Icon: A Novel

"Icon" by Georgia Briggs is an Orthodox teen fiction book that brings to life worldwide Christian persecution to the doorstep of every home in the United States in an eerily believable story. I finished a review copy of "Icon" at 1:30am, only putting it down to feed my family dinner and put my little guys to bed. (My husband kindly let me slip away into the book and read it straight through, which I haven't done in years!) I'm still processing this story and I know it's going to take me awhile to do so, but I wholeheartedly plan on using this book to talk to my three oldest boys about modern-day sensitive topics involved in living our faith. (I also plan on buying a copy and sending it to my 22 year-old daughter!) Briggs does a phenomenal job of weaving topics into this story that are definitely discussions parents need to have with their children today. I finished this book thinking - this is going to be a beloved classic among a large group of people! I highly recommend buying or gifting this book, but in regards to the appropriate age for children, I would recommend it for older kids and adults. It's an intense book that teens (and adults) are going to gobble up! There is SUCH an enormous opportunity with this book to discuss topics that are touchy, sensitive, emotional, and REAL. This is one of the reasons why this book is so valuable - because it is providing that opportunity to have these discussions! This is also why it's going to need to be discussed with adults who genuinely know their faith. (You can only teach that which you have made your own - Koulomzin & Schmemann) I think this is a critical learning opportunity for both adults & teens alike, and if the adults start explaining the topics in this book incorrectly, there's the profound potential to not only miss the opportunity to teach our faith but let these children walk away with incomplete or just plain wrong information. Briggs artfully crafted this story staying true to the Orthodox faith, although she does take a little bit of literary license at the very end in order to help wrap up the story. That's fine, because it provides another discussion opportunity. Overall, I loved this book and plan on writing a companion guide post for discussion use.

I'm a 63-year-old man and found this book very absorbing, so it's good for more people than just teenagers. In its dark story of forced secularization and bloody persecution of Christians, there is not a single thing that has not already been done to religious people by some totalitarian regime somewhere. There is the hunting down of Christians, the attempts at converting their children, first through cajoling and psychotherapy and then through food, water and sleep deprivation, plus torture, for the most obstinate cases. These things have all already happened in countries like Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Cambodia and even Mexico, so this is not only a fantasy story of the dystopian future, but of the true dystopian past. These things have happened in real life and can happen again.

One of the things I found best about the novel is the author's ability to probe the minds of the kind of people who go along in such an era of persecution just to survive, people of no particularly strong convictions, who have no empathy for those who believe. When a performer on a live "Winter Holiday" TV broadcast sings a religious Christmas carol and gets arrested, one elderly man viewing the show growls, "Some people just can't move on!"

The author also captures the way those wishing to undermine tradition go out of their way to offend people's sensibilities in politically correct ways, such as depicting Santa Claus on TV as an elderly woman. This reflects the media's current propensity for doing things like turning traditional comic book superheroes into members of various politically protected groups, creating detective shows where Christian beliefs are distorted to make it appear that Christianity drives people to murderous psychopathology, etc.

Again, this is not a dystopia of the future only, but the dystopia of the past, and to some incipient degree the dystopia of the present day.

First, this is a beautifully written, truth-filled novel. Briggs has a clean, succinct writing style that encapsulates deep truths with moving simplicity. The novel's pacing is also particularly excellent and reflects the themes being emphasized in different points: it is a gripping, fast-paced read when the protagonist is experiencing chaos and confusion, and it slows to a more contemplative pace when the protagonist is given moments of meditation, introspection, or transcendence. As a result, the reader gets a vicarious experience of the protagonist's emotional, spiritual, and cognitive journey with a depth all too rare in modern writing.

Briggs is Orthodox, as are her characters, but this novel is a thought-provoking read for anyone who is an orthodox (small "o") Christian. As a protestant, I enjoyed it thoroughly. Read it if you are Catholic, Orthodox, or protestant. Read it if you are weary of a secular culture that increasingly tries to remove Christian voices from the public sphere and tries to squelch Christian practice. Read it if you want to be edified by a story that upholds characters who faithfully cling to truth in the midst of persecution, who find creative ways to practice and preserve a faith that is banned, and who give their lives wholly to God.

Another fun thread throughout is the references to many other excellent children's and young adult novels. Give this book to your children/teens if you want to point them to further literary sources of truth, goodness, and beauty--there's a fabulous reading list embedded in the pages of this book! There's a sub-theme of the ability of literature and story to edify us and to point us to God's truth, goodness and beauty, a role which Icon certainly fulfills.

Great idea for a story, and inspiring, but it didn't draw me in as I would have hoped. My 13 year old liked it, though found it a bit intense in subject matter.

This book marries Orthodox Christian theology/hagiography with contemporary American YA dystopian fiction. I was dubious about this idea, but the author won me over because her novel is well-written and the tale is gripping. It works. She engages with very difficult issues. Her heroine is believable. Caution with younger teens though: it may be too dark for some. My early teen found it too intense, but my tween adored it.

It was recommended to my daughter and I decided to read it first. As many reviewers noted, the narrative is hard to stop reading. The book touches many themes discussed in modern Christian communities and shows how struggle and rejection can actually turn into blessing on a spiritual level. Since one of the main characters of this novel is a librarian (as the author of this book apparently is), as a bonus you get many references to books prohibited in a post-Christian society because they mention Christianity.

Wow. This book was fantastic. I never, ever, ever read a whole novel in a single day. I am a slower reader, savoring words. This story pulled me through though, and I couldn't put it down. I loved the ending - not sure how a sequel would work out, but I would love to hear more about the other characters and the truly dystopian "we'll force the world to be a better place by eliminating all religion" setting.

Haunting.

It is hard to find the correct adjective to describe this book. Prophetic, riveting, disturbing, hopeful.....It is simple in the style, yet so deep in meaning. I was profoundly moved from the first chapter.

I enjoyed the book tremendously. Although it is fiction it made me more aware that this is happening now. We should all open our eyes and not let this continue. Thank you for a great read!