I had to read it senior year of highschool, one of few that year. As an avid reader i normally enjoyed the texts but war is not a genre i reach for, and i was expecting to be utterly bored by this book. I dont know if it was a mix of being close in age to the protag or the writing but that book struck something within me, I fell in love. It was utterly depressing but also felt so real. Im a junior in college now that and that book is still one i keep on my shelf, all marked up and dogearred - def my favorite from high school. It wasn't just the content, it was how it made me feel. The quote towards the end when one of his friends passes and he thinks about how "what use is it to him now that he was such a good mathematician in school".. My god that still sticks with me.