August 1, 2014
Gr 8 Up-Dol and the Icon Children escape to Southeast Asia in search of another child who might share their superhuman qualities. Readers who haven't read the first book, Icons (2013), will be best served by starting at the beginning. Fans of the series will rush through this fast-paced sci-fi adventure and breathlessly await the third installment.
Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
June 1, 2014
Following Icons (2013), the Icon Children run for their lives while the mysteries behind the alien invaders unravel. With only the briefest of recaps, the narration drops the readers straight into action. Dol, the other three fleeing Icon Children, and their mysterious mercenary guide, Fortis, aren't flying a Chopper; they're crashing it. Evading the extraterrestrials so they can use their special powers to destroy the growing Icons-alien technology deadly to all but these teens and used to control the human population-the ragtag band on the run encounters cool locations such as an underground mountain bunker and Eastasia. They move with a specific purpose: Dol's dreams are visited by a fifth Icon Child, and they wish to find her. That is, if there really is a fifth. The extraneous-but-apparently-necessary love triangle among Dol, Ro (childhood best friend) and Lucas (new hot guy) is shoehorned in, as the nonstop plot doesn't leave much room for emotional arcs or character development. Continuing from Icons, nifty top-secret documents appearing between chapters flesh out the invasion-this time they're frequently transcripts of communications between Earth and the invaders, pre-invasion. These documents explicitly reference science-fiction classics-a bonus for genre fans-and keep readers a step ahead of the characters. Last-minute twists create a cliffhanger.A fast, fun read for fans of the first. (Science fiction. 12 & up)
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March 15, 2014
Grades 7-11 Stohl continues the story begun in Icons (2013) of four young revolutionaries in a future driven by aliens who can stop human hearts at will. Doloria, Furo, Lucas, and Tima are Icon children, immune to the power of the aliens and increasingly aware of their responsibility to act in defense of humanity. Doloria is torn between her love for Furo, with whom she spent her childhood in a California mission, and Lucas, whose corrupt politician mother was the primary enemy in the first book. Although the four have found safety of sorts in a resistance outpost, Dol becomes haunted by visions of a fifth Icon child who addresses her as sister. Her search for this girl takes the group to Southeast Asia, where they encounter the quirky monk Buddha Bill and discover their true origins and parents. Interspersed cryptic communications between government officials gradually reveal a secret and heinous plot, and an abrupt and enigmatic ending guarantees at least one more title in the series. It may not stand alone, but it feeds the continuing hunger for fast-paced tales of dystopia. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The series many fans will be glad to have this one while they look forward to the next.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)