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WORK TITLE: Iceling
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE:
CITY: Brooklyn
STATE: NY
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/2136252/sasha-stephenson * http://www.herestohappyendings.com/2016/12/review-iceling-by-sasha-stephenson/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: no2016166223
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/no2016166223
HEADING: Stephenson, Sasha
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100 1_ |a Stephenson, Sasha
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670 __ |a Iceling, 2016: |b t.p. (Sasha Stephenson)
670 __ |a Penguin website, viewed Dec. 12, 2016 |b (Sasha Stephenson holds an MFA in poetry from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn, New York. This is his first novel) |u http://www.penguinteen.com/authors/2136252-sasha-stephenson/
PERSONAL
Male.
EDUCATION:Columbia University, M.F.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Sasha Stephenson is a writer based out of Brooklyn, New York. He received his M.F.A. in poetry from Columbia University.
Iceling, Stephenson’s first novel, is a young adult science fiction story. The book centers around teenaged Lorna and her adopted sister Callie. Callie is under the care of Lorna, as their scientist parents are in Ecuador doing research. Callie was discovered by Lorna’s father a decade and a half before the story begins. She is one of what is known as the Arctic Recovery Orphans (ARO), a group of children mysteriously discovered in the Canadian Arctic. Like the other AROs, Callie is nonverbal, fair-haired and light-skinned, and prone to fits. Lorna loves her sister, and believes her sister loves her back, so when the girl’s fits begin to worsen Lorna is eager to find a solution.
The emotional theme of sisterly bonding is present throughout the story, despite Callie’s inability to verbally express her love. A contributor to Publisher’s Weekly wrote: Iceling “delivers action, conspiracy, and betrayal alongside a meditation on love, family connection, and humanity.”
When Callie builds a detailed model of an arctic island, Lorna realizes the girl is trying to communicate her need to return, for some reason, to the island where she was found. Lorna’s friend Stan is also the sibling of an ARO and describes similar behavior in his adopted brother. The two begin speaking with other siblings of AROs and discover that there appears to be a mass movement among AROs to return to the arctic. Lorna, Callie, Stan, and Stan’s ARO brother pack up to head north.
Although a large portion of the story takes place on the road as the four characters travel from Pennsylvania up though Canada on their way to the arctic, a contributor to Kirkus Reviews noted “inconsistent plotting, indifference to geography and climate.” As the sisters move north, they encounter more and more ARO families making the same trek. Calls from their parents suggest there is danger ahead, and odd behavior by a driver at the Canadian border check point leave Lorna uneasy.
As the story progresses, Lorna and Stan come to the conclusion that there is a dark government conspiracy occurring, aimed to extinguish the AROs. The two must take drastic measures to save themselves and their beloved siblings. The book ends with a cliffhanger, paving the way for the story to continue on in future books.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Kirkus Reviews, September 15, 2016, review of Iceling.
Publishers Weekly, October 10, 2016, review of Iceling, p. 82.
Voice of Youth Advocates, December, 2016, Rachel Wadham, review of Iceling, p. 80.
ONLINE
Chicago Review of Books, https://chireviewofbooks.com (January 27, 2017), Christina Kloess, review of Iceling.
RT Book Reviews, https://www.rtbookreviews.com (December 13, 2016), Kerry Sutherland, review of Iceling.
TeenReads, http://www.teenreads.com (December 13, 2016), review of Iceling.*
Saturday, December 17, 2016
0Sasha Stephenson, author of ICELING, on learning how to live with the people you're writing about
We're thrilled to have Sasha Stephenson join us to share more about his debut novel ICELING.
Sasha, what scene was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?
The hardest thing to write from like a technical perspective was the big Arctic Showdown towards the end. I've never written a scene that big or with that much incessant action before, and to spread one scene out over a few chapters, to try to encompass this huge event ... it was a lot of work.
In terms of the scenes I'm proudest of, one would have to be the end of chapter 11. Balancing Lorna's interior narrative with the actual description of the events unfolding in front of the car was real challenging, and plus I got to include some references to The Edge. Writing it felt like this tightrope act of conveying the genuine terror Lorna feels at this scene via the ways in which she was reacting to it, which was equal parts denial and bad jokes and cussing and panic, while at the same time needing to describe things from both inside and outside of her perspective, to let the reader see both what was happening and what she felt was happening, to blur them without losing track of her feelings or the situation itself, which was, quite rapidly, escalating way out of hand.
But, for me, the scene I love the most is at the end of chapter 25. [I'm trying to talk about all of this without spoiling anything! It is not the easiest thing!] It was a big scene, for me, emotionally, to try to get myself to understand what Lorna would feel in that moment, and how she'd want to express it. The scene just came tumbling out at first, and then I had to wrench the rest of it out word by word. It felt very important to try to feel every single thing that Lorna would be feeling in that moment, and to render it as painfully and tenderly as possible. To watch someone's dreams die, and then to imagine what that would feel like, and then to look over, and to see what their eyes look like watching all this, and to realize that you maybe understood a fraction of that hurt... I remember it was real late at night, in December of 2014, and as soon as I finished that scene I went outside, and the air was freezing, and I was sort of just walking around, stunned and spent.
How long did you work on ICELING?
I think I spent 4 months cranking out the first draft, and then 2 months on the second draft, and 3 months on the third. With a few last minute edits thrown in.
What do you hope readers will take away from ICELING?
At first I wanted it to be viewed as like, an action-packed, vaguely feminist road trip where the reader comes to understand that the figures of authority may actually be attempting to look out for Lorna's interests, but it's their idea of her interests. Nobody sat down or talked to her, or asked her what mattered, they just decided what mattered, and acted on it. And this notion of knowing what's best, it can get weird, and dangerous, when you don't actually ask the people concerned what their concerns are. But now? Now I sort of feel like at its core it's about sisters. Whose lives, as they understand them, get shattered. Lorna spends the whole road trip recounting to herself what brought them there and how Callie's important to her, and so much of that is because she's trying to remind herself of what her life is as it falls apart around her. It's an attempt to hold on to her ideas of what things are. It's desperate. So at its core, it's about these two sisters. And one of them is, basically, an immigrant: she got rescued from a disaster and sheltered and raised by an American family. And, one day, the government decides that this group of immigrants might be a risk. Because they don't understand them, and they don't know what they're capable of. And so then, y'know, the books ends with a massively violent showdown, because of this. Also I hope they get all the jokes about the movie The Edge. I hope they come away feeling that it is real important to love somebody, and to examine what that means.
What's your writing ritual like? Do you listen to music? Work at home or at a coffee shop or the library, etc?
I work at home, usually at a desktop, near a window, with music playing. I need to have something going in the background or I get too lost in my own head to actually get any work done. Plus then, and this was real helpful for the early parts of ICELING, I can put playlists together to try to invoke [or, if we're being honest, trick myself into] a feeling or emotion that can better guide the scene I'm working on. I try to keep my desk clear enough that I can have a mug of coffee and a glass of cold water nearby. I usually have a series of post-its strung up on the wall to try to map out the book and whatever scenes I'm working on. I think the biggest help to my writing process was the moment when I realized that the actual act of writing was maybe like 1/3 of what is actually involved in writing a book. The rest being editing it, and learning how to live with the people you're writing about. It's real hard to tell a story about imaginary people you haven't spent much time with.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Iceling
by Sasha Stephenson
Hardcover
Razorbill
Released 12/13/2016
Seventeen-year-old Lorna loves her adoptive sister, Callie. But Callie can’t say “I love you” back. In fact, Callie can’t say anything at all.
Callie is an Iceling—one of hundreds of teens who were discovered sixteen years ago on a remote Arctic island, all of them lacking the ability to speak or understand any known human language.
Mysterious and panicked events lead to the two sisters embarking on a journey to the north, and now Lorna starts to see that there’s a lot more to Callie’s origin story than she’d been led to believe. Little does she know what’s in store, and that she’s about to uncover the terrifying secret about who—and what—Callie really is.
Purchase Iceling at Amazon
Purchase Iceling at IndieBound
View Iceling on Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Stephenson holds an MFA in poetry from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn, New York. This is his first novel.
--
Have you had a chance to read ICELING yet? Have you ever written a scene that's left you stunned and spent? Do you get too lost in you own head to actually get any work done? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!
Happy reading,
Jocelyn, Shelly, Martina, Anisaa, Sam, Erin, Susan, Michelle, Laura, and Kristin
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sasha Stephenson holds an MFA in poetry from Columbia University and lives in Brooklyn, New York. This is his first novel.
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Print Marked Items
Stephenson, Sasha. Iceling, Book 1
Rachel Wadham
Voice of Youth Advocates.
39.5 (Dec. 2016): p80.
COPYRIGHT 2016 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
2Q * 3P * M * J. S
Stephenson, Sasha. Iceling, Book 1. Razorbill/Penguin Random House, 2016. 272p. $17.99. 9781595147691.
Rescued from an Arctic island, Callie does not use language and has an affinity for plants. All her sister Lorna wants to
do is connect with her adopted Iceling sister. When Callie starts building her island home, Lorna finds the chance for
which she has been looking. Setting out with Stan and his Iceling brother, the foursome realizes this trip back to the
Arctic Recovery Orphans' home is far from typical when they encounter more Iceling families traveling in the same
direction. Cryptic calls from parents warning them of great danger help Lorna and Stan realize they are facing a secret
government conspiracy to silence them all forever. The truths the island reveals finally force Lorna and Stan to take
drastic measures to save themselves and their siblings from utter destruction.
Debut author Stephenson weaves a generally appealing story of unusual sisters. The bulk of the story focuses on the
road trip, slowing the novel's pace by repeatedly covering the same emotional contexts of sisterly love and dealing with
an absent boyfriend. The climax offers little new information and even confuses some points, making the whole intent
and theme of the work unclear. Geography makes little sense in this story, and is given little consideration, making the
whole trip confusing. Genre readers who find science fiction about aliens or strange earthly occurrences engaging will
find a lot to like here, even though a jarring cliffhanger ending will not allow them to find resolution until future
books.Rachel Wadham.
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
Wadham, Rachel. "Stephenson, Sasha. Iceling, Book 1." Voice of Youth Advocates, Dec. 2016, p. 80. General OneFile,
go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA474768016&it=r&asid=db1024d7e6f65c99f4c66e45fac4c22e.
Accessed 11 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A474768016
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Sasha Stephenson: ICELING
Kirkus Reviews.
(Sept. 15, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Sasha Stephenson ICELING Razorbill/Penguin (Adult Fiction) 17.99 12, 13 ISBN: 9781595147691
Discovered by scientists in the Canadian Arctic and later adopted, a group of speechless but intense and powerful teens
compel their older siblings to return them to that site a decade and a half later. With their scientist parents in Ecuador,
Lorna, 17, is responsible for her sister, Callie, an Arctic Recovery Orphan. Constructing an ingenious model of their
destination (a la Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind), Callie persuades Lorna to take her there.
Lorna and Stan, whose ARO brother is similarly obsessed, shoulder the task. Packing snacks, warm clothes, and phone
charger, the four leave Pennsylvania—;guided by the AROs (Lorna names them Icelings)—;and head
northeast, meeting and joining with other sibling groups along the way. At a police checkpoint, only those traveling
with AROs are permitted to cross into Canada. One driver, Bobby, might know what’;s at stake, but
he’;s not sharing. Lorna, Stan, and the rest, mystified but loyal, follow their siblings’; leads. Readers
will be equally confused: by the strange geography (Meat Cove, Nova Scotia, is nowhere near the Arctic) and
confusing, contradictory plot. Long interior monologues fail to explain Lorna’;s senseless—;at times,
risibly so—;choices. Otherworldly discoveries are rendered in mundane imagery, while the identically pale,
lighteyed, fairhaired Icelings suggest pallid takes on John Wyndham’;s The Midwich Cuckoos (1957) and its
comicbook and video game progeny. Narrator Lorna indicates no racial distinction between her and her sister, leading
readers to believe she is white.
Faced with the inconsistent plotting, indifference to geography and climate, and sloppy execution, readers are more
likely to abandon this series opener halfway than to wait for Volume 2. (Science fiction. 1216)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Sasha Stephenson: ICELING." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Sept. 2016. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA463216074&it=r&asid=8141113bd26f827aad57c7088a765272.
Accessed 11 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A463216074
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Iceling
Publishers Weekly.
263.41 (Oct. 10, 2016): p82.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Iceling
Sasha Stephenson. Razorbill, $17.99 (272p)
ISBN 9781595147691
All her life, Lorna has known that her younger sister, Callieone of the orphans Lorna's scientist father found at sea
and brought to the U.S.is different. Callie has fits and doesn't speak, just like the other rescued children, now
teenagers, that Lorna calls icelings and that the government that monitors them calls Arctic Recovery Orphans. But
Lorna loves Callie, and she believes that Callie loves her, too. Then Callie's fits worsen, and one day she builds a
detailed model of an island and makes it clear that she needs to go there. Seventeenyearold Lorna and Callie hit the
road with another set of siblings, Stan and Ted, heading north and meeting other icelingsibling pairs as they travel.
Stephenson's intriguing debut, first in a planned series, is a combination road trip story, SF tale, and adventure yarn.
The occasional plot hole and an abrupt ending (even knowing that another book is on the way) don't take too much
away from a story that delivers action, conspiracy, and betrayal alongside a meditation on love, family connection, and
humanity. Ages 12up. (Dec.)
Source Citation (MLA 8
th Edition)
"Iceling." Publishers Weekly, 10 Oct. 2016, p. 82. General OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?
p=ITOF&sw=w&u=schlager&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA466616246&it=r&asid=9cfd7102dec2acbd359dd885ea523977.
Accessed 11 June 2017.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A466616246
Iceling
by Sasha Stephenson
Buy this book at IndieBound
Buy this book at Amazon
Buy this book at Barnes and Noble
Sasha Stephenson's intriguing debut is a combination road trip story and sci-fi adventure about the strange, strong bond between two sisters. Fans of UNDER THE NEVER SKY and THE DARKEST MINDS will devour ICELING, the first book in a new and utterly original sci-fi series.
Seventeen-year-old Lorna loves her adoptive sister, Callie. But Callie can't say "I love you" back. In fact, Callie can't say anything at all.
Because Callie is an Iceling --- one of hundreds of teens who were discovered 16 years ago on a remote Arctic island, all of them lacking the ability to speak or understand any known human language.
Mysterious and panicked events lead to the two sisters embarking on a journey to the north, and now Lorna starts to see that there's a lot more to Callie's origin story than she'd been led to believe.
‘Iceling’ Is YA Sci-Fi at its Most Engaging and Frustrating
Sasha Stephenson’s engaging but occasionally frustrating 'Iceling' opens sixteen years ago, when a team of scientists discover a bundle of abandoned human babies in the Arctic. As a work of YA genre fiction, it gets many things right.
BY CHRISTINA KLOESS
JANUARY 27, 2017
COMMENTS 0
icelingSasha Stephenson’s engaging but occasionally frustrating Iceling opens sixteen years ago, when a team of scientists discover a bundle of abandoned human babies in the Arctic. Rescued and brought to America, the babies (officially dubbed Arctic Recovery Orphans, or AROs) are separated and adopted by families across the United States—all will continue to be tracked by the U.S. government. Lorna becomes a sister to an ARO when her family adopts Callie, who’s mute, eerily pale, and altogether different in ways Lorna can’t quite comprehend. As they grow older, Callie begins to behave even more weirdly than usual—she suffers frequent conniptions, constructs a diorama of an arctic valley in the family greenhouse, and waits expectantly in Lorna’s car. It becomes clear to Lorna that Callie’s mysteries run even deeper than she imagined.
As a work of YA genre fiction, Iceling gets many things right. Lorna and Callie have a lovely sisterly relationship, despite Lorna’s suspicion that their love might be one-sided. Callie, after all, can’t speak so therefore can’t verbally reciprocate her feelings or articulate what she’s thinking. Lorna’s bouts of irritation with Callie adds complexity to their relationship and tempers Lorna’s devotion to her sister. Indeed, caring for Callie consumes much of the family’s time. Her constant need for observation keeps the family tethered to hospitals where she’s observed and treated. Though Lorna occasionally resents these restrictions, she never finds her deep love for her sister diminished.
The markedly different AROs (or Icelings, as Lorna calls them) are rife with supernatural idiosyncrasies: white-on-white features, special powers, a deep connection to dirt, and a harmonious connection with one another. Lorna occasionally hints that the Icelings are not the only weird things to have appeared in her world, but she never identifies or describes these other strange happenings. The lack of description feels intentional: Iceling is shaped as the first book in a series, so it makes sense that subsequent books will teach us more about Lorna’s world. But, here, the missing description is more frustrating than tantalizing.
Stephenson’s cliffhanger ending is likewise unsatisfying. Given the book’s extensive focus on a road trip, I was hoping for a revelation of some sort when they arrive at their destination. But Stephenson undercuts the book’s biggest climactic moments by having the kids flee the scenes of carnage and embark on more long trips. The driving action of the book is therefore mostly, well, driving, and the threat of secret government agents and spy-parents is somewhat weakened without exciting action to reassert its imminence.
Luckily, Stephenson’s prose saves the work. Iceling is a first person narrative delivered by Lorna. From between stilted text exchanges and descriptions of quirkiness so quirky it feels self-conscious, emerges a wry and open voice that will make you stay with it. No matter my frustrations, I felt compelled to keep reading to discover the Icelings’ secrets. Stephenson’s occasionally predictable story still manages to surprise.
FICTION – YOUNG ADULT/SCIENCE-FICTION
Iceling by Sasha Stephenson
Razorbill Publishing
Published December 13, 2016
ISBN: 9781595147691
Sasha Stephenson received her MFA in poetry from Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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TAGSFICTION • REVIEW • SCIENCE FICTION • SPECULATIVE FICTION • YOUNG ADULT
0 COMMENTS ON “
ICELING
Author(s): Sasha Stephenson
This story feels like a long philosophical and repetitive conversation between teenagers, which may leave readers wondering what, exactly, is happening. Iceling requires readers to leap to conclusions to explain what motivates behaviors and to ultimately explain what Callie and the other Icelings are, as well as why they act the way they do. The premise is unique, but lost within wordy monologues and unbelievable decisions, such as the parents’ choice to travel, leaving the girls alone when Callie is under strict government supervision.
Seventeen-year-old Lorna is charged with taking care of her sister Callie when their parents leave town, but Callie, a non-verbal orphan found on an Arctic island as a baby, indicates through sculpture and gesture that she wants to return to the place she was found. Other Icelings are on the move, and as they come together and reach their destination, dangerous secrets are revealed while other mysteries come to light. (RAZORBILL, Dec., 272 pp., $17.99, 12 & Up)
Reviewed by:
Kerry Sutherland