The Icarus Show, by Sally Christie, is a tender and insightful examination of strategies used to cope with uncomfortable situations and how they can interfere with living a full life.  Alex has devised the perfect coping strategy for his first year in secondary school: no matter what happens, do not react in any way.  David, the boy who lives next door, does react when Alan, the class bully, trips him on the first day of school.  This reaction earns him a very insulting nickname.  Then a mysterious note appears in Alex’s bag.  Alex is amazed to find that the note announces a coming event where a boy will fly.  Is Alex the only one to receive such a note, or did others receive one also, and is it only a hoax?  Subsequent notes and objects make it clear that there is such an event planned and the planner is known only as Icarus.  Alex is frantic to solve the mystery so he enlists the assistance of Maisie, who once lived in the house where Alex lives and her son Donald.  Alex also begins to make friends with David and his perfect coping strategy slips enough to make him very uncomfortable.  Alex, Maisie, and Donald  must unravel the mystery before the event occurs because a boy cannot fly, or can he?  The situation appears farfetched, but as the story unfolds, the reader learns that what is really happening is not at all unusual, and learns how coping strategies can restrict our lives.  With constantly mounting tension, clever plot twists, believable characters, and a real cliff hanger ending, The Icarus Show is a very enjoyable read.  Highly recommended.