A review by bookishly_faith
Children of Icarus, by Caighlan Smith
4.0
I received this arc on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This arc was really great! When I saw this on Netgalley, the fact that this book featured Greek Mythology and was written by a young Canadian author drew me in. Yes, there were a few little things that bugged me but otherwise, this book made me really excited to read. (I mean, I basically finished this book in about a day; so it was pretty good!)
This book is about a girl who lives in a world where you can become an angel when you're a teenage by going through a labyrinth. Her society exists because her city protects the body of Icarus, an angel who was deceived by the gods. The main character, whose name we never really know, never wanted to become an angel like her friend Clara, who wanted to find her brother. When both of the girls get picked to become angels, they realize very quickly that they were lied to about what happens in the Labyrinth. While there is death, our main character finds a new family in the Fates, a group of Icarii trying to survive the Labyrinth everyday. But she soon realizes that nothing is as it seems.
I really liked the Greek mythology elements of this story. The labyrinth had all kinds of monsters, like harpies, and also discussed some myths like the Fates. I don't know much about the accuracy of all these myths, but I found that the way they were all integrated in the book was really fun for me to read. Hearing about how to kill the monsters was really fun too.
The whole plot was this book was well done. Because it featured a maze of sorts, there can be a lot of comparisons made to [b:The Maze Runner|6186357|The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)|James Dashner|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592s/6186357.jpg|6366642], but I found that there was quite a few differences between the two. (Note: I've only seen the movie because I couldn't stand the book) Sure, some of the themes are shared, but the essence is very different as one is dystopian and the other is based off of Greek mythology. I can see how this book could be compared to [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603s/2767052.jpg|2792775] or [b:Lord of the Flies|7624|Lord of the Flies|William Golding|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg|2766512], because of the fact children are being killed and are being forced into taking on adult roles. But again, they are quite different. I'd say the [b:Children of Icarus|29065483|Children of Icarus|Caighlan Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1455707804s/29065483.jpg|49294293] is a lot darker than all of these books. (so be warned) Once you hit the middle of the book, things get REALLY dark but also interesting. If you've read anything by Greek writers in antiquity, you'll find that this book is a great reflect of Greek stories because Greek myths are about heros, journeys and violent fights. Greek stories are very much like original fairytales, in that, they don't hide the truth. I'll admit that I found this book did a lot of telling rather than showing, but it didn't really bug me while reading.
I did also really like the characters. Sure, I think some of them were just shy of being really complex, but they were enthralling nonetheless. I liked Elle, Gina and the Executioner the best. I'll admit that I really got frustrated with our main character. She has this character trait where she doesn't speak up about REALLY important things. For instance, she was really dehydrated, but couldn't make herself ask for water. She would have probably died if someone else hadn't asked. I get that she is normally quiet and she does experience some serious trauma at the beginning of the book, but I got really frustrated with her not speaking when she was perfectly capable of doing so.
Side note: there was no romance in this book at all! I kept expecting her to kiss someone but it never happened! Therefore there was no instalove or love triangle or anything and it was great!
So basically, this book had its flaws, and other than the main character annoying me with her not talking, I was able to end up really liking this book in spite of those flaws. I'm hoping there is a sequel because the way the book ended makes me really want one. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a dark, Greek mythology inspired story.
This arc was really great! When I saw this on Netgalley, the fact that this book featured Greek Mythology and was written by a young Canadian author drew me in. Yes, there were a few little things that bugged me but otherwise, this book made me really excited to read. (I mean, I basically finished this book in about a day; so it was pretty good!)
This book is about a girl who lives in a world where you can become an angel when you're a teenage by going through a labyrinth. Her society exists because her city protects the body of Icarus, an angel who was deceived by the gods. The main character, whose name we never really know, never wanted to become an angel like her friend Clara, who wanted to find her brother. When both of the girls get picked to become angels, they realize very quickly that they were lied to about what happens in the Labyrinth. While there is death, our main character finds a new family in the Fates, a group of Icarii trying to survive the Labyrinth everyday. But she soon realizes that nothing is as it seems.
I really liked the Greek mythology elements of this story. The labyrinth had all kinds of monsters, like harpies, and also discussed some myths like the Fates. I don't know much about the accuracy of all these myths, but I found that the way they were all integrated in the book was really fun for me to read. Hearing about how to kill the monsters was really fun too.
The whole plot was this book was well done. Because it featured a maze of sorts, there can be a lot of comparisons made to [b:The Maze Runner|6186357|The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)|James Dashner|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1375596592s/6186357.jpg|6366642], but I found that there was quite a few differences between the two. (Note: I've only seen the movie because I couldn't stand the book) Sure, some of the themes are shared, but the essence is very different as one is dystopian and the other is based off of Greek mythology. I can see how this book could be compared to [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1447303603s/2767052.jpg|2792775] or [b:Lord of the Flies|7624|Lord of the Flies|William Golding|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327869409s/7624.jpg|2766512], because of the fact children are being killed and are being forced into taking on adult roles. But again, they are quite different. I'd say the [b:Children of Icarus|29065483|Children of Icarus|Caighlan Smith|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1455707804s/29065483.jpg|49294293] is a lot darker than all of these books. (so be warned) Once you hit the middle of the book, things get REALLY dark but also interesting. If you've read anything by Greek writers in antiquity, you'll find that this book is a great reflect of Greek stories because Greek myths are about heros, journeys and violent fights. Greek stories are very much like original fairytales, in that, they don't hide the truth. I'll admit that I found this book did a lot of telling rather than showing, but it didn't really bug me while reading.
I did also really like the characters. Sure, I think some of them were just shy of being really complex, but they were enthralling nonetheless. I liked Elle, Gina and the Executioner the best. I'll admit that I really got frustrated with our main character. She has this character trait where she doesn't speak up about REALLY important things. For instance, she was really dehydrated, but couldn't make herself ask for water. She would have probably died if someone else hadn't asked. I get that she is normally quiet and she does experience some serious trauma at the beginning of the book, but I got really frustrated with her not speaking when she was perfectly capable of doing so.
Side note: there was no romance in this book at all! I kept expecting her to kiss someone but it never happened! Therefore there was no instalove or love triangle or anything and it was great!
So basically, this book had its flaws, and other than the main character annoying me with her not talking, I was able to end up really liking this book in spite of those flaws. I'm hoping there is a sequel because the way the book ended makes me really want one. I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a dark, Greek mythology inspired story.