Content report card
Icarus parent’s guide: what’s inside
Substance use
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
This is a literary queer YA romance centered on two boys navigating trauma, family secrets, and found family. The story deals thoughtfully with healing and connection but includes references to a mother's death, themes of revenge, and emotional complexity that require some maturity. K. Ancrum is critically acclaimed for character-driven work, and this award-finalist novel offers sophisticated prose and representation (including an intersex character) alongside genuine emotional stakes.
Analyzed by AI · 1 month ago
Read it with your kids?
Rate it and suggest an age to help other parents.
From the publisher
* FIVE STARRED REVIEWS * * A LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST * Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, this suspenseful queer YA romance from critically acclaimed author K. Ancrum reimagines the tale of Icarus as a star-crossed love story between a young art thief a... * FIVE STARRED REVIEWS * * A LAMBDA LITERARY AWARD FINALIST * Perfect for fans of Adam Silvera and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, this suspenseful queer YA romance from critically acclaimed author K. Ancrum reimagines 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—think Portrait of a Thief for YA readers. Icarus Gallagher is a thief. He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target in revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught. Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus’s rules. As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the gilded cage that has trapped both their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father’s thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to choose: the escape he’s dreamed of, or the boy he’s come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph—or it could be his downfall. "The sparse prose in this unconventional, must-read of a trauma-infused borderline thriller is packed with emotional breadth." —Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "In this intimate poetic reimagining of the Icarus myth, Ancrum crafts a subversive triumph that is a love letter both to healing from trauma and to the importance of connection and empathy." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "Beautifully written...Psychologically acute, subtle, and sophisticated." —ALA Booklist (starred review) "In her extraordinary fifth novel, Icarus, K. Ancrum performs a confident high-wire act, balancing the weighty manifestations of connection, desire, and contradiction." —BookPage (starred review) “Gradually, many secrets are revealed, suspense builds, and the romantic tension between the characters ratchets up—all of it enhanced by the vivid prose in this refreshingly succinct novel.” —The Horn Book "Both romance and thriller fans will likely be gripped by this memorable love story, tinged with mythology, built around a mystery made up of bitter secrets between the two families." —The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)
Shelved under
- Young Adult Fiction
- Diverse Characters
- A mix driven
- Strong Character Development
- Loveable Characters
- Intersex Character
- Male MC
- third person POV
- found family
- M/M Romance
- Character driven
- emotional
Books in the Parables series
Full series in order →
Share this guide
ISBN 9780063285804 · HarperCollins