"Icarus" by K. Ancrum

 

“Icarus” by K. Ancrum is a romantic retelling of the Greek myth of the Tale of Icarus, the boy who flew too close to the sun. The story stars Icarus, the son of a vengeful thief, who struggles with his understanding of the world outside of his father and his own situation of thieving and forgery. Icarus then meets Helios who is the son of Mr. Black, their main wealthy target. Icarus and Helios obtain a curious alliance and friendship in the beginning, before seeking more comfort and longing towards each other due to their own circumstances. This novel is filled with tension, betrayal, and friendships, with deeper themes such as abuse, addiction, the feeling of loneliness, and the loss of innocence.

In my opinion, “Icarus” was a tense and heartbreaking story with realistic situations and real life references. Icarus displayed a relatable understanding with his worries of the future, and his worries of social situations. For example, his struggles with making friends and understanding that relationship well. The deeper themes such as the abuse and addiction that Helios faces is displayed through Icarus’s eyes. When Icarus starts to understand how much of these situations are out of his control, he starts to disregard everything he knows in order to keep the people he cares about safe. His devotion towards his father and Helios is interesting to see grow and/or change throughout his development as the book goes on. While some parts of the book seemed slower, many of the characters had individual dynamics with Icarus creating a compelling and gripping tone throughout the novel. 

One thing I found memorable was the very short chapters in this book. Each chapter was at most two-three pages long, allowing more scenes to play out, but also providing an easier way to read the story. The short scenes allowed for the reader to fully understand what was happening without the inclusion of anything that could be deemed unnecessary.