Do you have a different take on the age gap? Let me know in the comments—respectful discussion welcome.

Here’s the nuance the story asks us to hold:

At 17, Elio is:

The sun drips like honey over ripe peaches, cicadas sing a relentless summer song, and a 17-year-old boy with a curly mop of hair and an insatiable mind falls in love for the first time.

That seven-year gap isn’t a plot hole. It isn’t an oversight. It’s the entire point.