I’m on the fence with my thoughts on this one. Not sure if something was lost in translation but it didn’t swoon me as I’d hoped. Being hailed as Italy’s The Fault in Our Stars, I had really high expectations and that bar was set really high. Sadly, for me, overall it just didn’t reach that level of appeal or expectation.

Don’t get me wrong, there were moments that I enjoyed. For example, the genuine adolescent friendships that Leo had with his best friend and Silva his classmate. You got to see a side of Leo that brought life and purpose to his character which was fitting for the point of view of them as characters. Silvia brought something special to his character that I enjoyed. On the other hand, outside of this, I found Leo slightly irritating and a bit stalker-ish especially when it came to Beatrice. I get he had a crush on her but he seemed a bit aggressive for someone who hadn’t even had a conversation with her. I get young people who are crushing on someone but his “devotion” was a bit over the top.

Not sure if this was intention, the straight read with no breaks or chapter separations, this could’ve benefited from a character point of view book. The whole premise of trying to win over Beatrice seemed to take forever and then when we do experience the storyline, it seems unrealistic. You go from A to Z in a short period of time and I really wish that they could’ve connected earlier on and experience what happened in the book over time. I would’ve made me enjoy it better. The friendship that evolved when they finally connected was nice I’ll admit.

Overall, I honestly don’t know how I feel. There were moments that were enjoyable and there were moments that seemed just there. I don’t think this lived up to the comparison of John Green’s novel but it definitely had the potential to be great.