Icons

March 18, 2013
This first solo effort from Stohl, who burst on the scene as coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures series, is a dystopian vision of occupation by the Lords, who can kill with an electrical pulse. Climate change had already submerged population centers, and weapons of mass destruction contaminated the planet, when aliens landed in the late 21st-century. Through human Ambassadors, the Lords rule vast conurbations like the Hole, the remains of Los Angeles. Some humans persist beyond the Lords’ range, living in the Grass as subsistence farmers. Dol and Ro, survivors of the initial attack, are special: Dol for her extreme empathy, and Ro for his berserker rage. A man called the Padre has kept them on the Mission, alive but ignorant, for 16 years; when he is murdered by government thugs, the teens’ struggle to survive goes hand in hand with self-discovery. Stohl’s world is a stereotypical totalitarian state, but Dol’s narrative voice is particularly vivid; the here-and-now character development, if not the SF trappings, will keep readers engrossed. Ages 12–up. Agent: Sarah Burnes, the Gernert Company.

April 1, 2013
Humanity's only hope against an alien occupation is a quartet of teens with emotion-based superpowers. When the aliens landed on Earth, they cowed humanity into submission with the mass murder of several cities via an electromagnetic field generated by the alien Icons. Dol somehow survived and, under the care of the compassionate Padre, has developed a deep friendship with fellow vaguely superpowered teenager Ro. They hide from the Embassy that "oversees" Earth-alien relations by shipping humans off to work as slaves on mysterious, never-defined projects. On Dol's 17th birthday, the Padre gives her a mysterious book explaining who and what the Icon Children are. Inexplicably, she decides not to read it; this is part of a pattern of clunky information-withholding that sits awkwardly and frustratingly alongside exposition. Embassy soldiers capture Dol, and after an encounter with a more-than-he-seems mercenary, they bring Dol and Ro to the Embassy where they endlessly bicker with fellow Icon Children Lucas (the Ambassador's son) and silver-haired Tima. With all that squabbling, readers will feel like they are reading the same scene over and over again without the payoff of plot progression. Dol's torn between best friend Ro and mysterious new Lucas, yielding a cliched romantic storyline. Top-secret documents filed between chapters make the invasion and mystery of the Icon Children more interesting than Dol's narration does. Those without superhuman patience should pass. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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August 1, 2013

Gr 8 Up-Seventeen years ago, Dol's parents were among the billions killed on The Day. Since then, Dol and her best friend, Ro, have grown up in the Grasslands, protected and kept hidden in a peaceful mission. But things change on Dol's 17th birthday, when Embassy soldiers kill the Padre and capture Dol and Ro. Held captive by the Embassy's alien ambassador, the teens meet Lucas and Tima, both of whom have similar markings on their wrists as Ro and Dol. The four learn that they are Icon children who possess the supernatural ability to read and control emotions. Icons has a promising start, slows considerably in the middle, and gets only slightly more exciting by the end. "Top secret" and "Classified" documents appear between the chapters to provide necessary background information about the new alien-controlled planet. The four protagonists are difficult to care about. Two love triangles feel forced as only Ro seems to really feel anything for anyone else. The premise, while original, is confusing at times and requires infinite patience from readers, who will wonder far too long what the point is. For another alien-takeover story with excellent world-building, suggest Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave (Putnam, 2013).-Leigh Collazo, Ed Willkie Middle School, Fort Worth, TX

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2013
Grades 7-11 Stohl's dystopian California harbors a corrupt government, a teeming underclass who slave away in the Hole to serve that government, and the mysterious Icon children: individuals who survived a horrific alien attack on Earth that stopped all power sources and shut down cities all over the world. Why did Doloria, a Weeper, and Furo, a Rager, survive when everyone else in their cities perished? Dol and Ro, raised in the countryside by the padre of a deserted mission, have been kept in the dark as to the power of their uncontrollable emotions. Now 17, they are captured by the Embassy, jailed, and interrogated as the Ambassador and her henchmen try to harness their unique gifts. There they meet two other Icon children, one of whom happens to be the Ambassador's son. Fans of Stohl's Beautiful Creatures series will find many of the same elements hereparanormal romance, a fast pace, and intriguing charactersbut within a distinctly science-fiction setting. The strong messages of questioning authority, daring to resist injustice, and loyalty to one's group will resonate with teens who loved The Hunger Games. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Stohl is the best-selling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels (the first one is about to become a major motion picture), and fans will be chomping at the bit for this one.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)