The Valorim are about to fall to a dark lord when they send a necklace containing their planet across the cosmos, hurtling past a trillion stars . . . all the way into the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper, sixth grader, of Plymouth, Mass.
Mourning his late mother, Tommy doesn't notice much about the chain he found, but soon he is drawing the twin suns and humming the music of a hanorah. As Tommy absorbs the art and language of the Valorim, their enemies target him. When a creature begins ransacking Plymouth in search of the chain, Tommy learns he must protect his family from villains far worse than he's ever imagined.
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16 of 19 people found the following review helpful.
A mixed bag
By J.Prather
What Came From The Stars combines the best in middle grade realistic fiction with some pretty fantastical elements to produce a story that was ultimately very hard to put down. I have struggled over this book's star rating because there is a lot here that I did not enjoy and that I feel will make this book a hard sell to its ten to fourteen year old target market. This novel contains two stories; the first being the story of young Tommy Pepper, a sixth grader from Plymouth, Massachusetts. The second story tells of a civilization on a faraway planet that is on the verge of destruction. This alien race sends everything that is good about their culture and their people out into space in the form of a necklace. This necklace ends up in Tommy's lunch box, and it's what happens to Tommy, his family, and this alien civilization as a result of this odd coincidence that makes up this compelling if somewhat predictable story.This author has a wonderful gift for writing children's characters. We've seen it in his award winning previous work, and it is full display here. Tommy and Patty Pepper are well rounded, believable characters that will tug at your heartstrings, and their dialogues ring with an authenticity that makes you feel like you are right there with them in the schoolyard navigating the bullies and the lunch room. The author sets the Massachusetts scenery just beautifully, especially at the end, where I totally felt the chilly sea air and could smell the seaweed stink. I could often feel Tommy's terror, and the author uses a combination of some excellent descriptive writing, authentic inner dialogues, and spot on pacing to generate some moments that were truly creepy, even for this adult reader.My problems with this story arise almost totally from the author's depictions of the alien race and their struggles. There is an awful lot of world building going on in a very short time, and it quickly becomes too much. The alternating chapters depicting the battles and political machinations on this far away planet quickly became mostly tedious, interspersed with moments of high melodrama. There is far too much information to absorb, as readers are asked to adapt to an impressive 65 made up alien terms pretty much from the first chapter. On top of this, trying to sort out who's who, and who is on what side is a chore as well. This would have all been okay if the reader would have been given more time to absorb, and if the author had provided just a little bit of character development for these people. Then, perhaps I would have been a bit more absorbed in their plight. As it was, I found myself dreading these chapters and looking forward to getting back to the Plymouth side of the story.What Came From The Stars was a mixed success for me. The writing is beautiful, but the plot felt kind of derivative. I seemed that I had heard this basic story before, and when you combine that with just far too many neologisms for my comfort, it resulted in a read that was just okay for me. This is one that I would recommend only for the most hard core young sci-fi/fantasy fans that have the patience to slog through the starry part of this tale.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
Gary Schmidt does it again
By Will Newman
At 64, I'm an old man and probably shouldn't be reading the genre erroneously called "young adult fiction." But appellations notwithstanding, this genre has the most imaginative and engaging stories currently being published. I read YA fiction so I can recommend books to the 5th - 8th graders I tutor at our elementary school.Gary Schmidt is a prime example of the depth this genre. I have read every one of his books and have yet to be disappointed. "What Came from the Stars" is a prime example.On the surface, this novel is Schmidt's foray into science fiction. In reality, it is an examination of loss, forgiveness, and redemption. No spoiler alert here. I am not going to give away the plot. But these plot elements are so deftly woven into the story that they are almost invisible. But by the end of the book, the reader cannot help but feel and understand them. A heck of a lesson for young people.Schmidt has many valuable qualities as a writer. He has impeccable command of voice. In his two best known books - "Wednesday Wars" and "Okay for Now" - the protagonists' voices are true to their ages and yet are completely different. Written in the first person, the protagonists of both books do not relate their stories to the readers. They tell it as if seated across the dinner table. They are there with you. "What Came from the Stars" is written in the third person, but the reader still gets a vivid sense of Tommy Pepper, the protagonist. This book could not have been written in first person, and Schmidt knew that. In third person, we can ache for Tommy's losses. If written in first person, he could have come across as a complainer or whiner.Schmidt's most important quality as a writer is a profound respect for his readers. He never simplifies his stories because he's writing for a younger readership. He knows they are capable of rising to the level of his storytelling. I have two examples of this. "What Came from the Stars" begins with an almost incomprehensible narration of a battle on a distant world. Few authors of any genre would have dared their readers to continue I this way. But Schmidt knows his readers well and kept the narration and descriptions lively, engaging, and dangerous enough to pull the reader along.My other example of Schmidt's respect for his readers is best given by a then fifth grader in the school where I volunteer. The students were assigned to write an author of one of the books they'd read during the year. This boy chose Schmidt and told him "I never used to like to read. But you turned me into a reader." This boy now reads voraciously and discusses his reading with me at great length - a testament to Schmidt's ability to engage his young readers.Read "What Came from the Stars." Whether you are 11, 31, or in your sixties, it will be a journey well worth taking.(By the way, Schmidt wrote back to my young friend. In long hand!)
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
3.5/5 from Bookworm1858
By bookworm1858
After adoring Okay For Now, one of my top reads of 2011, I was excited to see another book from Schmidt and eagerly requested it. I was thrown by a loop to see that it was not a straight contemporary but I wanted to see it through despite the inclusion of fantastical elements. Unfortunately it ended up really not being what I wanted. For my review, I want to divide it into two parts: one for the contemporary and one for the sci-fi sections. The book is also roughly divided into that with italicized chapters detailing another world and regular font for our world although the two increasingly overlap as the book progresses.Let's start with the contemporary, which I loved. Sixth-grader Tommy lives with his painter father and bubbly younger sister after the death of his mother. Unfortunately the father no longer paints and the sister no longer speaks due to grief even as their house is under assault by a mega-corporation eager to snatch up its land and develop it. Amid this melancholy, Tommy receives a chain from Valorim and soon finds himself speaking its language to the bafflement of his classmates and embarking on its defense. I loved just about everything that was realistic in this book-the sad family attempting to move on without a vital part of itself, the kids at school as well as their teachers and staff, Tommy's battle against the realtor. It was great stuff!But the fantastical elements were SO hard for me. I dreaded every time I reached a chapter set there (they alternate). There are many made-up words, which are included in a glossary in the back, but they never fully sunk in to my brain so even as I approached the end, I had to keep flipping to check on their meaning. Then there was the fantasy world itself; I understood its basic conflict with evil Lord Mondus using treachery to gain power but I was a little confused on the names of the people around him (were the Valorim and the Ethelim the same people?) I got a very Lord of the Rings vibe from this part with the way names are deployed except that I love LOTR and did not care for this.Overall: I did not want Schmidt to try something new and was very thrown by the science fiction elements to the point that they distracted me from the overarching themes of the story.
