Run Away With Me

Run Away With Me written (and illustrated) by Brian Selznick (Scholastic Press) HB RRP $34.99 ISBN: 9781339035529

Reviewed by Kellie Nissen

Where do I start with this book?

Run Away With Me is young adult fiction but it was Brian Selznick’s black and white illustrations that hooked me first. Pages and pages of them – featuring the architecture and scenes of Rome – before I even got to the written narrative. Illustrations that told a story before the story began.

Sixteen-year-old Danny is spending his summer in Rome. He’s been there before. In fact, he’s been in so many places that he hardly knows where ‘home’ is, such is the life of a child whose mother is a book conservator who must move to where the work is around the world.

This summer is different though – full of magic and mystery … and love.

Danny is a little lost. Never anywhere long enough to make firm friends, he tends to wander the streets to kill time while his mother works. But then he meets Angelo, a boy full of secrets and intrigue. They spend every day together as Angelo introduces Danny to Rome’s hidden history, and they develop a special bond.

This is queer fiction for young adults at its absolute best. It’s both gentle and slow, and tense and exciting. Like a picture book, the illustrations tell half the story, and you can be excused for losing yourself in them for hours on end.

While the central theme of Run Away with Me won’t be for everyone, it does offer a sensitive window into another world for some of us, while for others it offers a mirror, allowing them to see themselves in a beautifully rendered story.

There are other elements too – the detail about Rome’s history and culture, and a step inside the world of book conservation.

I absolutely loved this book for its unique approach and beautiful multi-modal storytelling. A must-read for this age group and beyond.