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Spooksville #13
Alien Invasion
School has finally started in Spooksville. For Adam and his friends the first day is disturbing. Their science teacher seems to be an alien monster!
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1996
1 person is currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Pike
261 books5,470 followersChristopher Pike is the pseudonym of Kevin McFadden. He is a bestselling author of young adult and children's fiction who specializes in the thriller genre.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.
McFadden was born in New York but grew up in California where he stills lives in today. A college drop-out, he did factory work, painted houses and programmed computers before becoming a recognized author. Initially unsuccessful when he set out to write science fiction and adult mystery, it was not until his work caught the attention of an editor who suggested he write a teen thriller that he became a hit. The result was Slumber Party (1985), a book about a group of teenagers who run into bizarre and violent events during a ski weekend. After that he wrote Weekend and Chain Letter. All three books went on to become bestsellers.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
September 16, 2020
School has started in Spooksville, and Watch and Sally haven’t exaggerated its weirdness. On Adam’s very first day, he meets a strange new science teacher, and a new student goes missing. Adam and his friends are convinced that Mr. Snakol must be responsible, and then they discover something even more terrifying: he’s actually an alien from a reptilian race that can swallow live animals whole–and maybe students as well! Trigger warnings: animal death, blood, injury, threats.
This series is such good fun, and I found myself missing it after a three-month break. (Summer reading challenge took precedence over all my other reading commitments.) I’ve been looking forward to the start of the school year in Spooksville, and Pike doesn’t disappoint with a creepy and mysterious new teacher who’s overly preoccupied with dissections. As if that isn’t bad enough, he also seems to be an alien who eats children. Nothing is ever safe in Spooksville!
I love how I can always tell when it’s a Pike novel because the plot doesn’t go in a direction I’d expect. Much as I complain about alien subplots, they’re fairly diverse. His aliens might be evil, they might be more evolved and benevolent than humans, or they might be a lot like us with different features. Often, they stress understanding over violence, and I enjoyed the unexpected twists in this book–as well as Sally’s big mouth landing her in hot water, as usual. There isn’t character development, exactly, but the story takes a turn or two that shows us how characters’ strengths might not always be strengths in every situation. I enjoyed seeing them from a slightly different perspective.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
This series is such good fun, and I found myself missing it after a three-month break. (Summer reading challenge took precedence over all my other reading commitments.) I’ve been looking forward to the start of the school year in Spooksville, and Pike doesn’t disappoint with a creepy and mysterious new teacher who’s overly preoccupied with dissections. As if that isn’t bad enough, he also seems to be an alien who eats children. Nothing is ever safe in Spooksville!
I love how I can always tell when it’s a Pike novel because the plot doesn’t go in a direction I’d expect. Much as I complain about alien subplots, they’re fairly diverse. His aliens might be evil, they might be more evolved and benevolent than humans, or they might be a lot like us with different features. Often, they stress understanding over violence, and I enjoyed the unexpected twists in this book–as well as Sally’s big mouth landing her in hot water, as usual. There isn’t character development, exactly, but the story takes a turn or two that shows us how characters’ strengths might not always be strengths in every situation. I enjoyed seeing them from a slightly different perspective.
I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.
April 22, 2020
When it comes to middle grade horror books where the protagonist finds out an authority figure is a monster through him eating live animals, this is the better of the two I've read.
June 19, 2015
Another classic installment in the Spooksville series, Creature in the Teacher finds our protagonists Adam, Watch, Sally, Cindy, and Bryce facing off against an endangered alien race that is attempting to inhabit Earth.
Like all Spooksville books, this was a fun, quick read with a fast-moving plot and a satisfying end. I am starting to sense a bit of a repetitive nature, though, so I hope that Christopher Pike will begin branching out later in the series.
Like all Spooksville books, this was a fun, quick read with a fast-moving plot and a satisfying end. I am starting to sense a bit of a repetitive nature, though, so I hope that Christopher Pike will begin branching out later in the series.
April 3, 2018
স্পুকসভিলে নতুন একজন সায়েন্স টিচার আসেন, যাকে অ্যাডাম, ব্রাইস, স্যালি, ওয়াচ আর স্যান্ডির এলিয়েন বলে সন্দেহ হয়। এর মধ্যেই স্কুলে নতুন আসা জর্জ নামের একটি ছেলে উধাও হয়ে যায়। ওদের সন্দেহ তাই আরও পাকাপোক্ত হয়।
February 21, 2022
In 'Creature In the Teacher', the first day of school in Spooksville is anything but ordinary. The science teacher, Mr. Snakol is strange and creepy, from his name to his choice of food.
I was looking forward to the school setting but aside from Sally being awesome as always, the story was underwhelming due to the following:
- The new character, George was boring.
- The names of certain characters (Mr. Snakol and Mrs Strawberry) were too on the nose.
- There was too much telling instead of showing.
- Aliens yet again but nowhere near as interesting as in the previous installments they were featured in.
Overall, 'Creature In the Teacher' was mostly dull, lacking in action and suspense.
I was looking forward to the school setting but aside from Sally being awesome as always, the story was underwhelming due to the following:
- The new character, George was boring.
- The names of certain characters (Mr. Snakol and Mrs Strawberry) were too on the nose.
- There was too much telling instead of showing.
- Aliens yet again but nowhere near as interesting as in the previous installments they were featured in.
Overall, 'Creature In the Teacher' was mostly dull, lacking in action and suspense.
September 24, 2022
I was super excited to find this book. And, once again, Christopher Pike did not let ,me down! Loved it!!
April 11, 2023
Medio pelo, pero zafa
May 1, 2023
Un treizième tome dont la trame rappelle trop La bête cachée et qui perd donc un peu de son intérêt, sans compter que c'est la troisième fois que nos héros sont face à des extraterrestres. le folklore fantaisie / fantastique ne manque pourtant pas de créatures.
Les vacances sont terminées pour nos héros et il est temps de reprendre les cours. On aurait pu croire qu'avec moins de temps libre, Sally, Tic-Tac, Adam et Cindy arriveraient à moins se mettre dans le pétrin, mais non ! Il faut dire que les professeurs du lycée n'ont pas forcément une bonne réputation et le nouveau professeur de sciences est vraiment très étrange… Sa passion pour les dissections n'augure d'ailleurs rien de bon.
J'ai particulièrement trouvé ce tome treize étrange. Christopher Pike se moque vraiment des adultes depuis le départ, mis à part Anne Templeton qui sort carrément du lot, mais là… La directrice de l'école qui n'a rien à carrer de ses élèves, surtout quand l'un d'eux est porté disparu, c'est tout de même difficile à avaler. On savait que les forces de l'ordre n'étaient d'aucune utilité à Spooksville, mais cela passait un peu mieux. Là, j'ai eu du mal. Tout comme le fait qu'on parle de la mort d'un enfant de douze ans comme si ce n'était pas grand-chose. On rappelle tout de même que la cible visée de la saga est des enfants de douze ans, et je ne suis pas certaine qu'ils arrivent à comprendre la dérision de l'auteur.
Les actions de Sally sont aussi complètement incompréhensibles. du début à la fin du roman, je n'ai pas compris ses choix. Je suis pourtant maintenant habituée à sa « psychologie », mais là j'avoue qu'à plusieurs reprises, elle manque carrément de jugeote et fait n'importe quoi. Ce comportement est un peu compensé par son courage, mais tout de même…
Le revirement de situation est aussi peu crédible et tombe comme un cheveu sur la soupe. J'ai l'impression que parfois, l'auteur n'assume pas ses méchants ni son idée de départ, et qu'il fait une pirouette au dernier moment, en mettant en avant le génie de Tic-Tac bien souvent. La saga est sexiste à bien des égards, et même si j'ai envie de mettre en avant le fait qu'elle ait été écrite il y a longtemps, cela a quand même du mal à passer.
Comme j'en avais gardé un plutôt bon souvenir lors de ma première lecture (je parle de la saga en général), je me dis que mon moi adulte voit certainement plus de choses qui ne vont pas que mon moi adolescent, mais… quand même… Et à côté de cela, le mystère entourant la sorcière n'est toujours pas mis en avant… Un suspens qui dure un peu trop.
Les vacances sont terminées pour nos héros et il est temps de reprendre les cours. On aurait pu croire qu'avec moins de temps libre, Sally, Tic-Tac, Adam et Cindy arriveraient à moins se mettre dans le pétrin, mais non ! Il faut dire que les professeurs du lycée n'ont pas forcément une bonne réputation et le nouveau professeur de sciences est vraiment très étrange… Sa passion pour les dissections n'augure d'ailleurs rien de bon.
J'ai particulièrement trouvé ce tome treize étrange. Christopher Pike se moque vraiment des adultes depuis le départ, mis à part Anne Templeton qui sort carrément du lot, mais là… La directrice de l'école qui n'a rien à carrer de ses élèves, surtout quand l'un d'eux est porté disparu, c'est tout de même difficile à avaler. On savait que les forces de l'ordre n'étaient d'aucune utilité à Spooksville, mais cela passait un peu mieux. Là, j'ai eu du mal. Tout comme le fait qu'on parle de la mort d'un enfant de douze ans comme si ce n'était pas grand-chose. On rappelle tout de même que la cible visée de la saga est des enfants de douze ans, et je ne suis pas certaine qu'ils arrivent à comprendre la dérision de l'auteur.
Les actions de Sally sont aussi complètement incompréhensibles. du début à la fin du roman, je n'ai pas compris ses choix. Je suis pourtant maintenant habituée à sa « psychologie », mais là j'avoue qu'à plusieurs reprises, elle manque carrément de jugeote et fait n'importe quoi. Ce comportement est un peu compensé par son courage, mais tout de même…
Le revirement de situation est aussi peu crédible et tombe comme un cheveu sur la soupe. J'ai l'impression que parfois, l'auteur n'assume pas ses méchants ni son idée de départ, et qu'il fait une pirouette au dernier moment, en mettant en avant le génie de Tic-Tac bien souvent. La saga est sexiste à bien des égards, et même si j'ai envie de mettre en avant le fait qu'elle ait été écrite il y a longtemps, cela a quand même du mal à passer.
Comme j'en avais gardé un plutôt bon souvenir lors de ma première lecture (je parle de la saga en général), je me dis que mon moi adulte voit certainement plus de choses qui ne vont pas que mon moi adolescent, mais… quand même… Et à côté de cela, le mystère entourant la sorcière n'est toujours pas mis en avant… Un suspens qui dure un peu trop.
July 29, 2016
I just randomly came across Spooksville this past week while on the ethereal internet, discovering that there was a new children's TV show being made based on the books.
Which made me realize that even though I liked the books as a kid (again this is pre-HP and LoTR days) the books never became popular where I lived so I never read all of them (or even most of them).
Additionally I have no problems reading fiction written for children as long as it is well-written. Although I guess it won't be as enjoyable as had I read it when I was 10.
Ofcourse I went and watched it.
So after watching a few episodes of the show, and while admitting they had taken a major departure in the main story arc and I was unsure about it, but still liking the fact that they still kept many of those little details in I embarked on a journey to find more Spooksville books.
And the first one I came across was this.
The book is pretty average - and I guess the complete craziness is why I liked the series as a kid. I would give it 2.5 stars, but nostalgia played in and I rounded it off to a 3.
I also like to think that the other Spooksville books I had read were better written.
But the plot is pretty formulaic like the earlier books.
So the story goes like this - alien shows up as a teacher, kidnapping ensues, negotiations, evil becomes good and they just need help and it all works out in the end.
Which made me realize that even though I liked the books as a kid (again this is pre-HP and LoTR days) the books never became popular where I lived so I never read all of them (or even most of them).
Additionally I have no problems reading fiction written for children as long as it is well-written. Although I guess it won't be as enjoyable as had I read it when I was 10.
Ofcourse I went and watched it.
So after watching a few episodes of the show, and while admitting they had taken a major departure in the main story arc and I was unsure about it, but still liking the fact that they still kept many of those little details in I embarked on a journey to find more Spooksville books.
And the first one I came across was this.
The book is pretty average - and I guess the complete craziness is why I liked the series as a kid. I would give it 2.5 stars, but nostalgia played in and I rounded it off to a 3.
I also like to think that the other Spooksville books I had read were better written.
But the plot is pretty formulaic like the earlier books.
So the story goes like this - alien shows up as a teacher, kidnapping ensues, negotiations, evil becomes good and they just need help and it all works out in the end.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews