Run Away with Me

Two boys meet, name one other, and fall in love in an extraordinary illustrated novel set in 1986 Rome—a dreamy YA debut from Selznick (Big Tree). An initially unnamed white-cued American 16-year-old who’s staying in the city with his book conservator mother feels watched by the locale. Finding a hand-drawn map tucked into a broken statue leads the protagonist to encounter an Italian boy, “almost three thousand years old,” who calls him Danny—and whom Danny calls Angelo. The two quickly become inseparable, secretly spending days together as Danny’s remaining time in Rome counts down. The boys share cold fruit and tender moments while taking in various sites, and Angelo slowly recounts stories that add to the work’s layers, among them the tale of Giovanni Argento, a sailor, and Dante Ferrata, an assistant to sculptor and architect Bernini. Brimming with electric-feeling affection and longing as well as musings on “stories, ...secrets, ...histories,” it’s an intricately woven Roman holiday: Danny marvels at “my life reflected back through the prism of Angelo,” and readers will too. Bookending the work are elegant, closely hatched pencil illustrations that make ample use of chiaroscuro. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)