My Teacher Fried My Brains

Bruce Coville's My Teacher Fried My Brains is a funny, slightly creepy alien story for 8 year olds, and it's told by the class bully, which makes a nice change.

What happens

Duncan Dougal is starting at a new school. His first day goes about as badly as a first day can go.

He's late because his big brother was bashing him. He gets lost in the corridors. He's sent out of maths for calling the teacher a pinhead. Then he pulls the fire alarm on his way out, and it sprays purple ink all over his hand.

So he hides in the bins behind the school. For HOURS.

Buried in the soggy chips and old chocolate milk, he finds a human hand. Well, not quite. It's a glove made of something like skin, the kind an alien might wear to look like one of us.

After last spring's alien business the whole town is jumpy, and Duncan knows what the glove means. One of the teachers who's new this year isn't human. He's got four suspects, from the fearsome assistant principal to the science teacher in safari gear.

Nobody believes him, of course. A newspaper story about him being a boy hero only makes it worse.

The fun of it is being inside Duncan's head. He's very honest about being a bit of a bully (he used to beat up one boy about once a month). He also really, REALLY hates being laughed at. You end up rooting for him even while he digs himself deeper with every excuse.

Have you ever watched a child talk themselves into more trouble with every word?

One thing to be aware of. Duncan's home life is rough. His dad hits him and his brother, and there's a mention of his dad getting drunk and doing "things that were pretty mean". At one low point Duncan lies on his bed wondering why he was born. There are also some old-fashioned remarks about a pretty teacher being "a real babe".

It's handled lightly and it's still a funny book. If your reader likes aliens in their school stories, it's great fun.

What to read next

The earlier book, My Teacher is an Alien, is told by Susan, and Duncan is the boy picking on the class bookworm. That one's in the library as well.