My Teacher Fried My Brains (My Teacher Is An Alien Series) (Paperback)

by Bruce Coville (Author) "I was standing in the bathroom, brushing my teeth, when I looked up and saw horrible green face in the mirror..." (more)
Key Phrases: brain fryer, getting smarter, Miss Karpou, Andromeda Jones, Peter Thompson (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Duncan Dougall is chosen to participate in another school experiment. He is to wear a helmet that will fry his brains and make him smarter.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Aladdin (June 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671727109
• ISBN-13: 978-0671727109
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #957,626 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More worthwhile but not as fun as My Teacher is an Alien, December 6, 2003

By	Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This sequel to Bruce Coville's popular My Teacher is an Alien reunites us with Susan Simmons, the protagonist and narrator of the first book, Peter Thompson, her brainy science fiction-loving friend, and Duncan Dougal, class bully and somewhat questionable ally in the previous adventure involving the kids' sixth grade teacher being replaced by a big green alien in disguise. Duncan was an important yet secondary character in the first book, but he takes center stage in My Teacher Fried My Brain. The story itself isn't as exciting as that of its predecessor, but I love the angle that Coville took in returning to this world of adventure. There is a definite psychological component to this story, one providing insight into why Duncan behaves in such a disruptive matter - there is a real, pretty nice person in there just dying to get out. Duncan now becomes a sympathetic character from the very first page, as we get a good look at his home life and see how this translates into his own behavior around other kids. It bothers Duncan to no end to be unable to control his mouth and (sometimes) fists; even when he is doing something stupid that will just get him into trouble, he is inwardly berating himself as he is doing it. The one thing that Duncan hates more than anything in the world is to be laughed at; this is a feeling all children as well as adults know a little something about, making Duncan a character that anyone can connect to in some way.

The kids are now in seventh grade, and Duncan's first day in a new school building is a rough one; as always, he finds trouble, and this time trouble reaches back and finds him as well. He makes a startling discovery - a discarded human hand which, upon closer inspection, turns out to be a fake human hand. That can only mean one thing: there is another alien at the school. Like Susan in the first book, Duncan does not know what to do. He knows no one will believe him, not even his classmates; you would think the adults in town might be of some help, but they have all started pretending that the alien business of last spring didn't actually happen. Duncan soon thinks he has found the answer to his problems. After taking part in a demonstration of static electricity, one in which a machine zapped his brain, he began to feel smarter all of a sudden; he soon decides to sneak in to the lab and give himself additional brain-frying treatments. Despite all of his new-found intelligence, though, he has little success in figuring out who the other alien in school is. The ensuing action is not bad, plus we meet a memorable and mysterious alien pet called a poot, but a few aspects of this story resemble pretty closely the strange events chronicled in Coville's previous book, My Teacher is an Alien. The manner of Peter's "return" is especially weak, in my opinion.

If you want to read this book, I definitely encourage you to buy all four books in the series. My Teacher Fried My Brain has a cliffhanger kind of ending that leaves a great deal unresolved. It's a fun ride with great friends, though, so most young people who read this book will surely want to dive right in to My Teacher Glows in the Dark to see what happens next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book., October 19, 1998

By A Customer

This book is about a young boy named Duncun who finds out that his Home Ec. teacher is an alien. First of all she fried his brains. Then he found out it made him smarter so he stayed after school and fried it 2 more times. Now he was practacly a genuis.

One day he found out one of his teachers was definatly an alien and he wanted to tell somebody. He told her (not knowing she was the alien) that he thought one of the teachers was an alien.

She took off her mask and took him home with her. There he found out he wanted her brain. When she had left the room, his friend Susan came and tried to rescue him, but his teacher caught them and took them both out to space with her to join their friend, Peter, who had already been taken out their.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a little adventure and a little Sci-Fi. This is a great book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My sixth grade class review, April 11, 1997

By A Customer

As a 6th grade teacher, I liked this book and the first book, "My Teacher is an Alien", because it got my students interested in my favorite genre of books, science fiction. The ending also is perfect for "what happens next?" essays, speeches and other projects
-Mr. C. Dutiel 6th grade teacher,
Kayenta Middle School

Some brief comments from some of my students:
"It's a good book"-Miranda Lincoln
"It was interesting, like "My Teacher is an Alien"-Vance Greyeyes
"It was funny and exciting!" Karen Bradley
"It was funny and great when Peter and Susan were talking through Duncan's head"-Darren Long
"I would like to read another book by this author"-Shannon Holiday
"Very interesting. I liked the part where Duncan was getting zapped by the brain fryer."-Roman Quiver
" I think it is a nice book."- Cody Crank
"It was so funny when he got his brain fried."- Shawn Madison
"it was funnier than "My Teacher is an Alien"-Loren Cly