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bibliotequeish's review against another edition
I bought this book series at the scholastic book fair, which for a budding book worm was the greatest day of the school year.
This one may have been a little deep for a child as young as I was.
This one may have been a little deep for a child as young as I was.
vipergabe's review against another edition
5.0
I admit that I haven't read the entire series this book comes from. I read the first one, which was absolutely amazing, and now this one. One day I'll actually go back and find the two in the middle. For being a book aimed at preteens/ young teenagers I found myself really enjoying this book and the perspective it brought to thoughts regarding the human race. I won't spoil anything for those people that haven't read it but young and old alike I encourage everyone to pick up this series, or even just this book in the series (it gives a fantastic summary of the first three books) and read it. Read it and really start thinking about how you view the world.
blacksentai's review against another edition
Apparently TV is the reason people go to war.
emsoukup's review against another edition
I'm seriously sad about the covers. where is my childhood?! :(
alanaes's review against another edition
5.0
This series feels dated at times, but still really holds up. Love a middle-grade book series that spurs kids to ponder the deep philosophical questions about humankind's gifts and failings.
kglahoda's review against another edition
5.0
I thought Coville's anaysis of Earth was poignant. I don't subscribe to his philosophy at the end, however, of humans being one mind. I believe we are one in Christ, but not one subconcious. I'm giving this five stars because of the emotions he evoked with his synopsis of Earth and his desire within the book to offer a solution. My kids enjoyed this series as well.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Who does Bruce Coville think he is? I remembered there being some heavy stuff in this book, but I completely forgot about that ending. The other 'My Teacher' books go into some deep waters with troubled homes, abuse begetting abuse, and the value of strong music programs in our schools, but Coville goes all-out here.
Remember those old Sci-Fi movies and episodes of the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits where the Earth was held hostage by aliens? Some smug being in a silver jumpsuit or robe would lecture the assembled group of humans about humanity's lust for war and willful neglect of the starving and the poor, etc. The case against was (and is) pretty solid from that perspective. Death and famine versus art and non-lethal sciences. Humanity always gets saved though by some last-minute act of love or forgiveness. Aw, he forgives his daddy, I guess we won't blow up your planet after all. What a crock, right?
Coville avoids that, what he does do though just seems like the terrifying end of a book like 'Childhood's End' given a positive spin. I'm really not too psyched about humanity being screwed up because it was a malfunctioning hive-mind. But that's going to be fixed real soon kids. Sleep tight!
Creepy as those thoughts are I must respect Coville for what he did with this series. He didn't flinch from showing some really ugly truths to an audience that's traditionally overprotected.
And Coville did this with some really fresh takes on the juvenile sci-fi genre. Sure, there is hardly any science in this fiction at all, and the idea that human science has stagnated since the mass introduction of televisions is truly absurd, but what separates a good children's author from the rest is their ability to stimulate thought while entertaining. 'My Teacher Flunked the Planet' certainly did that for me when I first read it.
My Teacher is an Alien
Previous: 'My Teacher Glows in the Dark'
Remember those old Sci-Fi movies and episodes of the Twilight Zone or the Outer Limits where the Earth was held hostage by aliens? Some smug being in a silver jumpsuit or robe would lecture the assembled group of humans about humanity's lust for war and willful neglect of the starving and the poor, etc. The case against was (and is) pretty solid from that perspective. Death and famine versus art and non-lethal sciences. Humanity always gets saved though by some last-minute act of love or forgiveness. Aw, he forgives his daddy, I guess we won't blow up your planet after all. What a crock, right?
Coville avoids that, what he does do though just seems like the terrifying end of a book like 'Childhood's End' given a positive spin. I'm really not too psyched about humanity being screwed up because it was a malfunctioning hive-mind. But that's going to be fixed real soon kids. Sleep tight!
Creepy as those thoughts are I must respect Coville for what he did with this series. He didn't flinch from showing some really ugly truths to an audience that's traditionally overprotected.
And Coville did this with some really fresh takes on the juvenile sci-fi genre. Sure, there is hardly any science in this fiction at all, and the idea that human science has stagnated since the mass introduction of televisions is truly absurd, but what separates a good children's author from the rest is their ability to stimulate thought while entertaining. 'My Teacher Flunked the Planet' certainly did that for me when I first read it.
My Teacher is an Alien
Previous: 'My Teacher Glows in the Dark'
kurtpankau's review against another edition
3.0
This one stayed with me the least. It was difficult to read to the boys because there's a lot of hard stuff in it (of course, one of the messages of the book is that kids shouldn't be shielded from it, but my kids are significantly younger than the target age of the book). Not a super-satisfying conclusion to the series, but certainly not bad. Worth reading if you've read the others.