Overview

From acclaimed author K. Ancrum comes a queer romantic thriller in which the lives of Hollis, a boy in search of meaning, and Walt, a spirit with unfinished business, collide when Walt takes possession of Hollis's body...and maybe his heart. For fans of Adam Silvera and Aiden Thomas! Hollis Brown is stuck. Born to a blue-collar American Dream, Hollis lives in a rotting small town where no one can afford to leave. Hollis's only bright spots are his two best friends, cool girls Annie and Yulia, and the thrill of fighting his classmates. As if his circumstances couldn’t get worse, a chance encounter with a mysterious stranger named Walt results in a frightening trap. After unknowingly making a deal at the crossroads, Hollis finds himself losing control of his body and mind, falling victim to possession. Walt, the ghost making a home inside him, has a deep and violent history rooted in the town Hollis grew up in and he has unfinished business to take care of. As Walt and Hollis begin working together to put Walt’s spirit to rest, an unspeakable bond forms between them, and the boys begin falling for one another in unexpected ways. But it’s only a matter of time before Hollis’s best friends begin to notice that something about Hollis isn’t quite...right. With the threat of a long-overdue exorcism looming before them, will Walt and Hollis be able to protect their love and undo the curse that turned their town from a garden of possibility into a place where dreams go to die Praise for Icarus: ""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) ""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)  

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9780063285835

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Reviews

""Ancrum’s tight writing style is perfect for this gritty thriller: simultaneously clipped and lyrical... The novel’s rich tenderness for the town, its residents, and their ghosts makes it a must-read.Queer resilience at its finest."" — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) ""A psychologically thrilling and emotionally intimate tribute to bettering one’s own circumstances—and those of one’s community—and the selflessness of love."" — Publishers Weekly (starred review) ""Walt and Hollis’ romance is as intense, stark, and heartfelt as the romances in Ancrum’s previous works... their growth as people is both genuine and rewarding to watch."" — Booklist (starred review) ""This is a magnificent piece of speculative fiction that will have readers waiting for more from this author"" — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books ""A knack for creating characters who are bigger on the inside is on full display here... as Ancrum’s two-boys-one-body setup rests on a delicate balance of voice that never falters... A profoundly beautiful, strange, and introspective love story, at turns soothing and scalding."" — School Library Journal (starred review) ""This engaging thriller explores an unusual LGBTQ+ romance, coming of age, and how the present is rooted in the past."" — Horn Book Magazine

Author Information

K. Ancrum is the author of award-winning thrillers, notably The Wicker King and most recently Lethal Lit: Murder of Crows. K. is a Chicago native passionate about diversity and representation in young adult fiction. She currently writes most of her work in the lush gardens of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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