Children of Icarus
By: Caighlan Smith
SPOILER FREE REVIEW!
Synopsis:It is Clara who is desperate to enter the labyrinth and it is Clara who is bright, strong, and fearless enough to take on any challenge. It is no surprise when she is chosen. But so is the girl who has always lived in her shadow. Together they enter. Within minutes, they are torn apart forever. Now the girl who has never left the city walls must fight to survive in a living nightmare, where one false turn with who to trust means a certain dead end."(Goodreads summary)
I personally had an issue understanding the goodreads summary so here is an additional one: Children of Icarus takes place in a society that worships Icarus. In this world, an angel named Icarus was tricked by the gods to fly the sun where he was burned and fell to earth. A mortal built him a tomb underground so he could heal and one day return to the surface, and she put the tomb in the middle of a labyrinth which the city the main character lives in is build upon.
The actual story takes place many, many years in the future. Every year up until they turn 16, children are chosen to go into the labyrinth, and they are told that if they make it to the center, they will be blessed by Icarus to become angels. The main character and her best friend are chosen and get put into the labyrinth, and all hell breaks loose.
I personally had an issue understanding the goodreads summary so here is an additional one: Children of Icarus takes place in a society that worships Icarus. In this world, an angel named Icarus was tricked by the gods to fly the sun where he was burned and fell to earth. A mortal built him a tomb underground so he could heal and one day return to the surface, and she put the tomb in the middle of a labyrinth which the city the main character lives in is build upon.
The actual story takes place many, many years in the future. Every year up until they turn 16, children are chosen to go into the labyrinth, and they are told that if they make it to the center, they will be blessed by Icarus to become angels. The main character and her best friend are chosen and get put into the labyrinth, and all hell breaks loose.
My Review: (I received a copy of this book off of Netgalley in exchanged for my honest opinion)
I put off reading Children of Icarus for so long because there wasn't a kindle version to download, and it was going to be uncomfortable to read on my laptop, but I really wish I read this sooner. It's like a combination of two of my favorite books-The Maze Runner and The Hunger Games-and Greek Mythology. I'm obviously obsessed with two of the greatest YA series of all time, and I also adore Greek Mythology so the story over all was quite enjoyable.
The beginning of the book could've done with a little bit more explaining of the character, where they come from, and what they're like so it's easier to understand and connect to them more. Once they're in the labyrinth the pace really picks up and it gets to be very interesting, but after a while it gets boring and I endured the mid-book slump. Needless to say I was thrown out of that slump with the ending--it really caught me off guard and is probably one of my favorite endings to a book in a while!
The main character, Clara, was quite frustrating for me to read. She was scared and useless for the majority of the book, and that got quite annoying quite fast. All the other characters I found quite enjoyable to read because they were all completely nuts, and after spending two years in the maze, they just got crazier, and that was really realistic seeming to me as well as fun to read.
This was a fantastic debut novel for Caighlan Smith. The plot was intriguing, the characters interesting, and the writing was fantastic. The only complaint I had was that I wish she spent a little more time on the characters and their backgrounds so I could better understand and connect with them like I stated before. I tip my hat off to Caighlan Smith for both having an amazing name and an amazing debut novel--that's not something many people can say.In conclusion I give Children of Icarus by Caighlan Smith 4 out of 5 stars for the interesting plot and characters, along with the mid-book slump and annoying main character. I suggest that you pick this book up in you enjoy The Hunger Games, The Maze Runner, or Greek Mythology because it is a really interesting take on all three.
If you would like to purchase Children of Icarus
Author and publisher information:
-CG
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