The Country of Ice Cream Star: A Novel

by Sandra Newman

Overview

In the aftermath of a devastating plague, a fearless young heroine embarks on a dangerous and surprising journey to save her world in this brilliantly inventive dystopian thriller, told in bold and fierce language, from a remarkable literary talent.

My name be Ice Cream Fifteen Star and this be the tale of how I bring the cure to all the Nighted States . . .

In the ruins of a future America, fifteen-year-old Ice Cream Star and her nomadic tribe live off of the detritus of a crumbled civilization. Theirs is a world of children; before reaching the age of twenty, they all die of a mysterious disease they call Posies—a plague that has killed for generations. There is no medicine, no treatment; only the mysterious rumor of a cure.

When her brother begins showing signs of the disease, Ice Cream Star sets off on a bold journey to find this cure. Led by a stranger, a captured prisoner named Pasha who becomes her devoted protector and friend, Ice Cream Star plunges into the unknown, risking her freedom and ultimately her life. Traveling hundreds of miles across treacherous, unfamiliar territory, she will experience love, heartbreak, cruelty, terror, and betrayal, fighting with her whole heart and soul to protect the only world she has ever known.

Guardian First Book Award finalist Sandra Newman delivers an extraordinary post-apocalyptic literary epic as imaginative as The Passage and as linguistically ambitious as Cloud Atlas. Like Hushpuppy in The Beasts of the Southern Wild grown to adolescence in a landscape as dangerously unpredictable as that of Ready Player One, The Country of Ice Cream Star is a breathtaking work from a writer of rare and unconventional talent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062227126
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/21/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	597
Sales rank:	810,286
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Sandra Newman is the author of the novels The Men, The Heavens (a New York Times Notable Book of the Year), and The Country of Ice Cream Star, longlisted for the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and named one of the best books of the year by the Washington Post and NPR, as well as several other works of fiction and nonfiction. Her writing has appeared in Harper’s and Granta, among other publications. She lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

…a classic story, craftily retold and made contemporary…It's [Newman's] linguistic derring-do that distinguishes this new book from many of the traditional retellings of the hero's or heroine's journey…Details of what has beset our nation and our world come into focus slowly, and as they do the seriousness of Newman's story becomes steadily more apparent. The Country of Ice Cream Star gradually builds toward a powerful, horrifying and beautifully written climax, one that's epic in scope but also feels intensely personal. It's possible that this intrepid girl is the Frodo Baggins our times deserve. She certainly makes us confront the undeniable fact that the citizens of the future will be forced to repeat the history we're making today.

The New York Times Book Review - Andrew Ervin

★ 12/22/2014
Newman’s latest depicts a dystopian future in which America has been decimated by “Posies,” a powerful plague that leaves few living beyond 20 years of age. Ice Cream Star, the novel’s 15-year-old narrator, is a member of the Sengles tribe of the Massa Woods, which was once Massachusetts. Ice Cream’s brother, Driver, the 18-year-old leader of the Sengles, has just begun coughing—the first telltale sign of the plague. During a standard raid of an abandoned neighborhood for left-behind supplies, Ice Cream and her fellow raiders capture Pasha, a stranger to Massa, who is a shocking 30 years old and knows a rumor about a Posies cure. Ice Cream begins her harrowing adventure to find it and save her brother—and maybe the rest of the country in the process. Written entirely in the broken English of these short-lived children, now generations removed from the plague’s onset, Newman’s novel is ambitious, taking on race, sex, class, religion, politics, and war all at once. What sets the work apart is its unapologetic narrator, whose fantastically unbridled, wholly teenage point of view renders each page a pleasure to read. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

As inventive as it is captivating

Independent Whig.

In this haunting novel’s postapocalyptic world, a plague kills everyone before they reach age 20. Fifteen-year-old Ice Cream Star sets out to change that.

New in Paperback People

A little like Hanya Yanigihara’s A Little Life, this is a big book that, while not always an easy read, immerses you in its world in a way that’s not easily forgotten.

The Overlooked Books of 2015 Slate

This remains one of the most beautiful books I have read this year - the one I champion everywhere.

Best Books of 2015 NPR

A dystopian thriller set in the aftermath of a plague that kills those over the age of 20. When 15-year-old Ice Cream Star’s brother begins to show symptoms of the disease, she embarks on a dangerous journey for the rumored cure.

27 Of The Most Exciting New Books Of 2015 Buzzfeed

Newman’s story is inventive, her characters memorable… Praiseworthy for its solid efforts at worldbuilding…

Wall Street Journal Speakeasy

The Country of Ice Cream Star is a bold, ballsy, ambitious novel that will get you thinking (and talking) differently about literature and the world.

Tweed's

There’s so much compacted into [Ice Cream Star] that narrowing it down to just one element is impossible. Yet in any description of the book, one thing must be made clear: that Ice Cream Star, despite its post-apocalyptic setting, is not your typical dystopia. It’s so, so much scarier.

Bustle.com

Eighty years in the future, a plague kills everyone 20 and older. Now the world is run by children who must do the impossible: find a cure, stay alive, and (as far as we’re concerned) reanimate the dystopia genre.

O: the Oprah Magazine

This heartfelt, compelling tale of a post-apocalyptic world populated by young people is challenging to get through—partly because of the unusual hybrid language used throughout—but readers who persevere will be richly rewarded.

Washington Independent Review of Books

[H]aunting and heartbreaking...this is an epic about love and hope that will inspire—and probably be screening at a movie theater near you in the next few years.

VanityFair.com

The Country of Ice Cream Star is fresh, dark, and wholly unpredictable at every turn. Let the film rights’ bidding war begin.

Daily Beast

Eighty years in the future, a plague kills everyone 20 and older. Now the world is run by children who must do the impossible: find a cure, stay alive, and (as far as we’re concerned) reanimate the dystopia genre.

the Oprah Magazine O

Probably the Next Divergent… The unique dialogue (there’s no adults to teach them proper English, after all) and quick pacing make it an engrossing, thrilling read.

Self

A bold, linguistically adventurous dystopia... historically and politically compelling in its view of a future haunted by disease and death. Yet Newman manages to imbue her heroine with a hope and resiliency that will surpass the ravages of a woebegone time.

Shelf Awareness

Sandra Newman’s novel The Country of Ice Cream Starmakes the Hunger Games seem wimpy.

Wall Street Journal

A richly detailed dystopian epic… This suspenseful, provocative tale is The Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies and The Walking Dead, only much, much better.

Booklist (starred review)

[The Country of Ice Cream Star] weaves geography, race, gender, sexuality, and religion into a gripping narrative... the complexity of the story and the larger questions it raises about the inherently violent and self-serving nature of mankind linger long after the final page.

Bust Magazine

The post-apocalyptic trend is going strong, and Country of Ice Cream Star is one of the most original spins on the disaster-obsessed subgenre.

Minnesota Public Radio

What an astonishing achievement… I can’t remember when I last read something so original or sophisticated or emotionally engaging or so breathtakingly ambitious.

Kate Atkinson

Stylish and accomplished

The Independent on Sunday

[W]hat makes the novel so fascinating - and, yes, so challenging - is the language Newman has created for Ice Cream and the way we see this disease-ravaged world through her eyes.

Washington Post

It’s a remarkable creation, an approximation of an English whose evolution failed to be nurtured past adolescence and then ossified with new rules and structure in place.

The Onion

[An] incredibly ambitious linguistic undertaking, yet Newman manages to maintain the consistency of this dialect over the novel’s nearly 600 pages. Even more impressively, after only a few pages the language begins to seem natural and... reveals its potential to be intensely lyrical and expressive.

Harvard Crimson

A treat, full of supple metaphors and rhythmic lyricism… This is an obvious candidate for Hunger Games-hungry Hollywood to pluck out the linguistic heart that makes it special. Take a look before that happens.

Daily Telegraph (London)

An extraordinary dystopian novel, fizzing with energy and linguistic inventiveness

Scotsman

As inventive as it is captivating

Independent

The Country of Ice Cream Star is in many ways a classic story, craftily refold and made contemporary…The Country of Ice Cream Star builds towards a powerful, horrifying, and beautifully-written climax, one that’s epic in scope but also feels intensely personal.

New York Times Book Review

A brave new/old world that delivers on multiple levels, especially Ice Cream Star’s alluring language

The Observer

What sets [this book] apart from its rivals is the extraordinary, blistering insistence of its language...As the momentum builds... raw, addictive lyricism develops...By the last page I was emotionally battered but euphoric: the book had held me so effectively hostage that I felt I had Stockholm syndrome.

The Guardian

Entertains with its relentless energy and wild inventiveness

The Times (London)

The voice Newman has created is bold and lyrical and, better still, complete - belonging to her pulp universe alone... I have almost never seen an equal to the beauty she finds in words...I hear more Shakespeare in Ice Cream’s cadence than I do anything else.

NPR

Sandra Newman’s novel The Country of Ice Cream Starmakes the Hunger Games seem wimpy.

Wall Street Journal

[W]hat makes the novel so fascinating - and, yes, so challenging - is the language Newman has created for Ice Cream and the way we see this disease-ravaged world through her eyes.

Washington Post

Probably the Next Divergent… The unique dialogue (there’s no adults to teach them proper English, after all) and quick pacing make it an engrossing, thrilling read.

Self

When Newman’s novel hit shelves earlier this year it seemed destined to dominate the conversation due to her masterful work capturing the titular character’s unique voice... If you’re looking for a dystopian SF novel unlike anything else, this is the one.

Barnes & Noble

What an astonishing achievement… I can’t remember when I last read something so original or sophisticated or emotionally engaging or so breathtakingly ambitious.” — Kate Atkinson, author of Life After Life

“A richly detailed dystopian epic… This suspenseful, provocative tale is The Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies and The Walking Dead, only much, much better.” — Booklist (starred review)

“This literary dystopia inhabits a fully imagined, remarkably inventive universe with its own bizarre rituals and language.” — Library Journal

Newman’s novel is ambitious, taking on race, sex, class, religion, politics, and war all at once. What sets the work apart is its unapologetic narrator, whose fantastically unbridled, wholly teenage point of view renders each page a pleasure to read.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“This literary dystopia inhabits a fully imagined, remarkably inventive universe with its own bizarre rituals and language... the patient reader will be intrigued by the poetic prose and captivated by the exploits of Ice Cream Star.” — Library Journal

“Newman’s story is inventive, her characters memorable… Praiseworthy for its solid efforts at worldbuilding…” — Kirkus Reviews

“A treat, full of supple metaphors and rhythmic lyricism… This is an obvious candidate for Hunger Games-hungry Hollywood to pluck out the linguistic heart that makes it special. Take a look before that happens.” — Daily Telegraph (London)

“Stylish and accomplished” — The Independent on Sunday

“What sets [this book] apart from its rivals is the extraordinary, blistering insistence of its language...As the momentum builds... raw, addictive lyricism develops...By the last page I was emotionally battered but euphoric: the book had held me so effectively hostage that I felt I had Stockholm syndrome.” — The Guardian

“As inventive as it is captivating” — Independent

“Entertains with its relentless energy and wild inventiveness” — The Times (London)

“A brave new/old world that delivers on multiple levels, especially Ice Cream Star’s alluring language” — The Observer

“An extraordinary dystopian novel, fizzing with energy and linguistic inventiveness” — Scotsman

“Eighty years in the future, a plague kills everyone 20 and older. Now the world is run by children who must do the impossible: find a cure, stay alive, and (as far as we’re concerned) reanimate the dystopia genre.” — O, the Oprah Magazine, Ten Titles to Pick Up Now

“Newman’s story is inventive, her characters memorable… Praiseworthy for its solid efforts at worldbuilding…” — Speakeasy, Wall Street Journal

“Probably the Next Divergent… The unique dialogue (there’s no adults to teach them proper English, after all) and quick pacing make it an engrossing, thrilling read.” — Self

“A dystopian thriller set in the aftermath of a plague that kills those over the age of 20. When 15-year-old Ice Cream Star’s brother begins to show symptoms of the disease, she embarks on a dangerous journey for the rumored cure.” — Buzzfeed, 27 Of The Most Exciting New Books Of 2015

“Sandra Newman’s novel The Country of Ice Cream Starmakes the Hunger Games seem wimpy.” — Wall Street Journal, Speakeasy

“[W]hat makes the novel so fascinating - and, yes, so challenging - is the language Newman has created for Ice Cream and the way we see this disease-ravaged world through her eyes.” — Washington Post

“It’s a remarkable creation, an approximation of an English whose evolution failed to be nurtured past adolescence and then ossified with new rules and structure in place.” — The Onion, A.V. Club

“[H]aunting and heartbreaking...this is an epic about love and hope that will inspire—and probably be screening at a movie theater near you in the next few years.” — VanityFair.com

“A bold, linguistically adventurous dystopia... historically and politically compelling in its view of a future haunted by disease and death. Yet Newman manages to imbue her heroine with a hope and resiliency that will surpass the ravages of a woebegone time. — Shelf Awareness

“The voice Newman has created is bold and lyrical and, better still, complete - belonging to her pulp universe alone... I have almost never seen an equal to the beauty she finds in words...I hear more Shakespeare in Ice Cream’s cadence than I do anything else.” — NPR

There’s so much compacted into [Ice Cream Star] that narrowing it down to just one element is impossible. Yet in any description of the book, one thing must be made clear: that Ice Cream Star, despite its post-apocalyptic setting, is not your typical dystopia. It’s so, so much scarier.” — Bustle.com

“The Country of Ice Cream Star is a bold, ballsy, ambitious novel that will get you thinking (and talking) differently about literature and the world.” — Tweed's

“[An] incredibly ambitious linguistic undertaking, yet Newman manages to maintain the consistency of this dialect over the novel’s nearly 600 pages. Even more impressively, after only a few pages the language begins to seem natural and... reveals its potential to be intensely lyrical and expressive.” — Harvard Crimson

“The Country of Ice Cream Star is in many ways a classic story, craftily refold and made contemporary…The Country of Ice Cream Star builds towards a powerful, horrifying, and beautifully-written climax, one that’s epic in scope but also feels intensely personal.” — New York Times Book Review

“[The Country of Ice Cream Star] weaves geography, race, gender, sexuality, and religion into a gripping narrative... the complexity of the story and the larger questions it raises about the inherently violent and self-serving nature of mankind linger long after the final page.” — Bust Magazine

“The Country of Ice Cream Star is fresh, dark, and wholly unpredictable at every turn. Let the film rights’ bidding war begin.” — Daily Beast

“This remains one of the most beautiful books I have read this year - the one I champion everywhere.” — NPR, Best Books of 2015

“Written in a post-apocalyptic patois, Newman’s... haunting story ‘makes us confront the undeniable fact that the citizens of the future will be forced to repeat the history we’re making today,’ Andrew Ervin said here.” — New York Times Book Review, Paperback Row

“This heartfelt, compelling tale of a post-apocalyptic world populated by young people is challenging to get through—partly because of the unusual hybrid language used throughout—but readers who persevere will be richly rewarded.” — Washington Independent Review of Books, 13 Best Books of the Year

“Newman’s richly imagined future world is inhabited almost entirely by African American children and teens who are immune to a deadly virus—and whose complex, slang-evolved patois makes this sweeping epic both fascinating and challenging to read.” — Washington Post, Notable Fiction Books of 2015

“A little like Hanya Yanigihara’s A Little Life, this is a big book that, while not always an easy read, immerses you in its world in a way that’s not easily forgotten.” — Slate, The Overlooked Books of 2015

“The post-apocalyptic trend is going strong, and Country of Ice Cream Star is one of the most original spins on the disaster-obsessed subgenre.” — Minnesota Public Radio, MPR News, Top Fiction Picks of 2015

“When Newman’s novel hit shelves earlier this year it seemed destined to dominate the conversation due to her masterful work capturing the titular character’s unique voice... If you’re looking for a dystopian SF novel unlike anything else, this is the one.” — Barnes & Noble, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, 7 Unjustly Overlooked 2015 SF/F Books

“In this haunting novel’s postapocalyptic world, a plague kills everyone before they reach age 20. Fifteen-year-old Ice Cream Star sets out to change that.” — People, New in Paperback

From the Publisher

12/01/2014
Ice Cream Star is a courageous and charismatic 15-year-old girl, a near elder in her small band of black children living in the chaotic Massachusetts countryside in the aftermath of an epidemic that has wiped out most of the population. The disease continues to infect and kill all people before they reach their 20th birthday. As her older brother falls ill and she assumes leadership of her tribe, Ice Cream forms an unlikely friendship with Pasha, one of the rarely glimpsed white "roos" (Russians) who are widely feared and despised. Pasha, whose people have developed a cure, inspires Ice Cream to lead her tribe on an expedition to acquire the remedy through warfare. This literary dystopia inhabits a fully imagined, remarkably inventive universe with its own bizarre rituals and language. Ice Cream narrates the entire tale in an invented patois with an unusual cadence incorporating odd bits of French. VERDICT Though there is a risk of alienating the reader with a nearly 600-page book in a made-up lingo, and some of the plot twists strain credulity, the patient reader will be intrigued by the poetic prose and captivated by the exploits of Ice Cream Star. [See Prepub Alert, 8/18/14.]—Lauren Gilbert, Sachem P.L., Holbrook, NY

Library Journal

Narrator Lisa Renee Pitts narrates this postapocalyptic novel with feeling. When an epidemic wipes out most of the world, killing those over the age of 19, Ice Cream Star is left to roam a ruined American with her tribe of children The group forages for food in trash and finds anything they can use in the remains of buildings. As narrator, Pitts faces considerable challenge. Ultimately, she’s unable to make clearer the author’s use of incomplete sentences, nonstandard grammar, and dialogue of broken English. Listeners who can move past the dialect will find the story of children surviving at world's end engaging as Pitts's melodic voice, full of warm undertones, brings them closer to the emotional core of Ice Cream Star's struggle for survival. M.R. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine

JULY 2015 - AudioFile

2014-12-07
A lesson from Thunderdome: Let there be no post-apocalyptic future without its mangled pidgin. Lifting a page from Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, with which it shares numerous similarities, Newman's (The Only Good Thing Anyone Has Ever Done, 2003, etc.) novel lands us in a decidedly unpretty near future. Its protagonist is a young woman named Ice Cream Fifteen Star, a member of a gang-cum-dynasty that migrated north from the "Chespea Water" into New England long ago but that now begins to form designs on its former stomping ground. The young folk of Ice Cream Fifteen Star's world are tough: "We flee like dragonfly over water," she tells us, "we fight like ten guns, and we be bell to see. Other children go deranged and unpredictable for our love." They're also susceptible to the reaper, who thins their number with a mysterious plague whose cure may just lie down south. The ones who survive the odds, in the social Darwinist world to come, are rather splendid, though: "Simón a child of middling height, with handsome looks of houndish sort. Bear himself peculiar straight, like all his muscles fix with hardness. Now he look tired rough, his face be scurfy with unsleep. Can see his age upon—is twentyish in heaviness." Newman's story is inventive, her characters memorable, but her novel labors under the terrific weight of having to carry out that lingo of the future over nearly 600 pages and not drive the reader mad, in which she is only partly successful. (The passages in which more or less standard English figures stand out for their strangeness.) The other problem is a rather lax storyline; by the time the children arrive at their Planet of the Apes-ish destination ("Ya, be Arlington Cemetery, where all ancient soldiers bury, when it been America"), there's not much steam left. Praiseworthy for its solid efforts at worldbuilding but too long and diffuse to add much to the civilization-gone-awry library.

Kirkus Reviews