I wanted to love this one, but I'm not sure I can even say I liked it. I found the fantasy sections to be confusing, in an unnecessary way. (I think he could have written it to be more accessible and enjoyable.) YET at the same time, these sections reminded me of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion. (I would have preferred to be reminded of The Hobbit!) The realistic sections were interesting. A grieving boy finds an out-of-this-world necklace that changes him in small ways--foreign ways; and since this necklace is highly sought after by evil aliens from a far away planet, bad stuff starts happening in the boy's community. This one had a handful of scenes that I really enjoyed. For example, when Tommy Pepper (our hero) is "fixing" the painting of his principal, I believe. There were a few scenes with delightful details that just worked. And some of the dialogue was great. But I had a hard time connecting with this one for the most part.
Read What Came From The Stars
- If you're a fan of Gary D. Schmidt
- If you enjoy children's fantasy OR science fiction
- If you're looking for a unique book on grief and guilt
© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews
2 comments:
I am a big fan of Schmidt but I was too confused by this one and gave up on it.
I completely agree. I was really sad I couldn't love this one. The fantasy parts were just a bit too archaic-feeling. And I totally kept imagining Tolkien!
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