The summer of our escape

Can you stay friends just out of habit?

Gabriele, sixteen, has the perfect plan for the summer: secretly head off with his friend Franco to a campsite on Lake Trasimeno. Fun is guaranteed—and there will definitely be girls! Of course, they’ll tell their parents they’re going to Igea Marina, to Gabriele’s family holiday home. A flawless plan! After much persuasion, Gabriele finally convinces Franco, and the two hop on the train that’s supposed to take them to the campsite. Or at least, that’s the idea. Because a strike stops them almost immediately. But they’re not giving up: they carry on by foot, by hitchhiking, and even on a bike they get as a gift… And that’s when their differences start to show. Franco is reserved, neat, precise—he loves swimming because it’s solitary and requires no physical contact. Gabriele is impulsive, messy, and full of energy.
Will the journey change them? Or maybe you don’t have to change to remain friends?

• A sincere and complicated friendship between two teenagers on the road to adulthood.
• An authentic and heartfelt story that explores the delicate shades of friendship, and how hard it can be to balance deep affection with real differences.