Grateful to never again be a teenager

Ugh. Youths.

I understand that the writing style and descriptions and the poetry in the prose are beautiful in this book, but that doesn’t solve the simple problem that we spend all 300 pages in the head of a 17-year-old and 17-year-olds are insufferable. I would have rated this book higher but it so accurately portrayed a kid in love that I couldn’t help but gag.

Teenagers overthink. People with unrequited crushes overthink. Teenagers with unrequited crushes oh holy shit. Even when it turns out the crush is not unrequited Elio still over-analyzes every gesture and glance and yes I know that’s true to life but that doesn’t mean I have to like it. I’ve been a teenager and I’ve been a teenager with an unrequited crush and man did this book remind me how happy I am to no longer be either.

It is a beautiful book. I have never wanted to go to Italy so badly in my life. The age difference didn’t really bother me because I’m as much older than Oliver as he is then Elio and so I really see them both as children. I thought them reuniting later in life was heartfelt, especially the initial meeting in the classroom. I hated how Elio nicknamed his freaking t-shirt. I thought his parents were sweet and would have loved to spend more time with the adults. The movie is no higher or lower on my to-see list (it probably falls somewhere behind a rewatch of Deadpool 2, I’m a sucker for not-romances).