Riding Icarus

Lily Hyde

Synopsis:

Masha’s life is hard and lonely in Kiev after her rich Uncle Igor has sent her mother abroad to work. The little girl moves into an old, disused trolleybus called Icarus. She soon realizes, on a dark stormy night, that Icarus is in fact a miraculous flying trolleybus, which can take her to places beyond her wildest dreams. Masha is transported to a magical and enchanting place where she will be able to wish for her heart’s desires on midsummer night’s eve. Will she wish for a more bearable life and the escape from cruel Uncle Igor’s clutches?

Riding Icarus mixes reality and fiction to offer the reader a genuinely modern fairytale, full of thrilling adventures. Even in extreme times, with only her Granny’s affection and her flying trolleybus, Masha finds the strength of character to overcome the adversity. Riding Icarus makes us see how children’s imagination and creative belief can start paving the way out of a troubled life.

Lily Hyde is a British freelance writer and journalist, who has been covering social and cultural issues in the former Soviet Union for several years. Her work is widely published in international press, such as Newsweek, The New Internationalist and Marie-Claire. She also works as a consultant on HIV/AIDS issues.

This book is endorsed by Amnesty International UK as contributing to a better understanding of human rights and the values that underpin them.