Icarus, 17, works for his father, Angus, an art restorer and forger. Part of his job is to regularly break into Mr. Black’s mansion to replace art pieces with forgeries Angus made. Because their lives demand secrecy, intelligent and socially savvy Icarus (white) maintains distance from kids at school, curating acquaintanceships with strict emotional and physical parameters. Secretly plotting to flee home and their life of crime when he turns 18, Icarus’s plans are upended when he discovers Mr. Black’s teenage son, Helios, is a literal captive—wearing an ankle monitor and unable to escape Mr. Black’s house or abuse. Lonely Helios promises to keep Icarus’s thefts secret if Icarus continues to visit. Icarus does, and the two become friends and then fall in love. At the same time, Icarus is surprised to discover that the school relationships he thought he could so carefully control are something else altogether—they’re friendships. And it turns out his friends have been worried about him—a realization that is transformative for Icarus and Helios both. This suspenseful, richly layered novel full of symbolism and suspense explores themes of abuse and trauma, families and friendship. But at its heart it’s a tender, hopeful story about kids taking care of one another, a theme further buoyed by the author’s note discussing how teens are often first to notice when a peer is having problems, and can often be the first (and sometimes only) ones to lend support.