Month: January 2018

#CurrentlyWatching: Marvel’s Runaways

Kat Impossible26 Comments

I am not going to promise I will have a theme every week, but last week was unusual weird shows and this week is all about heroes, mutants and villains! I’ll get started with a comic book adaptation that I personally haven’t checked out yet, but heard a lot about (and I really, really want to take a look at the new Rainbow Rowell run!) – Marvel’s Runaways!

The show premiered on hulu last November and is comprised of 10 episodes so far. For once I am actually happy to tell you that it was already renewed for a second season, so there’s no begging from my side to watch it. Unless you want to of course! That’s what these posts are for after all!

Former friends have to band together to find out the truth about the possibly evil doings of their parents – High School and romantic drama included.

Hmmm, how do I start this … don’t expect them to run away right in the beginning? The show takes quite a lot longer than the comics to establish all the different relationships and dynamics. The pace continues to be on the slow side, focusing more on the teen drama than the superpowers. I am not the best person to discuss the changes that were made from the source material to the product you can see on screen, however, most people I talked to didn’t mind that the show is a bit different (also, fingers crossed that some things maybe never happen to begin with?). The show definitely took the characters on a more superficial level and changed their background completely. As I said, I don’t really have anything to compare it to, but I personally really enjoyed what I got to watch.

First of all, this is a show about parents and their children. I have to say that in this particular genre, that’s not something we get to see all too often. Most teenagers questions their parents and their parents’ beliefs as they get older, but this takes it to a whole new level. There are secrets that even the viewer doesn’t get the full scope of and people at play that we don’t get to see until late in the game. It is the sad truth that maybe they have to face that their parents are just not good people and that is never easy.

It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the different characters. I loved discovering their abilities and interests – there was something unique and relatable about each one of them as various topics ranging from domestic abuse, adoption, suicide, adultery, sexual orientation, moral issues and just plain discovering yourself get discussed and dealt with individually and as a group.

My favourite character in the whole series would probably have to be Gert. Her sisterly relationship with Molly is amazing and the girl has “control” over a dinosaur! It barely gets cooler than that, except that she is a feminist and outspoken but also soft and confused when it comes to her crush. I am not saying she is perfect! Because she crosses the border, especially when it comes to Karolina and that’s just not cool. Which brings me to my next point!

We actually get our first canon gay Marvel on-screen couple! Nico and Karolina are so freaking cute, I almost feel sorry for the guys who fancy them (well, more Alex than Chase, but whatever). The build up for those two was amazing. I could feel it in lingering glances from the early episodes on, but I really enjoyed how it grew and to them actually admitting their feelings.

Lastly, I just really enjoyed how the show dealt with seemingly heavy topics, but cloaked them between villains and superpowers and regular teen drama. There is still room for improvement, but I am definitely excited to see what they will bring to the table in Season 2!

Have you watched Runaways? Do you want to? What are your thoughts on the show? Let’s talk!

Iron Gold by Pierce Brown (Book Review)

Kat Impossible26 Comments

Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Page Count: 630

I have waited for this book to be released for what feels like eternity. However, I will be the first to admit that the wait was totally worth it. I had the pleasure to buddy read this book with the one and only Analee @Book Snacks (read her review here!) and it couldn’t have been more fun. I guarantee, there were a lot of ALL CAPS conversations going on and I just love that we were able to talk about it in almost real time, even though we are time zones apart.

Before I continue, this review is Spoiler free, nonetheless, I urge you to not read on if you haven’t checked out the original Red Rising trilogy first.

Reading this book was like coming home after a very, very long time, just to find your life in ruins with your friends and family tired and divided. We pick up 10 years after the end of Morning Star and the new Republic is still at war with its bordering regions. I was disappointed in the lack of progress Darrow and Mustang have achieved during their reign and definitely understood the frustration among the people. It just feels like it NEVER ends! The pain keeps coming, the injustice keeps happening and as always death begets death begets death.

The saga was always about racism, but somehow it hit me in the face even more during this part of the series. There were some scenes that might as well could have been straight out of the 21st century with examples of racial profiling and police brutality. Especially one of the new POVs offered insight into this matter and quickly became one of the most stand-out voices.

To put it lightly, shit escalates quickly. I don’t see what good it would do to go into detail about the plot, especially since I promised this would be spoiler free. Instead, I want to focus on my thoughts and feelings for all 4 different POVs.

  • Darrow: Reaper has gotten older, but I am not sure he has gotten all the wiser. His decisions weigh heavy on him and there are things he has done that he will most likely never be able to redeem.
    It is obvious that he loves his family, the one he was born into and the one he chose, but the war has worn his trust thin and his patience even more so. I am at a loss with Darrow. On the one hand, I understand most of his decisions and that he truly believes he is doing what is best for his people, but on the other hand, I think he has lost sight of who he is.
    One of his greatest qualities was always his ability to inspire faith and trust in others, but now that he has lost that in a way, I am not sure how he will fare. I think that the next novel’s title (Dark Age) will also very much mirror Darrow’s inner storm.
  • Lyria: Lyria’s POV was the one I could get into the easiest. She is a fierce Red with a tragic backstory. There was an immediate emotional connection and I absolutely loved how her story slowly intertwined with those of the others. She deserves so much better than the crap that life handed her, but she’s a survivor, much like Darrow even if she would hate that comparison.
  • Ephraim: Eph sure doesn’t make it easy to like him. He brings a sort of heist-component to the story, but makes it difficult to connect with him. He is bitter and reckless and does just plain wrong things, but he also has one of the most precious crew members in the shape of Volga. I find it hard to see where his allegiance lies. I think he is at a point in his life where he only lives for himself, if what he does can be called living.
  • Lysander: Lysander is cancelled for life! I cannot even with this child of a man. All he cares about is Gold and honor, without understanding what either of those things mean. He has one of the most fickle minds I have EVER seen in the history of literary characters and it drove me nuts! All of his decisions were selfish and childish. He refuses to listen, he doesn’t honor those closest to him and I very much doubt he has the stomach for what is to come next. Wherever he goes, people will keep dying and I have no problem blaming him for it.

At the end of it all, Iron Gold was definitely more of a set up and introduction of new players than anything else. I cannot wait for what’s to come next and I am sure Pierce Brown will deliver as per usual. According to Goodreads, Dark Age will be released on Sept. 11 and that means the book gods have blessed us with two releases in one year. I might actually burst into happy tears!

Fazit: 5/5 stars! I have only love for this saga (and a lot of anger)!

Have you read the Red Rising saga? Have you read Iron Gold? What are your thoughts?

 

#CurrentlyWatching: The End of the F***ing World

Kat Impossible19 Comments

This week is all about peculiar and unusual shows, so I want to talk about The End of the F***ing World today. A while back, I shared the trailer for this on one of my Sunday-trailer-posts, but back then there was no talk of it also being released on Netflix yet. However, we could all agree upon it being very … strange? I am getting ahead of myself again, let’s start with the basics first.

The End of the F***ing World is a dark British comedy series, which originally premiered on Channel 4 but is now also available on Netflix. The show is based on the graphic novel by Charles S. Forsman of the same title, which I had never heard of before though. Currently it is still in its first season with 8 episodes (that are all way too short) ready to binge, but it has received quite some critical acclaim and that makes me hope that things are looking up for a continuation in the near future.

Self-proclaimed psychopath James and rebel Alyssa run away together. Each of them has their own reasons for going on the road trip, but neither expects the twists and turns their relationship will take.

Okay, hands down, I did not think I would like this show, never mind fall in love with it. Alyssa and James aren’t exactly the super likable or relatable characters at first, however, Lawther and Barden have a way about them that portraits the characters in such a fascinating light. Aside from the fact that it’s refreshing to see actors who actually look the age they are supposed to portray, even though they are older, those two strike the perfect balance between cynicism and raw emotions. The characters have issues for sure and you can’t make excuses for their actions, but they are also vulnerable and damaged. It’s them together and their relationship that added the true magic and broke my heart over and over again.

I don’t really want to go too much into the plot. A lot happens and shit escalates to put it simply. Obviously, I wouldn’t suggest this one to the faint-hearted. I want to use this moment to give trigger warnings for murder, abuse, suicide, sexual harassment and rape. All of those are reasons why it’s sometimes incredibly hard to watch, while the show as a whole still makes you laugh with its incredibly dark humour and enraptures you in beautiful cinematography. Add an utterly amazing soundtrack to that and you know The End of the F***ing World has my heart for good.

I couldn’t stop watching. I binged the entire series when it was available in one go and felt an empty hole inside me that only comes after you’ve watched something great. Performances all around were amazing, but everyone definitely gets to show their true potential with time. So, as a recommendation, I would say stick to it for a bit after the first episodes to see what the story and actors truly hold in store.

If I had one last thing to add here, it would be that I absolutely need more. Against everything I thought this show would turn out to be, I fell hard for this story and I sincerely hope there will be seasons more to come.

Did you watch The End of the F***ing World? Did you like it? Are you going to watch it? Let’s talk!

#CurrentlyWatching: Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency

Kat Impossible26 Comments

You all seemed really happy that the #CurrentlyWatching feature is back, so in return I am more than happy to provide you with even more shows to watch/binge. Those of you who know me, know that I mostly only feature shows that I really love, but this one is especially near and dear to my heart. More about that later, here are the basics first.

Currently, there are two seasons of Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency available. It’s very difficult to describe what kind of show it is, because it’s definitely not like anything out there. It’s a science-fiction, supernatural, fantasy, detective comic series based on the books by the same title written by Douglas Adams (yes, the Douglas Adams who also wrote The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, although it is nothing like the books). It originally aired on BBC America, but is available worldwide on Netflix (except in the US, where you can watch it on the BBC America website … I think?). Anyway, if you follow me on Twitter, you will have seen me running a little campaign to #SaveDirkGently, because BBC America cancelled the show without even waiting on the international numbers from Netflix. Show creator Max Landis said that not all hope is lost, if enough people watch it on Netflix, they might take over the show as a whole. So, please, please, please, watch it on Netflix!

Dirk Gently centers around the titular character has he tries to solve one of his curious cases. His new assistant Todd alongside with Todd’s sister Amanda and kick-ass Farah get dragged along the adventure as everything seems to be connected.

Dirk Gently (which is what I will call the show for simplification) is one of those series that doesn’t really fit in any kind of category. It’s the underdog that no one even expected to actually be produced, but once it was out there, it really shone bright … if people actually watched it. That’s one of the things with Dirk Gently, since it’s so hard to put into words what it’s actually about, it’s also extremely difficult to convince people to watch it. So, I am going to try my best at convincing you today!

As I’ve mentioned above, the show is nothing like the books by Douglas Adams. They took the core concept but then made it completely their own and that was probably way better than trying to replicate it exactly. It is extremely quirky, witty, funny, confusing and well acted. I am usually quick to guess where a plot may go, but whether you’ll like Dirk Gently or not, I can promise you it never gets boring. Thinking back to season 1, I didn’t even know what was happening for the most part of it, but I still adored every second of it. It’s like an intricate jigsaw puzzle and neither the characters nor you know what’s going to happen next, but in the end everything is connected and that’s the whole point.

There are a couple of reasons I enjoy this show so much. One of the most important ones is definitely the cast and the characters they represent. They are not afraid to be unconventional or ugly, which makes them feel real and complex even in the most unreal of settings. Whenever I am asked who I like best, I couldn’t possibly chose. Everyone has their own qualities and traits I love, but I have a real soft spot for the Rowdy 3 (who I can only describe as energy-sucking vampires?) and Amanda. Without giving away what will happen, there’s some great character development happening there.

Another thing I adore is the overall theme of everything being connected (which I have said quite a lot in this post already). When everything is chaos, it makes me feel comforted to know that there is a reason/purpose behind things. Yet, it isn’t just accepted as this all-powerful entity, but instead everyone questions it and tries to figure out their place and job in the scheme of things.

Lastly, I really enjoyed how different the second season was in comparison to the first, but how true it stayed to its core nonetheless. It was like we got a weird and eventful season one to introduce us to the players and then took it up a notch when the next season came around. Everything got a lot more personal, we got a hint at Dirk Gently’s sexuality and saw some (romantic and otherwise) relationships deepen and change.

I, personally, would love many more seasons, although I feel like it could be neatly tied up with one final third season. If you have the time and if I have persuaded you to give this show a shot, I would really love it if you watched it soon-ish on Netflix.

Did you know of Dirk Gently before this post? Have you already watched it? Let’s talk about it!

The Epic Crush of Genie Lo by F.C. Yee (Book Review)

Kat Impossible16 Comments

Publisher: Amulet Books
Page Count: 310

First of all, huge shout out to my cousin, because she technically bought this book back when she visited me in Canada. Because she went off on a world tour (making her sound like a rock star and being totally fine with it), she didn’t want to bring it along and left it with me instead. Due to my inability to not buy books during my stay abroad, I was able to ship it back to Austria with my other stuff, where I finally had the time to dive into this epic tale. Long story short, this read was sponsored by my lovely cousin – thank you!

To begin with, this book was laugh out loud funny! And sometimes that is exactly what you need in life. I am not saying it doesn’t have numerous kick-ass action sequences and even some thought provoking conversations, but I am sure that whenever I will think back about The Epic Crush of Genie Lo, I will think about its amazing humor.

I went into this book knowing very little about the plot. I was aware that there was some Chinese folklore and mythology involved, but I would be lying if I told you I knew much about that either. All I did know with a certainty was that a lot of my friends and mutuals in the book community loved reading it and had a blast. I am always wary of diving into books where the hype is real (which explains why I often read them with quite the delay to everyone else), but I am all the more happy when the hype was completely justified.

Everything was very witty and straightforward from start to finish. You were either on board with Genie’s hilariously charming but also angry voice or you weren’t and I was definitely there for all of that. The characters in general all stood out with their own personality traits, with Quentin and Genie’s interactions being weird and awkward while simultaneously amazing. (Again, I laughed out loud a lot!)

Finally, I really enjoyed seeing some parental involvement (still far too rare in YA for my taste), getting a better look at Genie’s cultural background and experiencing some real struggle to balance her demon-hunting with life/love/friendship/school/extracurriculars, because let’s face it, some book heroes just make it seem way too easy.

Fazit: 4/5 stars! Can’t wait to see where future installments will lead!

Have you read The Epic Crush of Genie Lo? Did you like it? Would you want to pick it up if you haven’t read it yet?

Me In Book Characters Tag

Kat Impossible34 Comments

Originally, I saw this tag swirling around the blogosphere and I wanted to do it so bad, I thought I’d just tackle it without having been tagged officially. But then, as if The Orang-utan Librarian read my mind and made it possible for me to do the Me in Book Characters Tag for an actual reason. It was only after that, that I realised I had no idea which characters to pick. In previous posts (Characters I Am Most Alike and Myself in Five Characters), I always ventured into the TV realm, so this required a lot of thinking (and also hoping I wouldn’t repeat myself! Let’s see what I’ve got!

RULES

  1. Thank the creators of the tag (Ash & Lo @windowsill books)
  2. Thank whoever tagged you!
  3. List 5 book characters who you are most like and explain why.
  4. Tag your friends!

Molly – The Upside of Unrequited

Okay, so I my entire review of The Upside of Unrequited was basically me explaining why I connected with Molly, but I’ll try to say it in short here. She is one of the characters that I don’t just connect on an emotional level with, but also on a physical level in part and that is something that happens like … once in a decade?

Elle – Geekerella

Elle is a really cool chick. She is geeky and very passionate about a certain franchise, so much so that she has a blog about it. I am not trying to say that one movie/book/TV show was the reason I started blogging, but that need to share what you hold dear in this world and to find like-minded people is something I can very much relate to.

Clark – The Unexpected Everything

This one might seem like a bit of a stretch, but hear me out! Clark is this nerdy, sort of awkward Fantasy writer and … that’s kinda what I see myself as?

Celia – The Night Circus

Celia is a very kind woman, but she can also lose her temper. I’d consider myself nice and polite whenever I meet someone new, but beware when you try to make me your enemy, because I can rain hell on you. There’s a lot of bottled up anger in me.

In addition to that she loves reading so much that she’d rather stay home (where she has replaced furniture with books) and read than go out with friends and that’s definitely very me.

Klaus – A Series of Unfortunate Events

Lastly, there is Klaus. He’s a bright young man and as I was growing up, people always seemed to tell me that I was very mature for my age and smart on top of that. I am not going to lie, I don’t just have all the good qualities of Klaus, though, I can also be a little know-it-all just like him. Nobody’s perfect!

That’s all from my part and I can only hope you enjoyed getting to know me better through these characters!

I TAG THEE

**These are some of my latest followers and I am using this opportunity to get to know you better! However, if you’ve done the tag before or simply don’t want to do it, please don’t feel obliged!**

#CurrentlyWatching: Schitt’s Creek

Kat Impossible15 Comments

The #CurrentlyWatching feature is back by popular demand. I haven’t tweaked it too much, because why change a winning formula? However, there will no longer be a “why you might not enjoy show XY”-section, simply for the reason that I can never think of why you shouldn’t watch something and in addition to that, I just hope that your own judgment while reading the post will give you a feel on whether you might like it or not. So, without further ado, let’s talk about today’s spotlighted show: Schitt’s Creek!

Schitt’s Creek (stylized Schitt$ Creek, but I am too lazy to do that throughout the entire post) is a Canadian sitcom created by Eugene Levy and his son, Dan Levy, and is currently in its 4th season. Those of you who know me very well, know that I struggle with keeping up with sitcoms/comedy shows, simply because my attention span is better built for the story arcs of dramas. Yet, I swear, I wouldn’t miss an episode of Schitt’s Creek for the world of me. It’s inappropriate as hell but always hilarious and refreshing.

The show centers around a family who loses their entire fortune and is forced to rebuild their life in their only remaining asset, a small town in the middle of nowhere. Naturally, their previous lifestyle and habits clash with the good-natured locals as they build their new home in the town’s motel.

In my opinion, this show flies a little under the radar and it’s such a shame. I only discovered it when I was in Canada last year and binged through all of the available episodes right away. In the beginning it reminded me of a German show called “Arme Millionäre” (which translates to “poor millionaires”) and I think that is why I first stuck with it, but Schitt’s Creek is more than capable to stand on its own.

One of my favorite parts about it all is the cast! Aside from the formidable main cast (I swear, Dan Levy is one of my favorite humans and the light of my life), there’s also a whole lot of secondary actors/actresses and cameos that I simply could squeal over for days. Just to name a few I was really excited to see, there’s Dustin Milligan, Tim Rozon, Noah Reid, Francois Arnaud and Steve Lund. As the seasons went on, I just knew that I wouldn’t be disappointed in whoever showed up next.

The chemistry is just off the charts and works on all available levels, be it the on-screen-marriage of Catharine O’Hara and Eugene Levy, the sibling rivalry of Alexis and David, the blossoming friendship of David and motel receptionist Stevie or whatever other possible combination you can think of. Especially that last one captured my heart though, and I would call their scenes together among my most precious each episode.

Another point of why I enjoy this show so much is the writing. While it can be full of crude and definitely partially offensive humour, it is also written extremely witty and with such heart. Initially, the Roses aren’t a very likable family and definitely not the relatable kind, but they do grow on you tremendously as they grow. This shows mostly in the scenes where the family allows themselves to actually form bonds with the citizens of Schitt’s Creek. Also, I wouldn’t be me if I wasn’t fascinated with the respective romantic pursuits of Alexis and David, which also lead to some of the more substantial character growth on their part.

Lastly, the mention of David leads me to my final and among most important points. David Rose is an openly pansexual character on TV and I am 100% here for that representation! Aside from the fact that pan characters are rare to begin with, I simply ADORED the unexcited and casual way they introduced his sexuality and treated it thereafter. While Schitt’s Creek as a whole is definitely always on the joking side, they never make fun of him (for that! We do laugh about David’s character in general a lot though) and I value that a lot.

I think that was more than enough information for now. I will just let that all sink in and hope that you know you can ask me anything you like in the comment section below!

Could I convince you to try Schitt’s Creek? Did you already watch it before this post? Let’s chat!

Also, you are welcome to suggest TV shows you would like me to write about or hear more of. I already have 3 more planned for now, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t check out the ones you suggest!

Devils & Thieves by Jennifer Rush (Book Review)

Kat Impossible15 Comments

Publisher: Little, Brown Books
Page Count: 336

When someone told me this book was about biker gangs and magical elements (although it ended up being more like Urban Fantasy-ish …), I was all in without even seeking out more information. Admittedly, that might have been my first mistake.

While I did enjoy the general concept of the book, there were some aspects that I might have just not been prepared for but that really bothered me at times. Jemmie, the main character, deals with her lack of control over her powers by drinking alcohol at every turn. Look, I am really not a person who will condemn someone if they want to have a drink or two. You do you, but she basically just graduated High School and was already a borderline alcoholic. It worries her family, it worries her friends, everyone knows there’s some deeper rooted issue and obviously it doesn’t really help her much either. I understand that it is her coping mechanism, but reality is that she has a great support system and that her life would have been far easier if she just told the truth. (My biggest pet peeve in books is when people are unable to communicate!) Especially considering that she whined the entire first part over how much her ability to sense magic sucks, just to get over it with the blink of an eye with everyone thinking it’s the coolest power ever. It was infuriating, because it didn’t feel like progress or a learning curve, but rather like she had made it out to be a far bigger problem than it truly ever had been.

The other thing that bothered me a bit was the love triangle. To me, neither option was a particularly good one and the whole affair was rather predictable. I just really wish we could stop romanticizing the douchebag that cannot deal with his emotions and tries to protect the love interest by pushing her away, hurting her emotionally and sometimes even physically. I am all for vulnerable and emotionally complex boys, but Crowe’s behavior made it really difficult for me to like him at all, nevermind actually root for him.

I know I made this book sound a lot worse than it actually was, because despite it all, I DID enjoy Devils & Thieves. While I may have gotten a tad confused from time to time with the terminology, I think there’s some great magical world building in there. There’s a rich family history and mythology still worth exploring and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t curious what will happen in the next book.

It also helped a lot that Devils & Thieves was very fast paced. I legit read it in one sitting and was fine with it. So, while it definitely wasn’t one of my favorite reads, I still think there’s quite a bit of potential in this story. If I could wish for certain things to happen in the sequel, it would be that it stayed on the dark and magical path the first book ended on. That they would dive more into the biker gang dynamic (people rode more cars than bikes and other than the lingo there really wasn’t much to that element) and maybe ease up on the tropey-ness of it all. I would love to not actually be able to guess what might happen next!

Fazit: 3/5 stars! If you don’t mind a bit of predictability and cliché love story, this might be for you!

Have you heard of Devils & Thieves? Is it something you’d be interested in?

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman (Book Review)

Kat Impossible34 Comments

Publisher: Picador
Page Count: 250

Call Me By Your Name was my final read in the year 2017 and I fell completely and utterly in love with the book. Originally, I decided to pick it up because I saw the trailer for the movie and had very few expectations for what was to come, I only knew that I liked the concept. To my own surprise I couldn’t help but declare it my absolute favourite book of the entire year (and maybe even longer than that?).

For a lack of better word, I would describe reading Call Me By Your Name an experience. The writing is extremely lyrical and raw, so much so that I felt like I was intruding on someone’s most private thoughts but at the same time it was impossible to put down. It was truly such an intimate affair that I fear I won’t do the book justice with my review, because I am not sure I will find all the right words, but I will try.

17-year-old Elio is a fantastic narrator. Sounding much more mature than his age would suggest and then again just like the boy he still is, he is not afraid to sometimes contradict himself in what he says and feels. All that makes it easy to follow him as he figures out his romantic life and sexuality.

“It would never have entered my mind because I was still under the illusion that, barring what I’d read in books, inferred from rumors, and overheard in bawdy talk all over, no one my age had ever wanted to be both man and woman-with men and women.”

It was thrilling but also a pain to watch him circle Oliver. Both romantic infatuation and sexual obsession radiated off Elio and that made the story over the course of its four parts beautiful and awful, intimate and sad, relatable and then again going that one step too far.

All I wanted for Elio and Oliver was to openly be able to show their feelings, but aside from the age difference, the 80s weren’t the kindest years for people to come out. I was rooting for them the entire time, but you always know from the get go that it is a bittersweet kind of story. Still, it was beautiful to read how they got closer and their relationship develops and builds up.

“I want to know your body, I want to know how you feel, I want to know you, and through you, me.”

If I had to pick one part of the book that bothered me, it would be that despite me loving the intimacy and palpable chemistry, I just simultaneously felt like I didn’t need to know every single detail of Elio’s deepest and innermost sexual fantasies and thoughts. For example, the infamous peach scene wasn’t badly written, but it was something that I, personally, didn’t need.

Aside from that, I adored basically the whole thing! I loved all the relationships, platonic, romantic and the ones that crossed borders. I loved how it is mentioned several times that Elio is an avid reader.

“This is my spot. All mine. I come here to read. I can’t tell you the number of books I’ve read here.”
“Do you like being alone?” he asked.
“No. No one likes being alone. But I’ve learned how to live with it.”

I loved how complex Elio’s relationship with his parents was presented. How they had very few rules and basically left him to his own devices but also really cared for him and where there when it counted.

I loved how the book made me feel like being in the Italian countryside during summer (during the actual middle of winter for me), without ever telling us where exactly we even were. That mystery about the location weirdly just added to the realness of it all, while I simultaneously just appreciated the European setting in general.

I have so many thoughts and emotions just thinking about this book, but aside from struggling to express them, I also don’t want to spoil the book for you entirely. I just hope that this little review gave you a nudge towards picking Call Me By Your Name up for yourself! I can only recommend it.

P.S.: I’d recommend listening to “Mystery of Love” by Sufjan Stevens (from the soundtrack) while reading! It gives you the perfect atmosphere.

Fazit: 5/5 stars! An instant classic and addition to my all-time-favorites-list!

Have you read Call Me By Your Name? Watched the movie? Do you want to?