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 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.

How can a grieving sixth grader stand against villains from another world?

• A Coming of Age Story: Sixth-grader Tommy Pepper is just trying to survive middle school and the loss of his mom when a cosmic war lands in his lunchbox.
• An Otherworldly Mystery: The mysterious chain gives Tommy incredible artistic powers, but it also paints a target on his back for the alien creatures now stalking the streets of Plymouth.
• A Heartfelt Family Story: At its heart, this is a book about the unbreakable bonds of family and a boy who must find his courage to protect his little sister and his dad.
• Good vs. Evil: A classic battle between light and darkness that will resonate with fans of classic fantasy and heartfelt contemporary stories alike.

“Schmidt brings high heroic fantasy and contemporary realism together in this novel.”—Horn Book, starred review

“Spielberg, get ready for this boldly imagined outer-space offering.”—Kirkus

“Schmidt, already a best-seller and award winner, should pick up even more fans with this crowd-pleasing fantasy.”—Booklist

“Wonderfully strange. . . . This inventive and memorable story for readers ages 10-15 manages to mingle the quotidian and the movingly supernatural. It's funny, too.”—The Wall Street Journal

"The balance of emotions is flawless."—Bulletin