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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
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
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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
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So, I've heard that some people are disappointed with this one. I think the first problem is that this is just not meant for the usual Gary Schmidt audience. I kind of considered it two books in one. One of those books DID feel very much like a Gary Schmidt. That was the story of a family that had lost its heart and soul and was learning to cope. Great characters, great heart, great story. All Gary Schmidt trademarks. But there was a parallel story here and that was the one that seemed to give s
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I love Gary Schmidt. So even though this book was a little strange, I couldn't help but love certain parts.
I loved all the parts about Tommy Pepper. He is the type of boy I would hope my boys would be. He is a loving big brother, someone who loves his dad (and his mom, who is dead), he tries hard in school, he has good friends, and is a good friend.
I love that Schmidt is able to so beautifully write about real life without making it sassy, or making the parents or adults look dumb, but still giv ...more
I loved all the parts about Tommy Pepper. He is the type of boy I would hope my boys would be. He is a loving big brother, someone who loves his dad (and his mom, who is dead), he tries hard in school, he has good friends, and is a good friend.
I love that Schmidt is able to so beautifully write about real life without making it sassy, or making the parents or adults look dumb, but still giv ...more
I liked the human story quite a bit, and how this alien artifact gave him both memories of a world he's never known, but also a sharper recollection of his dead mom. I also like how his life gets more and more surreal as the aliens close in on him and the artifact that they so desire for its power. I just didn't think that, in the end, it was a very compelling story. Not sure why. Maybe because it all is forgotten by the main character at the end. Maybe because the alien story was too flat.
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I usually love this author, but I could not get into this one. I do not know if it was the made up language of the other world or what....
I wanna know what Schmidt was smoking/drinking when he wrote this...
When I found this book on the shelf at Barnes and Noble two days before it was supposed to come out, I was thrilled. It was very good. It reminded me a LOT of A String in the Harp. A kid just lost his family, and finds a relic which magically connects him with a different culture. Schmidt's writing is terrific just like in Okay For Now, and his descriptions of the setting were great. I feel like, I've actually been to Plymouth now. Really, really good book.
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This is awesome, but I would think most middle-grade readers would be bewildered by the Weoruld Ethelim sections, and maybe not respond well to the deep well of sorrow the story rests on. Very imaginative and original and heart-breaking and quite funny. I'm sure Gary Schmidt spent time as a middle school teacher; his teachers are always so wonderfully wry.
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May 22, 2012
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