(Also posted to my blog) 
 Beautiful. Breathtaking. Unputdownable (is that a word? lmao nah.) 
 When I was 17, I was in love with a boy named S. He's all I thought about and all I thought I wanted. That grossly obsessive love comes to life in this book. As poetic and lush as this story it, it is ultimately about a 17 year old who is infatuated with an older man. Aciman captures these emotions so beautifully, that the backdrop in the Italian Riviera pales in comparison. Here's the thing, teenagers are stupid. Even teenagers who grow up transcribing Haydn are stupid. They feel too fast and too deep. But this story puts you in Elio's shoes and makes you want, just as he does, for this love to last. 
 Small warning, the narrator is underage, though he is 17 going on 18, and is in a relationship with a much older man. This is briefly touched upon, but the story doesn't give way to any real controversy. Still, something so readers might want to keep in mind.