They Came From Below [Hardcover]

Blake Nelson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 26, 2007

Seventeen-year-old Emily and her best friend Reese can't wait for summer vacation on Cape Cod. Every year, it's the same thing: high hopes that they may finally hook up with some cool guys...and it never happens. But this year, they're sure it's going to be different. So it's totally amazing when out of nowhere they meet two unbelievably adorable boys who are just too cute to be true! Which, they soon discover, may be the case. A lot of odd things happen when Steve and Dave are around. Reese figures it's because they're not from around here. So where are they from, France? Well, not quite...

 

Summoned from the depths of the sea by the dire threat of global pollution, friendly aliens "Steve and Dave" have manifested themselves in human form and come ashore in a last desperate effort to save the oceans.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Initially, this novel reads like a spoof on B-grade science fiction with the introduction of some very improbable events. First, there is a nuclear explosion in the ocean. Then, an unidentifiable blob washes onto a Cape Cod beach and two strangers with odd mannerisms and ways of speaking suddenly appear in town. Yet it soon becomes clear that Nelson (Paranoid Park) has something more profound in mind than tracking an alien invasion. After 17-year-old Emily and her sidekick Reese befriend the two strangers—who go by Steve and Dave and claim to be linguistic students—they experience some strange phenomena, such as being able to sense what animals are thinking and having euphoric dreams (It was like I was floating on air and the sun was superclose to me.... and I somehow knew everything was okay and everyone loved everyone and the Earth was the best place in the entire galaxy). After witnessing the duo's remarkable healing powers, Emily suspects that there is something unearthly about them—suspicions that are confirmed when they reveal their true identities, histories and knowledge of the universe. Woven into the story are environmentalist themes and prophetic ideas that pack a punch and may inspire contemplation about the Earth's uncertain future. Offering wittiness, suspense and ideologies borrowed from Eastern religions, Nelson reaches a new level of depth and creativity with this intriguing depiction of one very weird summer. Ages 13-up.(July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"When two sixth graders magically change bodies after bumping their heads together, the results are traumatic for them but hilarious for readers."--Starred Review, Publishers Weekly on Gender Blender

 

"In this year's best offering on the rock band life, Nelson gives an entertaining and realistic insider's view....Readers will likely lap up this look at what it's like for a band trying to make it."--Starred Review, Publishers Weekly on Rock Star Superstar

 

"An especially mature and incisive look inside the heart of a teenager who believes that he might already have seen the best that life and love have to offer."--Starred Review, Publishers Weekly on The New Rules of High School

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 13 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Tor Teen; 1st edition (June 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765314231
• ISBN-13: 978-0765314239
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,686,502 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Blake Nelson grew up in Portland, OR. He attended Wesleyan University and NYU.

He began his career writing short humor pieces for Details Magazine. His first novel GIRL, was serialized in SASSY Magazine and was made into a film starring Selma Blaire and Summer Phoenix.

Nelson has since published ten more novels, including ROCKSTAR SUPERSTAR and THE NEW RULES OF HIGH SCHOOL, PROM ANONYMOUS and GENDER BENDER.

His science fiction novel THEY CAME FROM BELOW was a Kliatt Editors Choice pick in 2008 and his 2006 novel PARANOID PARK was made into a film by Gus Van Sant which won the Cannes Special Anniversary Prize Award in 2006, as well as Italy's Grinzane Literary award.

His latest book DESTROY ALL CARS has been praised as "Smart and entertaining" by the New York Times, and was called "A wonderful novel" by the Los Angeles Times.

His novel RECOVERY ROAD was released in March of 2011. His newest novel, DREAM SCHOOL, the sequel to GIRL, is being released in December, 2011 from Figment.

Figment is a web site for teens and young adults to create, discover, and share new reading and writing. Whatever you're into, from sci-fi to sonnets, you can find it all at www.figment.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Warning about the Earth from Underwater, July 4, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: They Came From Below (Hardcover)

Two aliens from under the ocean come up to try to save their friend. They have to find him before the world discovers his secret powers. This book was really exciting and I want to know what happens to Reese. if there is a sequal I will definitely read it.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A unique, involving and unpredictably satisfying story line., September 5, 2007

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They Came From Below (Hardcover)

Blake Nelson's first science fiction book for teens provides a fine blend of social commentary and science fiction. Two teen girls vacationing in Cape Cod meet two cute boys - but there the tale diverges from the usual romance, for the boys are unusual and they have an important message to impart about Earth's ecological state. In blending a familiar romance with a saga of friendly aliens and ecological concerns, THEY CAME FROM BELOW succeeds in producing a unique, involving and unpredictably satisfying story line.

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, November 28, 2007

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: They Came From Below (Hardcover)

Okay, I'm going to tell you the secret. The mystery to be solved, the secret to be unlocked. Ready? Here it is -- they came from below.

Every summer, Emily Dalton leaves Indianapolis to spend the summer with her scientist father on Cape Cod. She spends most of her time in South Point going to the beach, eating pizza, and meeting boys with her best friend, Reese. A week into the summer, they meet Steve and Dave, two of the cutest boys they have ever seen. They feel drawn to them in a way they have never felt before, almost like they are not human.

Strange things seem to happen wherever the two of them go. A boy falls off of a roof at a local party and breaks his neck, but after a couple of minutes with Steve and Dave, he walks away unharmed. Emily and Reese realize that these guys are not just tourists. They came from below, and they need to find their way back to the bottom of the ocean. Unfortunately, they cannot return to their home until they rescue their friend from a top-secret government facility, and they need Reese, Professor Dalton, and Emily to help them do it.

This book is smart and funny. Emily and Reese are like any teens you might meet on your summer vacation. They are interesting and quirky and fun. It is so easy to get wrapped up in their story of crushes and friendship that you might not realize what the book is truly about until you have finished it. It is also about close encounters of the third kind, but it is so much more than your typical sci-fi alien encounter book. The aliens look and act like humans, but their emotional range is much deeper than anything we can feel. They experience the world in a way that we cannot imagine.

THEY CAME FROM BELOW also looks at the way that we treat the Earth. In my opinion, this is the best kind of book; one that keeps your interest, has a great story, and delivers a message with a strong impact that does not get in the way. It is science fiction, but reads like contemporary fiction. Definitely worth picking up!

Reviewed by: Becca Boland