India, Jan. 28 -- There is something timeless about the myth of Icarus: a boy, a father, wings made of hope and hubris. What follows is the long fall.

In her recent outing, American author K Ancrum reimagines the ancient tragedy as a star-crossed queer love story, by placing it firmly in the emotional terrain of the young adult (YA) fiction genre. The result is Icarus, a novel that aches in deliberate ways while exploring longing, fear, and the intoxicating pull of freedom.

At its heart, this novel is about two boys circling each other in a world that feels too sharp for tenderness. The titular hero is a quiet high school student by the day, and a cat burglar by the night. Being raised and trained by his oppressive, formidable, and emot...