Krista Reviews: Margaret Stohl's - "Icons"

Your heart beats only with their permission.

Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol’s family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn’t know it was fighting.

Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside — safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can’t avoid.

She’s different. She survived. Why?

When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador’s privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn’t a coincidence. It’s a conspiracy.

Within the Icon’s reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions — which they’ve always thought to be their greatest weaknesses — may actually be their greatest strengths.

Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts — in order to save the future.

Hardcover, 428 pages

Published May 7th 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (first published May 1st 2013)    0316205184 (ISBN13: 9780316205184)

An alien force has taken over the world without warning and without stepping foot on land. They maintain control of Earth through their representatives and the threat of death. They have already killed off a huge portion of humans and continue to threaten those that try to fight them with death. The four kids who are the focus of the story are all brought together because they are special. But was bringing them together a worse decision than keeping them apart?

Dol is the main character and the story is told from her perspective. She lost her parents in the initial takeover and now lives in a farm community that feels safe. Then, one day, a warning comes. She is given an illegal book and eventually taken, along with Ro, to a government facility.

At the facility she meets Tima and Lucas. The rest of the novel takes place on and around this facility as they are being tested and carefully watched to find how dangerous they are to the alien beings. During their time there, we get to know each of them better, understand the connections between them, and see a pinch of a romance emerging.

Dol and Lucas have similar characteristics; they are both caring and cautious. Tima and Ro are also similar; they are very determined and courageous, making their opinions clearly known. The four soon discover they all have similar markings and that this may be the key to why they were taken.

It was interesting to read a book in which the enemy doesn’t show their face. The aliens are a constant threat, but the main focus for these four is the current circumstances of being taken and locked up. The whole story revolves around their inquiries into why they were taken, if they are safe, and what will happen to them next.

There are moments of action, travelling, and adventure. But it’s only with the help of a computer and an outsider that the answers can be found. They have to rise up against the authority and force change. My favourite characters were Ro and Tima; they add rebel attitude to the story and Lucas and Dol add caring and rationality to the story. I wish I had waited until the sequel was about to released before I read Icons. It ends with a bang, right when things get really good. 

I would recommend this book to Margaret Stohl fans and those who like detective stories with some action.