Fuja comigo

by Brian Selznick, Rafael Mantovani (Translator), Caroline Bogo (Cover Art)

Em seu primeiro romance jovem, Brian Selznick, autor best-seller de A invenção de Hugo Cabret, usa palavras e ilustrações para tecer uma história de amor que nasce num verão italiano — mas é capaz de mudar a vida inteira.

Danny, um jovem de dezesseis anos, está passando as férias de verão em Roma por conta do trabalho da mãe. Enquanto ela decifra livros antigos misteriosos em um museu, ele vaga, solitário, pelas ruas da cidade. Certo dia, porém, Danny encontra uma sombra, que se transforma numa voz, e depois num Angelo.

Danny e Angelo se tornam inseparáveis e começam a desvendar os segredos de Roma — e de si mesmos. Por um tempo, os dias repletos de sol, gelatos e confissões parecem intermináveis, mas conforme o fim da viagem se aproxima os garotos terão que desenhar os próprios caminhos.

Fuja comigo nos lembra que as histórias nunca se perdem — apenas aguardam o momento certo para serem redescobertas.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, LGBT, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Queer, Contemporary

282 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2025

About the author

Hello there. My name is Brian Selznick and I’m the author and illustrator of The Invention of Hugo Cabret. I was born in 1966 in New Jersey. I have a sister who is a teacher, a brother who is a brain surgeon, and five nephews and one niece. I studied at The Rhode Island School of Design and after I graduated from college I worked at Eeyore’s Books for Children in New York City. I learned all about children’s books from my boss Steve Geck who is now an editor of children’s books at Greenwillow. While I was at Eeyore’s I also painted the windows for holidays and book events.

My first book, The Houdini Box, which I both wrote and illustrated, was published in 1991 while I was still working at the bookstore. Since then, I have illustrated many books for children, including Frindle by Andrew Clements, The Doll People by Ann Martin and Laura Godwin, Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride by Pam Muñoz Ryan and The Dinosaurs of Waterhouse Hawkins by Barbara Kerley, which received a 2001 Caldecott Honor.

I have also written a few other books myself, including The Boy of a Thousand Faces, but The Invention of Hugo Cabret is by far the longest and most involved book I’ve ever worked on.

I live in Brooklyn, New York, and San Diego, California.

Reviews

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful fantasy that actually intermingles the stories of four gay couples, all through slightly different eras of time that overlap just enough for small pieces of history to be passed along and discovered.

Selznick paints all the scenes in Rome majestically. You can visualize each of these places. He does include some of his award winning drawings at the very beginning (100 pages), and then at the very end (20 pages) of the book.

The main characters were young boys Michael (aka Danny) and Angelo. Each chapter is titled by the amount of time Danny has remaining in Rome while his mother is working on a project over the summer.

The other three couples (chronologically in time) are:
- Dante and Giovanni
- Alberto and Vittorio
- Elijah and Isak

This true first love of all four of these couples easily brings tears to my eyes as their stories unfold of how they all needed to "run away with me".

There were holes in the real-time story of Danny/Angelo per young Danny's constant disappearance into the city of Rome all summer without being challenged by his fairly close mother. And when discoveries of the others stories were unveiled, they somehow found lots of exact details of how all the pieces fit together.

The ending was forebode purely by the chapter titles of Danny and his Mom's departure from Rome. But knowing these other stories simultaneously unveiled here, I feel assured these boys will see one another again soon.

This book will make you feel very good! That first crush/love feeling of inability to live without that person present is totally captured here.

First crush feelings: 5*
Walking hand in hand sneaking around Rome both day and night: 5*
Coincidences/plot-holes needed to weave story together: 4*

[rachel x]

"A profoundly romantic YA novel about two boys finding each other and falling in love over one summer in Rome."

a new gayer brian selznick!

[Xandra (StarrySkyBooks)]

I've been waiting for Selznick to make a book like this for a literal decade!! I'm honestly very excited he just keeps going. The Marvels was one of the first books I ever read with a gay character, and I'm so pleased Selznick's works have gone this far since then.

[Megan [Gemini Season] · Rating 2 out of 5]

LGBTQ+ Coming of Age
YA-MM-Summer of love
2.5 Stars ⭐️

Thanks netgalley for the arc but unfortunately this didn’t work for me. This book is about two 16 year old boys who meet in the summer of 1986 in Rome, Italy and spend almost 2 months together. I loved the setting and the fact it took place in the 80s really helped establish their bond because there were no modern distractions. However, because Angelo is really into history and myths, a lot of this book is him telling Danny all sorts of stories which bored me to tears. What kept me reading it though was seeing them sightseeing, holding hands, and being together because those parts were incredibly sweet but I found myself skimming this because I just did not care about most of the stories. There was one story I did enjoy though about a couple who ran away together because they couldn’t be together ages ago and were outcast by their families. They ran away and changed their last names to match and pretended to be brothers in public so they could live their truth in private.

I think my favorite part of this book besides the love story was the illustrations. They really added an extra dimension to this book and showed me their travels around Rome. My least favorite part was the way this ended and I can’t say more without spoilers but I wanted more. I definitely think most people will like this book especially if you’ve ever wanted to travel to Rome, this is atmospheric and rich in culture. The author’s note at the end says he got to visit during Covid when everything was quiet and shut down and it’s where he got the inspiration for this book. Unfortunately it’s just not for me. Absolutely love the cover though.

[Amanda J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book from Scholastic Press and Brian Selznick for free. My review is completely my own opinion.

There are 3 definitions of “Romantic”:

1. Pertaining to the city of Rome
2. Pertaining to the Romantic period of Literature (circa 19th century, often invoking the sublime, a sense of mutability, melancholy, and deeply complicated emotions)
3. Pertaining to love and affection.

This book encapsulates all three of those definitions wholly and beautifully, even including John Keats (the most romantic of the Romantics) references throughout.

A sweet plunge into young love with an emphasis on queer love stories spanning a couple different generations. I especially loved that no straight relationships seemed to exist in this book and all representations of romance were young gay boys finding their first true loves. How refreshing!

This is a clean and heartbreaking(?) romance novel for anyone who truly loves a genuine and classic romance story. Warning: may cause tears!

[Nathan Bartos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think maybe I just didn't give this book enough attention when I was listening to this, but it also definitely didn't grab my attention. It's a quiet book, and I found my mind wandering when going through the history of figures in Rome, and I didn't feel a lot of connection. The writing was good, and the illustrations are beautiful, as you probably expect from Selznick, but I think this was a case of nothing wrong with the book but not necessarily For Me.

[Hannah Showalter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I LOVED Hugo Cabaret as a kid, so I was sooo excited to read this book. Gorgeous queer love story, also calling to mind the importance of queer archives and learning our own history. I wanted a bit more from the characterization and world building but it was a good read overall!

[Ray]

dnfing at 27% because I can't be bothered to finish it. I was bored and I think I'd only continue to be bored so im quitting while I'm ahead.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart couldn’t handle this gorgeous love story. Suffice to say, I love everything Brian Selznick creates. Aimed at older teens this time, I fell hard for these characters and their forbidden love in 1980s Italy. I also loved the mysterious letters and puzzles element to the story. It just made it that more enjoyable.

[Mark Bucktin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was just lovely. Now i need to go to Rome

[Cassandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

An ARC was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review*

I've been a firm Selznick fans since I first got my grimy, child hands of a dogeared copy of The Invention of Hugo Cabret in late middle school. It was a once in a lifetime experience. Up until then, I had been one of those unbearable people who thought that graphic novels were inferior to text-only novels. Clearly, I learned my lesson as I now read more graphic novels than not these days. Regardless, Hugo was a very important book for me and I was a bit scared to read anything new because what if I didn't like it as much?

Well, that was silly. Of course the new Selznick title isn't just amazing and clever and chock full of jaw dropping illustrations, but it's entirely different than Hugo, too. Both are historical fiction but that's about where the similarities end.

Run Away with Me is a love letter to young love, the power of history, and the city of Rome. The first and final section are entirely conducted in Selznick's iconic shadowy illustrations (at least in the physical ARC I have) while the middle is the equally artistic narrative prose that feels a bit like wadding through balmy, sun-dappled waters. The story takes place over a summer where Danny, an American teenager in Rome for the summer thanks to his mother's job restoring old books, meets Angelo, a mysterious Italian teen with a knack for storytelling (and potentially, lying). Together, Danny and Angelo roam the city and the histories of multiple historic people and places unfold through their adventures. I'm not sure how much of the history is true (again, Angelo's stories are presented as not fully reliable) but the history feels true in a way few novels are able to achieve.

I want to keep this review spoiler-free so I'll end it there. Just know, if you're like me, and Hugo Cabret made an irreplaceable mark on you, fret not- this book will make an entirely new one, all it's own. This is definitely Selznick, but a new side to his storytelling that plays with familiar themes and patterns but in a completely different way. I absolutely loved every summery second.

[Jan Raspen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this sweet romance about two boys falling in love in Rome in the 1980s. I kind of think it was more a love story to Rome, where the author spent some time during the pandemic. (I myself was there in February 2020 and am going back next week, so I GET IT.) Selznick made some interesting choices by setting the book in the 1980s, making Angelo's story purposefully cryptic, putting an expiration date on Danny's time in Rome, etc. But overall, the stories tied together well and made me fall in love with both boys.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was really special to me. Almost every scene really hit me hard, and especially early on I couldn't read through it as fast as I would have liked, because I kept needing to take a break to process. I think I know why, but I don't necessarily want to get into it here. Regardless, this is a definite recommendation from me.

[Marcos “MSMDragon” · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love queer stories like this. Run Away With Me was so tender and beautiful. And yet it was also devastating. The author did such an amazing job weaving multiple tales of queer men into a fun adventure for two boys who are discovering Rome, some of its secrets, and themselves.

[Bailey Salinas · Rating 5 out of 5]

is it corny?
yes, did i enjoy the hell out of this
also yes

[Luke Lords · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!!! This was so beautiful. Just a stunner of a story. I loved it.

[Sharese Stribling · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was one of the most boring books I’ve ever read.

[Jonas Backer · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5!

[Sharon · Rating 4 out of 5]

CW: animal death, chronic illness

Happy pride to everyone but ESPECIALLY to Brian Selznick (and his husband) and his gay boys in Rome.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

1 entire star is simply for the artwork that was in the book and on the cover. is that okay? can i give out stars simply because parts of this book were just beautiful to look at???

I enjoyed the story, and the stories that Angelo and Danny came up with. Part of me doesn't care that the stories were perhaps exaggerated because it meant something to them. Their time together meant something, and though there was not a specific "and they lived happily ever after" the ending of this book sort of made me hopeful? It wasn't a tragic ending, there was enough ambiguity that I imagine them meeting again later on in life. I kind of liked how there were still some secrets kept from the readers (like Angelo's real name) at the end. It made Danny and Angelo's relationship feel more like *theirs* and we were given a small piece of it to peak at.

[Ambar Sahil Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘I was sixteen when we found each other, shy and lonely and completely unprepared for what was to come…’

Rome, 1986. Two teenage boys meet one sultry summer in the Eternal City and immediately forge a connection. We come to know them only by the pseudonyms they give each other—‘Danny’ and ‘Angelo’. Danny is besotted with the beautiful, mysterious Angelo, and as the summer progresses, he finds himself falling in love with his newfound friend who seems to know all of Rome’s hidden secrets and layered history—even if Angelo seems to be hiding some secret of his own from Danny. And hanging over them both is the impending end to their summer idyll, when Danny will have to return to America, perhaps never to see Angelo again…

“Run Away with Me” is a sweet and simple story about the intensity of first love and its transformative power. This is also a book about queer desire and queer erasure—and In some ways, the novel is an attempt to bear witness and reclaim gay lives and gay love from the shadows of history. Selznick’s incredible artwork comprises my favourite part of the book, adding depth and mood to the unfolding tale through gorgeous black-and-white illustrations. (In fact, my only quibble is that I wish there’d been more drawings interspersed with the narrative, especially for the tender moments the boys share at the grave of John Keats or during their day at the beach in Ostia or even their surreptitious visit to the Cinecitta studio lot.)

Ultimately, this is a novel engulfed in nostalgia—for who we were when it was still possible to derive more pleasure from relatively simpler dreams, and perhaps for what it felt like when cynicism seemed no match for the steady drumbeat of hope. Our lives and perspectives may have changed since then, but it’s oddly comforting and poignant to look back now.

This would have been a solid 3.5 stars, but the artwork elevates it to 4.

[Bethany Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

A profoundly romantic YA novel about two boys finding each other and falling in love over one summer in Rome.

^from the publisher!

This came out on Tuesday and I devoured it y’all. It is SOOOOOOO swoony and romantic. There were several times I was just cheesin’ away at these two. There were also some incredibly tender, quiet, and sad moments that had my heart squeezing in all of the best ways. There were some tears on my end. Such a gorgeous story. No spoilers though!!!

I had the absolute privilege of listening to this audio and it is truly fantastic. There is a musical score, and epic narrator, and a wonderful author’s note at the end. @itsmarksanderlin captured the emotions of Danny and Angelo so beautifully and I frantically DMed him my thoughts pretty consistently (sorry Mark). I also did the same to @thebrianselznick (sorry Brian) because I had to make sure he knew how gorgeous this story is to me.

I cannot WAIT for my print copy that has drawings. I am going to eat them up…and I can’t wait to see the visualizations of these two young kids in love.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this ARC from the publisher.

It's the 1980s, and Danny - forced to live in Rome due to his mother's job - has just met a boy who called himself Angelo. Danny isn't Danny's real name, and it allows him to let go of who he's supposed to be and fall in love. The city of Rome is full of mystery and beauty, and through the stories Angelo tells, Danny finds others who have fallen in love here, all winding back to the book his mother is working to translate. But Danny's time in Rome is limited...

I did a semester abroad in Rome, and this story brought back a lot of memories as well as taught me some things I didn't know. The illustrations were lovely and would allow a reader who hadn't been to Rome to envision the sights Danny and Angelo encounter. The vibe of this story is a bit bittersweet, knowing the two boys would eventually be separated, and though I wanted to linger on the lyrical prose, I also wanted the mysteries of Angelo's stories to come together. This book really only took a couple of hours to read even if I had to break it up over several days.

[Spens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5

This was a story that I feel didn't live up to its potential. The romance is there, the setting is beautiful, and Selznick's writing and art are as strong as ever, but everything feels sort of rushed and many elements not given sufficient time to breathe. I wish we'd gotten a bigger book with more illustrations like Hugo, Wonderstruck, and The Marvels, especially for Angelo's stories which seemed to stretch on with too much detail and were longer than necessary. Overall still a beautiful story but probably the weakest I've read from Selznick in terms of the actual storytelling.

[Claire Askew · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so sweet (without being saccharine) and so fun. So evocative of Rome and first love and full of that teenage sense of everything mattering so much and being so intense and new. I loved the illustrations, too. I hope Selznick writes more YA!

[Claudio De La Rosa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The way the stories Angelo told Danny wrapped up so beautifully in the last 2 chapters. Had me shedding tears, especially seeing them become more and more aware of the limited time they had with one another.

[Keanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh to be in a murmuration of two. Oh to experience love, even just for a fleeting second. Oh to have your story told in such a poetic way. Oh to be a book losing all semblance of what you were to the deterioration of time and memory.

[Gabe Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful story

[Kim Coenen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Danny is zestien en brengt de zomer door in Rome, een stad vol schaduwen, geheimen en verhalen die fluisteren tussen eeuwenoude muren. Terwijl zijn moeder werkt in een museum, dwaalt hij alleen door de stad, op zoek naar iets wat hij zelf niet kan benoemen… tot een stem hem roept. Dan verschijnt de mysterieuze, onweerstaanbare Angelo, die Danny meeneemt langs verborgen plekken en vergeten geschiedenissen van Rome, maar nooit alles prijsgeeft. Wat begint als nieuwsgierigheid groeit razendsnel uit tot iets intensers: een eerste, allesoverheersende liefde. De spanning, de hunkering, de angst om hem te verliezen. Danny wordt meegesleurd in een gevoel dat hij niet meer kan loslaten. Maar Angelo draagt geheimen met zich mee. Geheimen die hun zomer voorgoed kunnen veranderen.
En wanneer de tijd hen dwingt afscheid te nemen, blijft één vraag hangen: was dit slechts een zomer… of het begin van iets dat hen voor altijd zal achtervolgen?

Mijn ervaring:
Reis af naar het zinderende Rome, waar geschiedenis en verlangen op prachtige, intense en soms heftige wijze samenkomen. Direct wanneer je start met deze roman, is één ding duidelijk: dit is geen doorsnee liefdesverhaal. Het is een gelaagde, bijna dromerige zoektocht naar identiteit, verbondenheid, jezelf en verlies.

Brian Selznick hanteert een beeldende en filmische schrijfstijl. De roman bestaat uit zowel tekst als illustraties, waarmee hij het verhaal krachtig opent en afsluit. De indringende grafiettekeningen zijn rijk aan sfeer, emotie en gevoel, en vormen een waardevolle aanvulling op het verhaal.

Die beeldende kracht zie je ook terug in de manier waarop het verhaal is geschreven. Het is doordrenkt met emotie, wat het geheel sterk en uniek maakt. De zinnen zijn eenvoudig, maar geladen, waardoor je als lezer vertraagt en als het ware het verhaal in wordt gezogen.

Hoofdpersonage Danny is kwetsbaar en zoekend, gevangen tussen jeugd en volwassenheid. Zijn gevoelens, variërend van een eerste verliefdheid tot de angst voor verlies, worden herkenbaar en realistisch neergezet, wat zorgt voor een mooie psychologische gelaagdheid. Angelo blijft deels ongrijpbaar, wat hem juist zo intrigerend maakt. Er speelt duidelijk meer onder de oppervlakte, zowel tussen hen als in Angelo zelf, dan expliciet wordt uitgesproken.

Het verhaal kent een rustig en dromerig tempo, met momenten van verstilling die ruimte geven aan sfeer en emotie. Juist daardoor dringt het verhaal diep door. Het ontvouwt zich als een zomerse herinnering: intens, maar vluchtig. De kracht zit in wat niet wordt gezegd. Thema’s als liefde, identiteit, verlangen en vergankelijkheid zijn subtiel en sterk verweven in het verhaal. Ook de setting, de stad Rome, speelt een belangrijke rol, als decor én als symbool voor gelaagdheid en verborgen verhalen, wat mooi parallel loopt aan Angelo en zijn geheimen.

Tijdens het lezen wist het verhaal me te intrigeren en tot het einde in zijn ban te houden. De onderliggende emotie maakt het intens en meeslepend.

Ik beloof je is een unieke en indringende roman. Brian Selznick weet met zijn beeldende, filmische stijl een verhaal neer te zetten dat voelt als een intense, vluchtige herinnering. De combinatie van tekst en sfeervolle grafietillustraties versterkt de emotie en maakt deze leeservaring bijzonder.

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was a bit of a slog for me. I wanted to love it like I have all of the Selznick books before, but had the hardest time connecting with this one. The illustrations were wonderful, as always and there were definitely parts that I did really enjoy. The ending was both beautiful and heartbreaking.