White as Silence, Red as Song — Alessandro D'Avenia

“I was born on the first day of school, and I grew up and old in just two hundred days...”

Sixteen-year-old Leo has a way with words, but he doesn't know it yet. He spends his time texting, polishing soccer maneuvers, and killing time with Niko and Silvia. Until a new teacher arrives and challenges him to give voice to his dreams.

And so Leo is inspired to win over the red-haired beauty, Beatrice. She doesn't know Leo exists, but he's convinced that his dream to win her over will come true. When Leo lands in the hospital and learns that Beatrice has been admitted too, his mission to be there for her will send him on a thrilling but heartbreaking journey. He wants to help her but doesn't know how -- and his dream of love will force him to grow up fast.

Having already sold over a million copies in Italy, Alessandro D'Avenia's debut novel is considered the Italian "The Fault in Our Stars." Now available in English for the first time, this rich, funny, and heartwarming coming-of-age tale asks us to explore the meaning -- and the cost -- of friendship, and shows us what happens when suffering bursts into the world of teenagers and renders the world of adults speechless.