Reviews with content warning for Drug abuse - Icarus

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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j_the_human's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

I loved this. So much. Will be reading again and again and again.

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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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froon's review against another edition

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3.5

i love how much love the friendships in this book had. it plays with the “is this romantic? or do i just love you in such an overwhelming way that we’ve surpassed romantic love completely?” they were honestly my favorite part of the book.

something i learned from this book is that i don’t like feelings steeped in metaphor… don’t get me wrong, i love a metaphor, even a simile if we’re feeling flirty, but i think there is something so underrated about being straightforward and plain about feelings. imo helios and icarus’ relationship suffered because of this, especially in the beginning of their development. this happens in their conversation too. i’m willing to (and honestly happy to) suspend my disbelief for poetic dialogue, but it just felt shrouded in too much fluff that it was hard to see this as a real relationship developing.

another thing i found a bit frustrating were the characterization of the father characters. i LOVEEEE a complex parental relationship (it’s honestly my favorite thing to read about), but the complex that i think was supposed to be there in the fathers was flattened. mr. black was unambiguously evil, but even angus felt almost complex, but icarus (or the narrator) didn’t want to explore that.

overall, it was a fun, ya book! but that’s about it. best part of the book was the last little chapter

where daedalus perishes from hubris instead of icarus like hell yeah lol

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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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ankiaisreading's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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