Your name is written on my skin

Pietro Vaghi's primo romanzo , "Written on My Skin," recounts Stefano's adolescence, revealing his emotions and, above all, his fears. He is, in fact, a typical, cheerful and sensitive sixteen-year-old, who, however, is unable to peacefully overcome his parents' separation. Suddenly, he loses his bearings and grows preoccupied with the feeling that all his certainties have slipped away. Loneliness overwhelms him, making him "transparent," and prompts him to expose his fragility. He also feels consumed by guilt over what happened to his parents, unaware of the true reason for their separation. Stefano, therefore, is filled with the doubts and uncertainties typical of adolescence, and is torn between family, friendship, and even love. Indeed, with time, he will also manage to find the right person for him who will help him find clarity in his heart. The story, therefore, reflects the current situation of many families, and for this reason, many young people can identify with Stefano, having experienced similar moments of pain and feeling the same sense of loss. Despite this, the plot is generally predictable, with a rather banal and predictable content. The novel's flow is largely due to its simple language, using everyday, sometimes vulgar, words.

The move, the new neighborhood, his mother leaving the family without a word or an explanation, his father's silence, his little brother searching for answers, and his ailing grandfather: all of this, in the blink of an eye, falls on Stefano, the young protagonist of Pietro Vaghi's novel, Written on My Skin.
Sixteen years old, he has a great passion for the mountains and skiing, and the desire—typical of that age—to have fun and experience everything as if it were still almost a game. Life, however, forces Stefano to grow up quickly, trying to re-establish the balance his family has completely lost. Lost in his fears and angry at the entire world for all the disasters that have come his way, the young man finds support and comfort only in Elisa, a new classmate, who is also dealing with a far from simple family situation: she is the only person he can talk to openly and from whom he has nothing to hide, and a strong bond is immediately established between the two, so much so that it seems they have known each other their whole lives.
Love, in its most beautiful, intriguing, and exciting aspects, as well as its most painful and sad, is the driving force of the entire novel, giving the protagonist the courage not to give up and to try to conquer the fears that hold him back and prevent him from living life to the fullest. All teenagers have the deepest conviction that they can always do something better, that there's always a way to live even better. This novel also teaches us the importance of supporting young people and their willpower, rather than crushing them by denying them the opportunity to fully enjoy life. Teenagers' dreams should never be destroyed, because at that age, dreams are everything.
The novel's ending is open-ended, but leaves no doubt that family is a serious thing, that it can't be assembled and disassembled like a toy, and that, in any case, we should never lose hope and the will to believe that what's broken can be mended. Family is the most precious thing each of us has, and we must try to protect and defend it at all costs; and Stefano knows this well: "Being your son isn't something that goes away when I shower in the morning. Paolo and I are all that's left of that forever. It's already something, and I'll make sure it doesn't get ruined... I think back to my aunt reading while dressed in pink. One flesh. That flesh is me. Your name is written on my skin, engraved in the flesh I'm made of." Indeed, on Stefano's skin, it is written that his father is his father and always will be, despite his mistakes; that his mother is his mother, and always will be, even if she's left home; that Paolo, his little brother who often makes him lose his temper and is always clinging to him, is still his brother; that his grandfather, who sometimes leaves the house and we have to go find him and who puts on his pajamas inside out, is still his grandfather and sometimes he even says the right thing.
Written on My Skin is also a coming-of-age novel, because it follows, step by step, through the story of the young protagonist's anger, disappointment, and misunderstandings, his maturation and inner growth: his mood swings and thoughts come to the page so directly that the reader can't help but identify with them and experience them himself. Vaghi has chosen a frank, immediate, and austere narrative technique to present Stefano in all his honesty and transparency and to send us a clear message: it is important to teach young people to be honest with themselves, not to be afraid of their emotions and feelings, because only if they have the courage and are capable of living them fully will one day be able to say they are satisfied with their life, because they have truly lived it. It is therefore a book that aims, yes, to speak to adolescents, but also to the adults around them, who increasingly find themselves experiencing situations very similar to theirs.