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34th out of 137 books
—
675 voters
What Came from the Stars
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 starsall 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....more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
September 4th 2012
by Clarion Books
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I am a fan of Gary Schmidt and think he's a wonderful writer, but I unfortunately I did not enjoy this book. I am not a fan of high fantasy so that was a problem right there as this book alternates between extremely high fantasy chapters that take place in another world with strangely-named characters that all sound alike and were hard to keep straight, as well as its own language -- not to mention that those chapters were written with old-fashioned wording -- all combined made those chapters te...more
On a distant planet, the world of the Valorim is falling to the evil Lord Mondus. As a last bid to save their culture, the last of the Valorim forges all of the Valorim Art into a necklace, and sends it by the power of Thought many galaxies away...where it lands in the lunchbox of Tommy Pepper of Plymouth, Massachusetts. Tommy and his father and sister have been having an emotionally tough time since his mother died, and now a local real estate developer is trying to take their old beachfront ho...more
In corresponding chapters, this book weaves together two stories. One takes place in the present in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The other takes place in a galaxy far, far away. Through a “comet-like” necklace that hurtles towards earth, the two stories are connected. Tommy Pepper, a twelve-year-old, tries to deal with his feelings of loss over the death of his mother, and also struggles to help his father and his little sister. When this cosmic necklace lands in his new lunch box, interesting thing...more
When a chain necklace falls from the sky and into Tommy’s lunchbox, of course he puts it on. What he doesn’t expect is the strange knowledge and skills he suddenly possesses. And what’s up with the eerie weather and the rash of break-ins in his small town of Plymouth, Massachusetts? As if Tommy didn’t already have enough to handle – a sister who hasn’t spoken in over a year, a dad who’s trying to save their house from a pushy real estate developer, and his own guilt over his mom’s death.
Meanwhil...more
Meanwhil...more
When a chain necklace falls from the sky and into Tommy’s lunchbox, of course he puts it on. What he doesn’t expect is the strange knowledge and skills he suddenly possesses. And what’s up with the eerie weather and the rash of break-ins in his small town of Plymouth, Massachusetts? As if Tommy didn’t already have enough to handle – a sister who hasn’t spoken in over a year, a dad who’s trying to save their house from a pushy real estate developer, and his own guilt over his mom’s death.
Meanwhil...more
Meanwhil...more
Dec 04, 2012
Ed
added it
Schmidt, G.D. (2012). What came from the stars. Boston: Clarion Books. 294 pp. ISBN: 978-0-547-61213-3. (Hardcover); $16.99.
Tommy Pepper hates his Robotroid lunchbox. Sixth graders just do not carry them anymore. So he may be forgiven for trying to hide his lunchbox and not necessarily knowing that hidden within it is a necklace, far beyond anything Earth is able to produce. Meanwhile, far, far away, the Valorim are desperately trying to preserve their civilization in the face of mass destructio...more
Tommy Pepper hates his Robotroid lunchbox. Sixth graders just do not carry them anymore. So he may be forgiven for trying to hide his lunchbox and not necessarily knowing that hidden within it is a necklace, far beyond anything Earth is able to produce. Meanwhile, far, far away, the Valorim are desperately trying to preserve their civilization in the face of mass destructio...more
Truly one of my favorite authors, but this book isn't one I would say, oh, you got to read this book. It is still written well, but difficult to follow-- the world he talks about, that we get glimpses of, has strange words, that we have to try and figure out what they are talking about. This is a distraction for me when I was reading the book. I don't like to have to struggle to make sense of things when I am reading a book for pleasure. The story is about a young boy who finds a chain in his lu...more
Tommy Pepper and his family have been laid low by grief after the recent sudden death of Tommy's mother. Tommy's little sister won't speak; his father maintains what he can of ritual and nurturing; and Tommy feels desperately as if his mother's death was his fault. In another universe, the peaceful Valorim are under assault by the evil Lord Mondus, and in a last effort to save everything good and beautiful about their world, a magical chain called the Art is cast far away, out of reach of Mondus...more
A fantasy story in which distant worlds are connected through art and its power. I connected much more with the story set in the present. Tommy lives with his sister and father in a beach house in Plymouth, Massachusetts. A big-wig businesswoman in town wants to buy their land and put up a new housing development and Tommy's family doesn't want to sell. Before the story begins, Tommy's mother has passed away in a car accident and Tommy feels residual guilt from this event as he had an argument w...more
This was one weird book, and I still don't think I really got the whole thematic picture. There's an alternate planet on which lives a Lord of the Rings type society, complete with Beowulf type early/middle English narration, and the epic stature of Homer. Then it's blended with a modern day kid who lives in Plymouth, MA, but is somehow linked to this society. But he's grieving deeply for his mother who has died.
The two worlds collide inside the kid's lunchbox when a chain arrives from space and...more
The two worlds collide inside the kid's lunchbox when a chain arrives from space and...more
I am really having a hard time with this one. I admire Gary Schmidt for branching out into something totally different. In fact, the only reason I rated Okay for Now four stars was that it was a little too reminiscent of The Wednesday Wars. If I'd read it first, I'd have given it five. As usual, his prose is beautiful and he captures the essence of a damaged family. I don't like to speculate on what the author intends, but it seemed that he wanted to add a more universal and broader theme to the...more
Some of this book is filled with stuff that is borderline-incomprehensible to me. Ten-point power-sword Hammer of Thor kind of stuff. Happily, it is all in italics so I know what I can skim over. (Over the course of the book I went from skipping it--the first seven pages, which really were completely incomprehensible to me--to skimming, somewhere in the middle, to reading lightly, once I was starting to see the parallels between the italics-world and the real world.)
I love a good fantasy set in...more
I love a good fantasy set in...more
It was hard for me to imagine Gary Schmidt writing science fiction. He has such a talent for creating characters that are so human that I miss them at the end of each book. I wasn't sure how that would translate into an aliens among us story and the alien angle did became distracting. There are some fascinating concepts, like art that can become animated on its own. There is an entire glossary of alien language that may be interesting to some readers. But I never felt as invested in the earth ch...more
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
From two-time Newbery Honor Winning author Gary D. Schmidt comes another talented and absorbing tale. Valorim is being attacked. In the final days its people know there is no hope from the invading Lord Mondus, so they set about forging a necklace to preserve their heritage. This chain holds all the memories of the arts of Valorim and is sent to the heavens on the life of the last of their people. Sadly, the art of Valorim is exactly what Lord Mondus wanted above all things, so...more
From two-time Newbery Honor Winning author Gary D. Schmidt comes another talented and absorbing tale. Valorim is being attacked. In the final days its people know there is no hope from the invading Lord Mondus, so they set about forging a necklace to preserve their heritage. This chain holds all the memories of the arts of Valorim and is sent to the heavens on the life of the last of their people. Sadly, the art of Valorim is exactly what Lord Mondus wanted above all things, so...more
I have really enjoyed other books by Gary D. Schmidt so I was excited to pick this one up at our public library. Tommy Pepper is in 6th grade. His mother has recently passed away in a car accident for which he holds himself responsible. On his birthday a strange gift shows up in another present - a heavy chain that seems to hold mysterious powers. Suddenly Tommy is filled with strange visions and possesses unusual gifts. In a parallel story, on a planet far from Earth, an evil lord has overthrow...more
Gary D. Schmidt is one of my favorite authors, and while I would have been perfectly content reading more titles such as The Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now, the author has decided to stretch in this one. Even though the book contains similar elements as the other books he has written, this one alternates from a planet far from earth where a battle rages between those who cherish art and those who rely on power and Earth, where a sixth grader, Tommy Pepper, is still reeling from the loss of his...more
I think I would have liked this book better if I'd read the last fifteen or so pages first, because there's a glossary and also an explanation of the Valorium, Ethelim, and O'Mondim that helps the rest of the book make a lot more sense. My biggest frustration with the book was feeling like I had no idea what was really going on in this other world or why it was going on, and the information at the end of the book helped give that back story and tied everything together...but it's irritating to h...more
I'm torn. Torn! Between unbridled enthusiasm for this book and, well, hesitation.
I loved loved loved the family parts of this book. It was wonderful to see a good sibling relationship, and overall good family dynamics. The theme of grief was worked into the book without it totally taking over the plot, and that part just felt really genuine to me.
The second thing I loved about this book was the tone. You know how the best creepy movies are creepy not because of what they show, but what they don...more
I loved loved loved the family parts of this book. It was wonderful to see a good sibling relationship, and overall good family dynamics. The theme of grief was worked into the book without it totally taking over the plot, and that part just felt really genuine to me.
The second thing I loved about this book was the tone. You know how the best creepy movies are creepy not because of what they show, but what they don...more
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An epic Civil War on a distant planet, pitting the forces of art against the forces of power, plays out in Plymouth, MA where sixth-grader Tommy Pepper and his family struggle with their grief at the death of his mother and the possible loss to development of their beloved seaside house.
Complex in the sense that the issues are very large, but the two stories themselves are pretty clear. The fight on the two-sunned planet is described in italics and an elevated language as if an old-fashioned epi...more
Complex in the sense that the issues are very large, but the two stories themselves are pretty clear. The fight on the two-sunned planet is described in italics and an elevated language as if an old-fashioned epi...more
What CameFrom The Stars
By
Gary D. Schmidt
My " in a nutshell" summary...
Patty and Tommy Pepper are sad and trying to live their lives after the death of their mother. Tommy is guilt ridden and Patty doesn't speak. They have to endure a bus bully, a real estate bully and a bully from another universe.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This is a truly touching profound mystical story that is enhanced by tons of good and tons of sort of scary evil. The kids are funny and brave. They are in a norma...more
By
Gary D. Schmidt
My " in a nutshell" summary...
Patty and Tommy Pepper are sad and trying to live their lives after the death of their mother. Tommy is guilt ridden and Patty doesn't speak. They have to endure a bus bully, a real estate bully and a bully from another universe.
My thoughts after reading this book...
This is a truly touching profound mystical story that is enhanced by tons of good and tons of sort of scary evil. The kids are funny and brave. They are in a norma...more
Tommy Pepper has a real talent for catching a football, and his friend James Sullivan enjoys throwing to him just to watch him catch. Alice Winslow hangs out with these two, and Belknap, all in the same sixth grade class with Mr. Burroughs whose namesake just might have been the inspiration for this adventure between two worlds. Tommy, a bit like a much younger John Carter, becomes part of a battle between good and not good that reaches across galaxies. It is a battle of creativity and destructi...more
WHAT CAME FROM THE STARS by Gary D. Schmidt, Clarion, September 2012, 304p., ISBN: 978-0-547-61213-3
“In the end there’s just a song
Comes crying like the wind
Through all the broken dreams
And vanished years”
-- Garcia/Hunter, “Stella Blue”
“’See for yourself.’ said Mr. Burroughs, and they walked into the classroom. They didn’t have to open the door—Tommy thought this was pretty familiar—because the door had already been torn off, broken in two, and thrown down the hall.
“It was probably the only thin...more
“In the end there’s just a song
Comes crying like the wind
Through all the broken dreams
And vanished years”
-- Garcia/Hunter, “Stella Blue”
“’See for yourself.’ said Mr. Burroughs, and they walked into the classroom. They didn’t have to open the door—Tommy thought this was pretty familiar—because the door had already been torn off, broken in two, and thrown down the hall.
“It was probably the only thin...more
This is a perfectly fine book, but it could have been a much better book had someone consulted with me first.
I love Gary Schmidt, and was excited when I heard he was doing a science fiction book in 2012. But weirdly, this book is falling short of what a Gary Schmidt science fiction book should be.
It alternates between a send-up of classic science fiction and the daily life of a kid in the sixth grade in Massachusetts. What with long lists of bizarre names and references to epic battles on anoth...more
I love Gary Schmidt, and was excited when I heard he was doing a science fiction book in 2012. But weirdly, this book is falling short of what a Gary Schmidt science fiction book should be.
It alternates between a send-up of classic science fiction and the daily life of a kid in the sixth grade in Massachusetts. What with long lists of bizarre names and references to epic battles on anoth...more
An edge-of-your seat fantasy involving a magical chain from another planet, a sixth-grade boy from Plymouth, Massachusetts who discovers it, scary giants with no faces who come from the sea, a nasty realtor who will do anything to get Tommy's property for her condominium project, and a high-stakes battle involving the good people of Ethelim vs evil Lord Mondus
who wants the chain around Tommy's neck.
Schmidt is masterful at weaving all of this (and more) together in a touching, humorous, suspensef...more
who wants the chain around Tommy's neck.
Schmidt is masterful at weaving all of this (and more) together in a touching, humorous, suspensef...more
Oh man, I really, really, really love Gary D. Schmidt. His last two novels, "Wednesday Wars" and "Okay for Now" were brilliant and I don't use that term lightly. I was excited to read his latest; "What Came from the Stars".
The concept of the novel is cool. Alternating narratives between another world where the Valorim are raging an epic battle between good and evil and the story of a 6th grade boy in Mass. trying to cope with the tragic loss of his mother and the impending sale of his family hom...more
The concept of the novel is cool. Alternating narratives between another world where the Valorim are raging an epic battle between good and evil and the story of a 6th grade boy in Mass. trying to cope with the tragic loss of his mother and the impending sale of his family hom...more
This story takes the basic structure of Lord of the Rings-- evil guy wants a piece of jewelry which has been hidden from him-- and weaves into it the story of the grief of a boy named Tommy Pepper. Instead of Middle Earth, a ring, and Sauron, it's a planet in a distant and unknown universe that has double suns, a silver chain with a green pendant, and a dude named Lord Mondus. However that may initially sound, it's actually a beautiful combination that makes for an enjoyable read.
It's also a bit...more
It's also a bit...more
So there's this kid Tommy Pepper, a sixth grader in William Bradford Elementary School, Plymouth, MA, who found a chain necklace in his Ace Robotroid Adventure lunch box which was a birthday present from his beloved Grandma. What's with the chain necklace? Later.
I kind of liked the characters in this book, specifically Tommy and Patty. Their mom recently died so it must be really hard for them. I liked the melancholic feel of the way the story had started with Tommy and how they're struggling wi...more
I kind of liked the characters in this book, specifically Tommy and Patty. Their mom recently died so it must be really hard for them. I liked the melancholic feel of the way the story had started with Tommy and how they're struggling wi...more
This is the fourth of Gary Schmidt's books that I've read, but the first that I've loved wholeheartedly. My reason for withholding complete admiration from the three previous is kind of complicated. See, I thought every sentence the man wrote was beautiful and brilliant. But when every single sentence made you stop and say, “wow,” it made it hard to get lost in the story. I felt frustrated, simultaneously bowing before the author's incredible skill and wanting to beg him, like a little kid, to g...more
It is a bit difficult to classify the genre of this unusual story! Think Game of Thrones meets Diary of a Wimpy Kid. In a planet far far away, the Valorim are fighting a battle to the death with the Mondim. Desperate to save their civilization, they send a necklace that holds all the art of the Valorim to earth, where it is found by Tommy in his lunchbox. Tommy is just an average sixth grade kid, but he has some problems. He is mourning the untimely death of his mother and his home is threatened...more
My Summary: While sitting in the cafeteria one day, Tommy receives an unexpected surprise. He doesn't know it yet, but the necklace that dropped into his lunchbox during lunch contains an entire planet. And while he may think nothing of it, their are powerful villains who will stop at nothing to get the chain back and make the planet of Valorim theirs at last.
My Thoughts: This book was a little bit of an oddity, but I still enjoyed it. As a fan of books and series like The Lord of the Rings, I e...more
My Thoughts: This book was a little bit of an oddity, but I still enjoyed it. As a fan of books and series like The Lord of the Rings, I e...more
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Gary D. Schmidt is an American children's writer of nonfiction books and young adult novels, including two Newbery Honor books. He lives on a farm in Alto, Michigan,with his wife and six children, where he splits wood, plants gardens, writes, feeds the wild cats that drop by and wishes that sometimes the sea breeze came that far inland. He is a Professor of English at Calvin College.
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“There is no Art made without power, and there is no reason for Art to be made except for power.”
—
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“Let the Art be brought back only for the good of the world. If it isn the hand of one who would use it for ill, in that world or this, then it will be upon you to destroy it—though its end means your own life-long exile." —Young Waeglim”
—
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28. Dezember, 11:43 Uhr