A review by operatic_owl
The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman

3.0

The language is probably my favorite part of this book - and the name "Ice Cream Star" - and there's some interesting world building that I liked. BUT at a certain point I stopped and was like, ok, in straight English what has this story been? When you sweep away the language - and the inherent self- congratulation for just decoding what is going on - the story is pretty flat. And I don't understand the motivations of many of the characters, as in they act like caricatures of people with fairly shallow motivations that sometimes shift unaccountably. And the racial politics are... not great when you look big picture (ultimate mover of all is straight white male "Jesus" and ending hinges on mysterious unseen white civilization that might stoop to save? Really??). At the beginning this felt like a highbrow hunger games, but ultimately, the story and characters don't really stand on their own. It's interesting, but I can't recommend it as being worth the effort of reading.