Aliens Stole My Body

Alien Adventures #4

by Bruce Coville

BRING BACK ROD'S BODY!

Rod Allbright has found his father -- but lost his own body! It's been stolen by BKR, the most fiendish villain in the galaxy, which leaves Rod sharing the body of a one-eyed, blue alien named Seymour.

Alas, when it comes time to go after BKR, Rod is forced to stay behind so that the little villain won't be able to get at the world-destroying secret locked in Rod's brain.

Stranded on an alien planet with only Madame Pong, Seymour, Snout, and his annoying cousin Elspeth for company, Rod fumes at being left behind. Little does he know he's about to be drawn into a web of alien plots that will test his courage to the utmost -- and ultimately bring him face-to-face with BKR.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Science Fiction Fantasy, Humor

240 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

Bruce Coville was born in Syracuse, New York, in 1950. His family lived in farm territory, about twenty miles north of Syracuse. Bruce grew up around the corner from his grandparents' dairy farm, where he spent a great deal of time as a child, dodging cows and chores to the best of his ability. As a young reader he loved Mary Poppins and Dr. Dolittle, and still has fond memories of rising ahead of the rest of his family so he could huddle in a chair and read THE VOYAGES OF DR. DOLITTLE. He also read lots of things that people consider junk (Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Tom Swift, and zillions of comic books). His only real regret is the time he spent watching television, when he could have been reading instead. (A mind is a terrible thing to waste!)

His first book, THE FOOLISH GIANT, was published in 1978. It was illustrated by his wife, Katherine, whom he had married in 1969. This was followed in 1979 by SARAH'S UNICORN, also illustrated by Katherine. After a long period of working separately, the Covilles began collaborating again with SPACE BRAT and GOBLINS IN THE CASTLE, both published in 1992.

Before getting published Bruce earned his living as a toymaker, a gravedigger, a cookware salesman, an assembly line worker, and finally as an elementary school teacher (second and fourth grades). He left teaching in 1981 to devote himself to becoming a full time writer - though it took another five years to achieve that goal!)

Bruce has published over 100 books, which have appeared in over a dozen countries around the world and sold more than sixteen million copies. Among his most popular titles are MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN, INTO THE LAND OF THE UNICORNS, and THE MONSTER'S RING. In 2001 he founded Full Cast Audio, an audiobook company dedicated to creating unabridged, full cast recordings of the best in children's and young adult literature.

Reviews

[Mayaj · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed like nine more of these back in the day, and I still do.

[Joel Cuthbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

My summer (into fall) revisit of ole Coville's whimsical series concludes with the fourth installment. This one I had less of a memory of and therefore my joy took a bit of a slower turn through these pages. Things wrap up and there's lots of imagination and such. I think the strangeness of our hero's disembodiment kinda made for a strange telling but, nevertheless. Worth the read for all your loose-ends to get tied up.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A solid ending to a great series. Aliens Stole My Body isn't quite up to the standards of The Search for Snout, but it's almost as good - better than the first two entries in the series, at any rate. I felt that it suffered a little from dividing the group, focusing entirely on Rod's subgroup, and having them hide out, rather than pursue an active course. That said, there's nothing wrong with it as a book - it's a worthy finish.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never read the third book (The Search for Snout), so this book really confused me. What happened to Rod’s body? Who is Rod’s dad? What? But I got some explanation in the story of this book, which was a great standalone adventure and a gripping finale to the Rod Albright series.

[Chris Seltzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The end of a really fun series. I do think this book is a little lacking compared to the two that came before it but the conclusion is satisfying enough that I don't mind.

[Kogiopsis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, satisfying end to the series. One thing I appreciate about the way Coville writes is that even though these books are clearly for kids, he still gives most of his characters plenty of depth and nuance, and his protagonist demonstrates a lot of empathy and awareness. Sure, Elspeth is a Eustace-Scrubb-esque annoying cousin, but she also gets to be helpful and even heroic, while still being annoying! Rod cares deeply for his younger siblings and his mom, has complex feelings about his dad being back in his life, and develops different relationships with each member of the alien crew. It's a very emotionally wise silly sci-fi romp.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

After rereading this as an adult, I wouldn't give this book 5 stars. Only 3. Mainly because only 30% of the book actually had anything to do with the previous three books in the series. After the opening scene, the book goes on a page filling detour that accomplishes nothing just to make this book the same length as the other three books. Then the end of the book has some plot holes that make the conclusion of the series a little lackluster. I just remember loving these books the first couple of times I read them, so I'll leave the five stars since when I was the target age, I did enjoy it immensely.

[Sara DeVinck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the last book of 4 and concludes the series. Rod has found his father, but his body has been taken over by an alien. This makes him have to go through many adventures that force him to be courageous. This is a silly book that would be a great book to have in a class library in higher elementary grades. Students with really big imaginations will love this one.

[Shamar · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just started reading this book so ill tell u how it is when i finish it.

[Benjamin Plume · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is it sad that since I missed this one as a kid I want to read it as an adult? Finally read it, at 25. Now I know what happened. Great series for kids.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The climax was great, but from the fourth book in a series, I’d expect the characters to do way more than just hang out on a planet for 80% of the story.

[Mat Christensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great conclusion to a great little series. This book definitely dives into some heavier Sci Fi concepts that were harder for my kids to understand, but we still had a ton of fun.

[Leon RE · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but thought the ending was a bit anti-climatic.

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

i just love this series so much