Run Away With Me

Horn Book

Selznick’s first young adult work is imbued with romance and mystery, bookended with long, cinematic passages of textural, wordless, black-and-white illustrations in his signature style. A sixteen-year-old American transplanted to Rome for the summer of 1986 meets an enigmatic Italian teenager via a “speaking statue” and mutual admiration for obelisks—in particular, Bernini’s Elephant and Obelisk. Known for most of the book only by the names they bestow on each other, “Danny” and “Angelo” are quickly swept into a relationship built on devotion, risk-taking, and mythmaking—inspired by the ancient city itself. A sprawling narrative through line seemingly conjured by Angelo details the tragic romance between the elephant obelisk’s true sculptor and his sea-loving partner. is story is bolstered by several other tales of gay love unearthed by Danny and Angelo, some revelatory in nature. Yet Danny’s reluctance to reveal his relationship to his paleographer mother creates a shadow of tension matched only by the young lovers’ awareness of their inevitable separation at summer’s end. In sensitively written first-person past tense (with occasional yearning passages told from a years-later perspective), Selznick builds thematic layer upon layer through poetic language, references to real-world art, and detailed imagery. Readers are guided expertly through a unified narrative and Danny toward a belief that art, history, and ancestors are evidence “that miracles could happen, and that love could blossom in the midst of impossible odds, even when people didn’t want you to exist.”
– Patrick Gall

Booklist

Selznick’s venture into YA is a welcome addition to his acclaimed collection of works; once again, he demonstrates a knack for weaving together multiple stories, mysteries, and magnificent illustration, both literal and figurative. It’s the summer of 1986, and the book opens with Selznick’s recognizable crosshatched black-and-white artwork, depicting surprisingly empty streets in the city of Rome and many wondrous (and soon-to-be relevant) landmarks of the ancient city. Danny, a 16-year-old American, finds a map after feeling called to a statue filled with notes, missives, and other paper bits, which leads him to another boy his age, Angelo (who planted the map for Danny, of course). Angelo, enigmatic in character and gifted with words, pulls Danny into the wonders of Rome, and a sweet romance blossoms between them. Now, what Danny thought was going to be a lonesome summer while his mother completes her book preservation work and he wanders the city instead becomes one filled with joy and wonder that he’ll reflect on for the rest of his life. Selznick meticulously weaves in cultural elements of the city, ancient and recent history, and mystery with the ease of a seasoned professional, pulling together a tale not just of young love but of old romances, the power of a good story, and the lasting impact of what we leave behind.
– Kelly Ferreira

The Bulletin for the Center of Children’s Books

In this sweeping romance, two boys know they only have one summer in Rome together and are determined to make every moment incredible. Danny’s mother has a short-term work project at a museum in the city, and since he has spent most of his sixteen years moving frequently, he has learned to keep folks at a distance to avoid being hurt when it is inevitably time to leave them. What he discovers after meeting Angelo during this astonishing summer, however, is that sometimes heartache is worth it when being in love is so magical. Desperately lonely and wanting to be seen, understood, and related to, the boys are a bit fuzzy as individuals—their stories are almost immediately connected, and everything Danny describes after their meeting is tied to Angelo in some way.

The author weaves in overlapping histories of other Italian men who hid their lifelong loves for each other; while the historical necessity of subterfuge is discouraging, there is no denying that it heightens the romantic drama. As in his other works, Selznick relies on both text and his brilliantly detailed, black-and-white line drawings to advance the story, with significant blocks of art to open and close the book.

The illustrations make particularly powerful use of the gutter, which acts a possibly surmountable expanse across which searing gazes are exchanged but also serves as a divide where the verso and recto pages could just as easily wind up becoming separate worlds. This illustrated novel is pure romance, skipping the mundanity or compromises that befall most long-term daily relationships and instead diving into all of the passion, infatuation, and fervent dedication of a dwindling summer (the chapter headings even count down the remaining days) in a glorious city for two beautiful boys wildly in love.