About the Book
-
Author:
- K. Ancrum
- Genres:
- Boy-Boy Romance
- Contemporary
- Voices:
- Cis Boy
- Gay
- White (Non-Specified)
Cover Story: Fine Art
BFF Charm: Eventually
Talky Talk: Stacatto
Bonus Factors: Unusual Medical Disorder, Found Family
Anti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting
Relationship Status: I’ll Catch You
Content Warning: Icarus contains scenes of physical and emotional child abuse and neglect and examples of drug addiction that might be triggering for some readers.
Cover Story: Fine Art
This cover is delightfully unique and fits the story within so well, from the line art of the statue to the figure falling from the sun. It’s a cover that defies age range and genre, too.
The Deal:
Icarus is the son of an art restorator—and thief. He’s been trained from a young age to follow in his father’s footsteps, and he’s really good at what he does. They don’t steal from museums, though—they only steal from Mr. Black’s house, a man with whom Icarus’s father has a lot of history, only some of which Icarus knows.
When a routine trip into Mr. Black’s house reveals another occupant, a boy who intrigues Icarus while also vexing him, Icarus begins to plan for another life, one free of his father’s influence.
But escaping can be harder than just running away.
BFF Charm: Eventually
Icarus prides himself on being a social chameleon. He can be friendly with anyone, and he is very good at reading people to know how to best act around them. He doesn’t have friends, but he’s not unpopular; he just doesn’t allow anyone (or himself) to get too close. Although I liked him from the start, it would take a lot for him to show his true self to me, and that would make it really hard to be his friend. I’d certainly try, though. He’s well deserving of—and suffers from the lack of—loving people in his life.
Swoonworthy Scale: 8
Icarus and Mr. Black’s son, Helios, make an immediate connection that defies their fathers’ hatred of each other. When Icarus realizes that Mr. Black is abusing Helios and keeping him under house arrest, he begins to formulate plans to get Helios out, regardless of the danger to either of them. Their relationship is quick to flame and more intense than most—Icarus has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which causes him to physically feel more intensely than other people—but it’s also really beautiful in its near instantaneous move from strangers to something more. (It’s also really appropriate, given their names …)
Talky Talk: Stacatto
Icarus is broken into short, choppy chapters, none of which are more than three pages long. Most are less than one. It makes for an interesting read and heightens the anxiety that slowly builds throughout the book. Ancrum’s writing is passionate and emotive, and Icarus, for all his disconnect from others, feels so very much; through Ancrum’s words, the reader is right there with him in feeling more than most.
The morning came gentle and light.
Icarus got out of bed and got ready for school. He pulled on his softest, warmest clothes, laced up his boots, and ran a comb through his hair. He didn’t feel ready to join the real world again, but he had to. He had to.
On the kitchen table, still steaming beneath an upturned dessert plate, was a bowl of oatmeal. There was a heaping spoonful of his favorite blackberry jam in the center. Cinnamon sugar sprinkled over the edges. Angus was nowhere to be found.
Icarus leaned his head against the top of the wooden chair and willed his tears to stay in his eyes. He was loved, he was loved, he was loved, in spite of his father’s strangeness. He had almost forgotten that.
He ate it slow, even though it made him late.
Ed. note: I pulled this quote from a review copy. The final text might be different.
Bonus Factor: Unusual Medical Disorder
I’d never heard of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome before reading Icarus, but it was fascinating learning about the disorder. It makes Icarus overly flexible and sensitive, both of which are bonuses for his “night job” of being a cat burglar, but is not great for when he’s trying to get physically close to anyone.
Bonus Factor: Found Family
Although he doesn’t have friends, there are a handful of people in Icarus’s life who see him as one. In particular, his friends Celestina and Luca make him a third member of their relationship in a nearly but not quite polyamorous way. It’s lovely to see them treating Icarus with such care and attention; he’s grown up with a pretty absent father and is sorely lacking of acts of love.
Anti-Bonus Factor: Dan Scott Award for Awful Parenting
Icarus’s dad, Angus, has always kept Icarus at arm’s reach. He’s not abusive, but he is stern and often cold. It’s not until nearly the end of the book (as indicated by the quote I pulled above) that he realizes that his father does actually love him, which is heartbreaking.
On the other hand, Mr. Black is just downright evil. He abuses Helios both emotionally and physically, is quick to anger, and is obsessed with bringing Angus down. He’s an imposing, nebulous figure who seems more like a nightmare than an actual person.
Relationship Status: I’ll Catch You
There’s not really a place for me in your family. Book, but I’ll be here for you regardless. You tend to leap before you look, relying on your own skills to keep you safe. But sometimes you need someone to spot you—and I’m more than willing to do that.
Literary Matchmaking
Ancrum’s The Weight of the Stars is another novel about escape, love, and found family.
Tashie Bhuiyan’s Stay With My Heart is another book about art (in this case music) and absentee parents.
Shaun David Hutchinson’s Before We Disappear also features a star-crossed relationship between a thief and a trapped person.
