Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Icarus

Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

bookobsessedmommy's review

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Icarus tries to live as inconspicuously as possible to keep his home life a secret, but is startled to realize that more people notice him and care about him than he could have imagined. I have never read a book quite like this before, with its combination of poetry and prose and dash of Latin. (Initially this threw me off, but the context, spirit of the language, and my remedial spanish made it knowable in a strange way.) The short chapters make the story go by quickly, and even though it jumps around a bit I rarely felt lost. Icarus is on this epic journey, and I rooted for him and everyone connected to him so hard. His friends are the absolute best, even the school associates who were ready to move heaven and earth for him. (Or one crappy dad.) Angus' arc, even though we don't hear much from him, is a complex mix of heartbreaking and infuriating. I think my biggest complaint is that I wanted more explanation on one specific situation.

I cannot understand how the Helios situation persisted. Did he not need to be enrolled in school? Maybe the dad paid them off. Didn't his mom have calls? She never came to see him? She knows the dad is abusive, so why would she let him take him? Yes, this entire book is far fetched for a ton of reasons, but this one is like dust in my eye. I just can't ignore it.

Elements of the resolution felt rushed to me, but this is one of those books I can see myself reading over and over because there is just so much meat on the bones. The author's note nearly made me cry, so I'm definitely looking forward to reading more from K. Ancrum.

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pastlifetragedy's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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brep23's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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samanthachen's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

What a unique writing style. I loved this book. It was a challenging read in parts (see TW), but so beautiful. To me, it all comes down to love. In any form. This book represents love and what it means to have loving support.

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tandewrites's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

K. Ancrum is someone who I always describe as a 'once in a lifetime' kind of author, and the release of Icarus continues to prove it.

This is the story of Icarus Filiformis Gallagher, named after the plant rather than the Greek figure, the loneliest boy Ancrum has ever written, and Helios, the sun in his sky. It's an intimate reimagining of the tale of Icarus as a star-crossed love story between a young art thief and the son of the man he's been stealing from. It's part suspenseful thriller and part contemporary romance, and it's a return to the unconventional vignette chapters and sparse lyrical prose that made many of us fall in love with Ancrum through The Wicker King. This book is presented with such sincerity, consideration, and a deep understanding of our relationship to history and art. It's about found family, neglect, generational curses, and figuring out a way to escape your circumstances and chase the freedom you deserve.

The most distinct #OwnVoices representation from Icarus in comparison to Ancrum's other works is the intersex character, and he's seen through the eyes of someone who loves and understands him instantly without explanation, cowardice, or confusion. Representation in love interests is so valuable and important to me, seeing all the odd and ugly parts of yourself turned into something beautiful because someone loves you anyway, someone saying that you were made the same way as angels. There's also a reference to an intersex statue without a known creator within the book, and Ancrum says she chose it because it belongs to humanity now, and she liked the idea of a pivotal piece of art in the story being an artist unknown. It's also the acknowledgement that there have been people who exist outside of the sex binary longer than we have had the words to describe them, and instead, they have been documented in art.

Icarus's character also suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which I believe is also #OwnVoices representation. He complains of pain throughout the entire book and abuses his hypermobility to be good at sports (and breaking and entering). He's spent his life watching his father essentially breaking down and has begun to wear braces himself, inheriting it. Both are in complete unawareness of the root of their problems and both use insufficient coping mechanisms and physical supports. Helios noticing these symptoms and simply telling Icarus that EDS is a thing that exists circles back to one of the key themes in the novel: the act of noticing. Teenagers always notice, and they're the first to see when something is wrong with their friends. Icarus notices what Helios refuses to say, and Icarus's friends notice the bruises under his eyes and see through his jokes about his tiredness. Icarus tries to save Helios, without knowing a rescue mission is brewing for him too.

Ultimately, Icarus is a book about opening yourself up to weakness and vulnerability. There are so many books written about the weak learning to be strong, and less so about how hardening yourself to survive has a cost, and the bravery of beginning to remove that protection and allowing yourself to grow. But this one is a love letter to the value of emotional intimacy and human connection, as all Ancrum books are, and it never gets less heart-wrenching to read about. Icarus gives his time and companionship to a boy in a cage, and he nearly gives his life, and he does so without hesitation. He's also a character who has to learn about tenderness and how to hug people for the first time in his teens from his friends, and they choose to love him over and over again, no matter how many times he tries to push them away.

I think BookBrowse said it best: "...flying too close to the warmth of the sun, to the unique light offered by each person, is not a matter of gross overreach but is, in fact, a necessity, a basic condition of humanity and interconnectedness, even at the risk of violent crash and burn."

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tnemelce's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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melaschnie's review

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4.5

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melissafelicia's review

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

An Icarus myth retelling about a traumatized queer art thief/forger? Sign me up!
This was such a sweet story about healing friendships, young love and standing up to abusive parents. The dedication immediately made me feel things and definitely don't skip the author's note either, I've rarely read such a beautiful ending to a book.

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