the world some good.
April 26, 2018
Last year, Duncan Dougal was a minor player in his sixth grade class's struggle to save their town from the alien who was masquerading as a teacher at their school. Now he's in seventh grade, hoping to turn over a new leaf and be a better, or at least less troublesome, student in his junior high, with new teachers.
Unfortunately, he's really not good at this whole "get to class on time, don't provoke the teachers, and do the assignments," thing.
Also, there's an alien teacher at the junior high, too. And since Duncan creates conflict with everyone, he's on his own in dealing with a problem everyone else wants to believe is over.
Duncan is a nicer kid than he wants to think he is, and his best efforts can't keep him from being really taken with his alien teacher's alien, slug-like pet. He also can't stop himself from doing the right thing when it's up to him to save the world.
It's a fun, and funny, sf adventure for younger readers.
It was originally published in 1991, so the tech is only slightly more advanced than when I was in junior high, but that doesn't slow things down.
Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
Unfortunately, he's really not good at this whole "get to class on time, don't provoke the teachers, and do the assignments," thing.
Also, there's an alien teacher at the junior high, too. And since Duncan creates conflict with everyone, he's on his own in dealing with a problem everyone else wants to believe is over.
Duncan is a nicer kid than he wants to think he is, and his best efforts can't keep him from being really taken with his alien teacher's alien, slug-like pet. He also can't stop himself from doing the right thing when it's up to him to save the world.
It's a fun, and funny, sf adventure for younger readers.
It was originally published in 1991, so the tech is only slightly more advanced than when I was in junior high, but that doesn't slow things down.
Recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
July 22, 2025
I had really enjoyed My Teacher Is an Alien, so I was curious to see how the rest of the series was. As it stands, the first book could have been read as a standalone. This one clearly drops off in a cliffhanger, so if you're only curious to read one or two books, you might not want to pick this one up. That being said, the book is less than 200 pages, some of those pages have illustrations, and you'll probably blow through it pretty quickly. This was a really interesting story and a great continuation of the series, and I can't wait to see what comes next.
January 25, 2023
Cute book, definitely better than the first in the series. What I love about this one is that it’s one of the few books I’ve seen where a stupid bully is the protagonist and he’s actually given good reasons for acting like he does. Of course he’s a jerk who hates school; his home life is bad and he doesn’t understand anything that’s being taught. I hope this one meant a lot to kids like this who’d never seen themselves sympathetically represented in a book before.
April 9, 2025
A really fun book that's just as good as the first one, My Teacher is an Alien.
Bruce Coville is a really excellent children's author that manages to weave in some deeper themes and surprising emotion into his stories without sacrificing the entertainment value.
He writes characters and inner monologue incredibly well and I've yet to read anything by him that wasn't a good time.
Fried My Brains gets a solid 3.5⭐ rounded down, and I look forward to reading books 3 and 4 in the series.
Bruce Coville is a really excellent children's author that manages to weave in some deeper themes and surprising emotion into his stories without sacrificing the entertainment value.
He writes characters and inner monologue incredibly well and I've yet to read anything by him that wasn't a good time.
Fried My Brains gets a solid 3.5⭐ rounded down, and I look forward to reading books 3 and 4 in the series.
April 25, 2025
Fun and amazing book!
A wonderful sequel to the first part, which I read more than two years ago and I still remember it, The main character of this book was so good and we also saw the return of characters from the first part.
the ending was really good especially how it ended as a cliffhanger, and I'm impressed how well the story written, I cant wait to read the third book!
**************************************************************
# Verdict
(7.5/10)
A wonderful sequel to the first part, which I read more than two years ago and I still remember it, The main character of this book was so good and we also saw the return of characters from the first part.
the ending was really good especially how it ended as a cliffhanger, and I'm impressed how well the story written, I cant wait to read the third book!
**************************************************************
# Verdict
(7.5/10)
March 27, 2023
a fun and fantastic continuation of coville's 'my teacher is an alien' series.
we are now narrated by duncan, the bully from the first one. coville gives a bit of sad back story to our reluctant hero so we know why he was kind of a jerk. funny, witty, and a bit juvenile, this was a fun quick read for anyone.
we are now narrated by duncan, the bully from the first one. coville gives a bit of sad back story to our reluctant hero so we know why he was kind of a jerk. funny, witty, and a bit juvenile, this was a fun quick read for anyone.
April 22, 2012
My Teacher Fried My Brains
By Bruce Coville
Fits into Book science fiction box
This book is about a young man named Duncan. Duncan is just started his first day of seventh grade, and can already tell sometings up when he finds an alien hand in the school dumpster..
This Book is the second of the four 'My Teacher Is An Alien' series.
I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read with an enjoyable story.
My Favorite part about this book would be the characters in it, especcialy an alien named Broxlm.
quote ''she wore alot of safari stuff - you know what I mean, khaki clothes with more pockets than an eighth grader has zits. I had heard a rumor that she claimed she dressed that way because teaching junior high was more dangerous than making a trek throught the jungle, i don't know if its true or not. '' i liked this because I thought it was a pretty true statement.
I found the main character Duncan interesting because of his general personality, the way he thinks. he kindof reminded me of myself.. in a weird way.
I read this book because I liked the cover. I would reccomend this book to anyone ages 10-20 , who likes a bit of science fiction.
By Bruce Coville
Fits into Book science fiction box
This book is about a young man named Duncan. Duncan is just started his first day of seventh grade, and can already tell sometings up when he finds an alien hand in the school dumpster..
This Book is the second of the four 'My Teacher Is An Alien' series.
I enjoyed this book, it was an easy read with an enjoyable story.
My Favorite part about this book would be the characters in it, especcialy an alien named Broxlm.
quote ''she wore alot of safari stuff - you know what I mean, khaki clothes with more pockets than an eighth grader has zits. I had heard a rumor that she claimed she dressed that way because teaching junior high was more dangerous than making a trek throught the jungle, i don't know if its true or not. '' i liked this because I thought it was a pretty true statement.
I found the main character Duncan interesting because of his general personality, the way he thinks. he kindof reminded me of myself.. in a weird way.
I read this book because I liked the cover. I would reccomend this book to anyone ages 10-20 , who likes a bit of science fiction.
August 29, 2012
Rereading thanks to HumbleBundle. It's fun to reread something I remember so well. Not having read
My Teacher is an Alien
at the time made Duncan a lot more relatable whereas I think as a kid if I had read them in order I might have been more resistant to the idea of reading a book from Duncan's perspective. It's a good book. In some ways more interesting than the original.
My Teacher is an Alien
at the time made Duncan a lot more relatable whereas I think as a kid if I had read them in order I might have been more resistant to the idea of reading a book from Duncan's perspective. It's a good book. In some ways more interesting than the original.
April 17, 2015
This book is a really good book for just wanting to read something fast because it is a really short and good book. I would give this book a 3.5/5 because it isn't really that descriptive in this book. This book takes place from the modern day that an 7th grade bully who is looking for change but, cant cause it is really hard for him to change because he pounds everyone he sees. As he is willing to get help or to find out something else... he notices something and uses it to his advantage and now he is stuck with something that he should not have touched.. This concludes this book.
January 21, 2012
Not quite as good as the first book in the series, I really liked how Coville brought us into the mind of a bully and made us like him. Coville brings a lot of factors in, showing how the expectations of others often shape how we act in the world. This has shaped how I approach the students I teach, expecting that each one is going to perform to the best of their ability. I'd definitely still recommend this to middle grade students today.
April 27, 2015
This book was really weird but interesting. It was weird because he found an alien in the fridge which is unusual. This book was obviously science fiction because of the aliens because you don't see that everyday. This book was okay and weird. I would recommend this book for people who like science fiction books. Also, if you're looking for a book that doesn't have a lot of pages and has a lot of points, you should definitely read this.
March 3, 2011
great book
March 4, 2015
My son enjoyed it, and it's been so long since I read it was like reading it for the first time.
May 28, 2021
While we all still enjoyed our family reading of My Teacher Fried My Brains, this was a step below My Teacher is An Alien with a much less likeable protagonist. This book picks up a few months after the events of the first book in the series. **Spoilers for book one follow** Fellow classmate Peter Thompson and alien teacher Broxholm are both missing, having fled the town after being discovered by Susan Simmons and her mad piccolo skills. The adults and other kids are all wanting to move on and forget about the crazy event. The only other person who was aware of the alien before his exodus, Duncan Dougal, is now starting his 7th grade year. This book shifts from Susan (the smart, nice, capable narrator of the first book) to Duncan. Duncan’s distinctive traits when the book starts are being a bully who is unintelligent and enjoys causing trouble.
Thankfully my kids (4 and 6 years old) seemed to realize Duncan made bad decisions throughout the book, and they should not do the things he does. The story for book two is similar to book one in structure. In both books the protagonist begins to suspect their teacher is an alien and that nobody will believe them. The differences here are that Duncan doesn’t know which faculty member is the alien (he has a list of four suspects; adults will figure it out instantly, my kids both fell for the red herring). Also, there is a brain frying machine that ends up changing Duncan to a much more intelligent person.
My recollection of this series from my youth was that the next book (My Teacher Glows in the Dark) was the best book in the series as the story shifts to full blown science fiction. I’m hoping my kids are old enough to enjoy it as they’re still very excited to keep reading but I think the high concept Alien Federation and evaluation of Earth’s worthiness to either join or be destroyed went a little over their heads. The biggest thing is Bruce Coville’s cliffhangers at the end of each chapter have the boys asking us to read extra chapters each night and/or put on the audiobook version whenever we’re in the car. It’s still the most excited they’ve been for a chapter book which has been really fun to see.
Thankfully my kids (4 and 6 years old) seemed to realize Duncan made bad decisions throughout the book, and they should not do the things he does. The story for book two is similar to book one in structure. In both books the protagonist begins to suspect their teacher is an alien and that nobody will believe them. The differences here are that Duncan doesn’t know which faculty member is the alien (he has a list of four suspects; adults will figure it out instantly, my kids both fell for the red herring). Also, there is a brain frying machine that ends up changing Duncan to a much more intelligent person.
My recollection of this series from my youth was that the next book (My Teacher Glows in the Dark) was the best book in the series as the story shifts to full blown science fiction. I’m hoping my kids are old enough to enjoy it as they’re still very excited to keep reading but I think the high concept Alien Federation and evaluation of Earth’s worthiness to either join or be destroyed went a little over their heads. The biggest thing is Bruce Coville’s cliffhangers at the end of each chapter have the boys asking us to read extra chapters each night and/or put on the audiobook version whenever we’re in the car. It’s still the most excited they’ve been for a chapter book which has been really fun to see.
September 10, 2017
My Teacher Fried My Brains is the 2nd book in Bruce Coville's "My Teacher is an Alien" series.
I have always thought this was an excellent addition to the series. In fact, when I first read it years ago in the 3rd grade, I found it a bit easier to read than the first.
The 2nd book takes places a few months after the end of the first book. Peter is gone and the whole town (maybe the country) knows about the existence of aliens though the adults like to pretend otherwise.
Instead of following Susan, this time we follow Duncan, the bully from the 1st book. It was wonderful getting into his mind. When you are the victim of a bully, you often hear from adults that they do it because they have low self esteem. When you are being picked on, however, this isn't all that comforting nor does it seem to be true.
It does seem to be the case of Duncan who doesn't receive much praise from anyone, including his own family. He is picked on his brother and his father. Teachers don't expect much from him and because they do expect bad behavior, it doesn't take much to get him sent to the office to the hard nosed assistant principal. Duncan isn't happy and he shows it by picking on others. Coville really makes you feel for him.
Duncan is sure there is another alien in the school after finding a human hand 'glove' in the trash where he hid after pulling the fire alarm. This soon leads him down a path that could spell danger for the 7th grader and also leads him to be a bit smarter too.
He has a lot of suspects for who the alien is and along the way, he meets 'Poot' a pet of the alien that resembles both green goo and a slug at the same time.
Loved this book as a kid and I love it now. Must read if you enjoyed the first one!!
I have always thought this was an excellent addition to the series. In fact, when I first read it years ago in the 3rd grade, I found it a bit easier to read than the first.
The 2nd book takes places a few months after the end of the first book. Peter is gone and the whole town (maybe the country) knows about the existence of aliens though the adults like to pretend otherwise.
Instead of following Susan, this time we follow Duncan, the bully from the 1st book. It was wonderful getting into his mind. When you are the victim of a bully, you often hear from adults that they do it because they have low self esteem. When you are being picked on, however, this isn't all that comforting nor does it seem to be true.
It does seem to be the case of Duncan who doesn't receive much praise from anyone, including his own family. He is picked on his brother and his father. Teachers don't expect much from him and because they do expect bad behavior, it doesn't take much to get him sent to the office to the hard nosed assistant principal. Duncan isn't happy and he shows it by picking on others. Coville really makes you feel for him.
Duncan is sure there is another alien in the school after finding a human hand 'glove' in the trash where he hid after pulling the fire alarm. This soon leads him down a path that could spell danger for the 7th grader and also leads him to be a bit smarter too.
He has a lot of suspects for who the alien is and along the way, he meets 'Poot' a pet of the alien that resembles both green goo and a slug at the same time.
Loved this book as a kid and I love it now. Must read if you enjoyed the first one!!
October 1, 2023
I'm reading these four books straight through as though they were a single novel (which they really are) and I am enjoying them thorougly. Coville's writing style has to be described as "snappy" in that the child characters speak pretty much without filter and in an amusing straightforwardness. The plots are engaging and the narratives move extremely swiftly. The improbable developments happen so rapidly that one gives up thinking, "but that couldn't really happen." It's a lot more fun to just go along with the story.
I think Coville is a really sensitive observer of children and gets through their shells to the cores within. The central character of this segment is the boy who bullied through most of the first book but was humanized by the final chapters. Here, where he is the narrator, we see his character much more clearly and sympathetically.
And I was quite surprised by the vehemence with which the "aliens" comment on the shortcomings of the human race - our violence, our lack of concern for the homeless and the hungry, and our inefficient use of our brains. Coville is packing quite a punch for the readers of these "chapter books."
I think Coville is a really sensitive observer of children and gets through their shells to the cores within. The central character of this segment is the boy who bullied through most of the first book but was humanized by the final chapters. Here, where he is the narrator, we see his character much more clearly and sympathetically.
And I was quite surprised by the vehemence with which the "aliens" comment on the shortcomings of the human race - our violence, our lack of concern for the homeless and the hungry, and our inefficient use of our brains. Coville is packing quite a punch for the readers of these "chapter books."
August 20, 2023
This is where the series starts to get interesting. Book #1 ended with Susan saving the day from hostile aliens, Duncan being kind of useless but less of a bully than before, and Peter going into space. So naturally the protagonist of My Teacher Fried My Brains is Duncan, because that's the most interesting option.
The story isn't that complicated - in fact, it's pretty similar to the story from Book #1. There's yet another alien at school, and this time it's up to Duncan to deal with it. But what makes this more interesting is the exploration of Duncan as a character. Coville doesn't pull his punches in making Duncan seem pretty reprehensible & repulsive, and then making us sympathize with him.
The story isn't that complicated - in fact, it's pretty similar to the story from Book #1. There's yet another alien at school, and this time it's up to Duncan to deal with it. But what makes this more interesting is the exploration of Duncan as a character. Coville doesn't pull his punches in making Duncan seem pretty reprehensible & repulsive, and then making us sympathize with him.
June 26, 2018
I would love to know whether there was a conscious reference to Flowers for Algernon by this plot-line... entirely possible. I think I read the Coville book after Flowers, too. Anyway, I re-read this probably a zillion times as a ten year old. Not sure it was intended in this way, but for the 'gifted and talented' nerd-kids most likely to read this book (speaking purely solely for the educational label I got and my own lack of, uh, relational skills with some of my peers) I think this offers really valuable empathy/perspective.
July 9, 2025
I read this for the first time since I was 9 or 10 years old after having bought it for my nine-year-old sons to read. I remembered this one as being the "funny one" of the series. There were some funny moments, but as an adult, I found this one just as suspenseful as the first one. The abuse Duncan suffers at home stuck out to me (though I think it largely went over my head when I was younger). Though he is a bully for the first book, Duncan comes off as pretty loveable here. Coville does a great job of making him a sympathetic character.
Also, poot!
Also, poot!
May 29, 2018
A follow up from My Teacher is an Alien, this sees us return to the same school in USA but this time with the central character being Duncan Dougal, the bully from the first book.
Bruce Coville does a nice job of explaining the bully's behaviour, although perhaps excuses it too easily - and Duncan is soon caught up in an attempt by another of his teachers to enhance her pupil.
Whilst being a fun book, this isn't as good as the first and the ending is disappointing.
Bruce Coville does a nice job of explaining the bully's behaviour, although perhaps excuses it too easily - and Duncan is soon caught up in an attempt by another of his teachers to enhance her pupil.
Whilst being a fun book, this isn't as good as the first and the ending is disappointing.
April 17, 2019
Another great book in the series and in general by Bruce Coville. I especially like the pet in the book and have started texting the pet's name to my wife and daughter.
As usual I read this out load to them as we are getting ready for bed. It give us something to look forward to and fun at the end of the day.
We will be starting the last in the series. "My teacher flunked my planet" shortly.
Thank you Bruce for creating such fun books to read to the family.
As usual I read this out load to them as we are getting ready for bed. It give us something to look forward to and fun at the end of the day.
We will be starting the last in the series. "My teacher flunked my planet" shortly.
Thank you Bruce for creating such fun books to read to the family.
December 10, 2020
Found an old pressing of this in a little free library near my apartment and recognized the cover art, so brought it home for a quick read. I think I was actually thinking of "My Teacher is an Alien" and not sure if I had this growing up, but 'twas a fun one. The plot goes in unexpected directions and the main character is more developed and interesting than I generally expect from young YA novels like this.
November 3, 2024
What a hoot, and what a perfect description of humans from the viewpoint of other inhabitants of the universe. Not the first place I've seen this viewpoint expressed, and I'm sure not the last, either.
Reading this series for the second time; the first was when my son was in middle school, and no, I wasn't part of the target audience then, and certainly not now, but I still very much enjoyed the read. I adore Poot, and hope he/she/it/they make more appearances in the series.
Reading this series for the second time; the first was when my son was in middle school, and no, I wasn't part of the target audience then, and certainly not now, but I still very much enjoyed the read. I adore Poot, and hope he/she/it/they make more appearances in the series.
April 17, 2024
Wow. I was ready to just write this off as a book to get rid of but I unexpectedly really fell in love with the lore and the ideas of this story. Duncan is kind of an anti-hero, he's a bully sure, but he doesn't like how he's stupid and has a dysfunctional home. I never read the previous or the following books but I'll be sure to read it! And the voice was fun too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 26, 2024
In this excellent sequel to My Teacher is an Alien, there is another teacher, who might be a female alien. The school bully gets his intelligence enhanced by an alien machine and becomes a sympathetic character. I half remember reading Flowers for Algernon, but I might just have been reading this book.
June 25, 2025
This is the 2nd book in the My Teacher is an Alien series and this time we follow Duncan, the bully and mischief maker of the school. Duncan discovers this machine that makes him smarter, and he wants more knowledge and soon discovers there are still aliens in the school. No Spoilers! I highly recommend this book and the series!
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