Customer Reviews

My Teacher Flunked the Planet

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have all four books in the My Teacher Is An Alien series, and all of them are great, but this climactic conclusion to the series is the most deep, touching, and downright SCARY of the series. In it, the aliens take down the three kids on an expedition to Earth to check out what should be done about the planet, which is the only planet EVER to be smart enough to achieve space travel, but dumb enough to have wars. Some of the places where they go chilled me to the bone, learning more about the evils of human nature.

In short, this is not the book to read if you're looking for a nice, cheerful book. In fact, it shouldn't be read at all without first reading the first three books in the series, which start out much simpler, and eventually build up to this one. However, it's still a great book, it's just that you'll be halfway through it and you'll say out loud "Geez, the human race sucks!"

This was an incredible ending to a fun series that was started with My Teacher is an Alien. While it remained fun, it was also much more intense, like ice water suddenly dumped on you unexpectedly.

But I think it's "kid safe." As a child I saw Return to Oz and had horrid nightmares; by the age of 10 I read a short horror story for adults where I find out that the man telling the story is insane and his family is dead and I broke out in tears. Yet as sensitive as I was, this book did not cause a severe reaction, but pulled me in with its shocking surprises, both hopeful and horrid. Bruce Coville has done a truly amazing job at making the horrors of the world accessible to kids (though probably not younger than 10) without being either traumatizing or patronizing about it, though he did (thankfully) gloss over some of the worse parts. (Example: "What had already been done to those people was so ugly I cannot bring myself to describe it, even though the memory of it remains like a scar burned into my brain with a hot iron.")

Furthermore, I would add that this is not a book promoting any ideology. This doesn't encourage your children to grow up and vote Democrat or Republican, or embrace socialism or libertarianism. This is a book promoting VALUES. And contrary to the propaganda of many ideologues and Party Pushers, values and ideology are two completely different things.

All ideologies, to my knowledge, explain the ways that they think are best for solving the problems Coville brings up. But values determine what gets done; ideology detemines how it gets done. A revolution that changes ideology but not values will only change the HOW things get done, not WHAT gets done. Even functioning anarchies (communes, tribal, even regions like Barcelona in the Spanish Civil War) show that the values that are shared by a community will be displayed, no matter what system is in place.

If I get into an ideological debate with someone who shares the same values as I do, then what we're debating is the best way to solve the same problem, not debating if the problem exists or how important it is. I also find that I much prefer the company of people who have different political leanings from myself but share my values to those who share my political leanings but not my values. I think that Bruce Coville, intentionally or unintentionally, has also expressed this view ("...not the leaders, not the government, just the people..."). Which is to say, don't fear that your child will be brainwashed into serving some political agenda, though Coville might get help your child to care in the first place.

Finally, the book does show much that is noble and good about humanity, too. I found it to be ultimately hopeful, if sobering.

In many ways, it's a child's version of Carl Sagan's Contact. While Contact has a credible alien society, IMO, My Teacher Flunked the Planet has entertaining aliens. But both books help us, kid or adult, look seriously at the insanity of our planet's societies, and also the hope.

In the final book of the, My Teacher is an Alien, series Susan, Duncan and Peter (the respective main characters of the previous 3 books) come together in an attempt to stop the aliens from destroying Earth.

The political views Coville relates thru this story can be a little challenging for the young audience that the book is intended for. I by no means think that this is a bad thing however. The somewhat negative view expressed that humans are a dangerous species can only make us look at ourselves and strive for improvement. A quality I feel anybody can benefit from.

I have a lot of fun memories reading all 4 books in this series. When I was in middle school I would often spend my rainy weekends in my room reading this series over and over again. Each book has its own unique charm, this last one for example is by far the most serious of the series, which provided an excellent ending and pushed an important message for humanity.

Darien Summers, author of The Mischievous Hare, a children's book. The Mischievous Hare

This book has been great to read and has lots of adventure in it. When Peter and the gang traveled through time they became invisible. The aliens, who are friends of Peter,Susan and Duncan, are not sure they want to blow up earth. If all the aliens were enemies of earth they would want to end human life. Then it wouldn't be much of a story. I liked the chapter when the Poots keep coming from all directions and they were shouting "Poot!" This is a great book!

This story has a little bit of everything: suspense, action, and a little comedy. I think Bruce Coville does a good job of combining all the books together for a good climax in this four-book series. Another good thing about this book is that you don't have to read all four-books to know what is each character is like and how they have ended up as they have. I reccommend this book to all young readers who can have a sense of humor and still enjoy a book with a good storyline.

This the climactic, heart-wrenching, chilling story in the "My teacher is an Alien" series is the most biting one. An unfogiving suspenseful look on how life is, and how the human race can be downright inhumane with eachother. This book gives you the downright truthful message to "Wake up" and do something. The minutes count down to the fate of Earth, as three earth students Peter thompson, Susan Simmons and Duncan Dougal are brought in to speak for their planet... to keep it from destruction. The Aliens point out the Earth's self destructing ways, so why not destroy it? Read the book and find out... the Spine tingling, cataclysmic, enjoyable and extremely intelligent final part to the series.. trust me read the three predecessors (My teacher is an alien/ My teacher fried my brains/ My teacher glows in the dark.) before this one. A book that does not treat its' readers as fools. It is all worth it. I recommend to everyone! -Alex M.

I have to admit I was a little disappointed in this concluding story in Bruce Coville's My Alien series. This is a much more serious book than its predecessors, conveying a strong message about human society today. While it addresses important issues such as war, poverty, starvation, and other social ills, it comes off as a tad preachy in places. The fate of the Earth hangs in the balance, and it is up to the series' three young heroes to convince a worried Interplanetary Council that the planet should be spared. Susan Simmons, Duncan Dougal, and Peter Thompson come together as a complete unit for the first time, each having previously narrated his/her own account of the events and discoveries leading up to the ultimate final challenge. Susan has exposed her new teacher as a reptilian alien on a mission to "kidnap" five students for study, Duncan has gone from slow-witted bully to a nice, highly intelligent young man after having his brains "fried," and Peter has traveled into the depths of space and met all manner of alien creatures. With the help of a few human-friendly aliens, they now face the largest challenge conceivable: proving to the leaders of the galaxy that all hope for humanity's mending its wicked ways is not lost. If they fail, the Earth will be destroyed in much the same way harmful bacteria are eradicated before they can spread their harmful influence beyond the localized area in which they are currently festering.

Things aren't looking very good for life on Earth; traveling in disguise back on their home planet, our team gets a close-up look at many of mankind's worst ills, and even the kids are often at a loss as to how to defend a people who do such terrible things to one another. All of this is well and good (albeit a little too preachy), but the conclusion of the story (and thus of the whole series) was a let-down. The big climax is more of a hit-and-run than a well-executed denouement, leaving me looking down for the rug that Coville pulled from under my feet at the last minute. It's still an impressive final book in a very entertaining series, but I just expected something more. While this book is by far the most important of the series, incorporating issues that some young readers may not have a full grasp on yet, it is far less entertaining and amusing than the first three books. For a youngster ready to make the move to more serious children's fiction, though, My Teacher Flunked the Planet stands as a gateway to a world where learning takes its place alongside pure entertainment.

Many science fiction books that are written for children aim to take them away into a fantasy land where anything can happen. Not this one. This story takes a hopeful mind back to the grim reality of the planet we live in, with all its violence, disease, and emotional pain presented in the book the way it really is. A continuation to a trilogy of somewhat less exciting books, My Teacher Flunked the Planet shows its readers how truly perverse and ignorant we ALL are, and shows that even those characters who believe they are above it all (some of the aliens) have as many flaws of their own as do we "barbaric" humans. I too noticed the strong liberal political messages in the book, after I had read it through several times. But even those who do not agree with Coville's political ambitions should be able to readily enjoy this book for its raw imaginary excitement.

This eye-opening book is a great grand finale for the "MyTeacher Is An Alien" series. Three teens are intrusted with amission that could litteraly be the differance between life and death for the planet Earth. Somehow they must find a way to convince thousands of aliens not to blow up the Earth. They take you into the depths of the human heart trying to find hope for the human race. But what they find is both heart-wrenching and unbelievable but saddly real. This book will open your heart to the truths of this world that many try to deny. But don't take my word for it. Read it and see how you feel when you've finished.

THIS BOOK IS KIND <body bgcolor="#FF0000"> This is really the climax of the series, the other three being just a build-up. I consider all four part of the same book, like Stephen King's Green Mile series. But although I think thr book was very good and makes a SHARP point, it is kind of political and a lot of the stuff is basic propaganda. But I still give it five stars because the other people that rated it would give it more than five if it was possible.