Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe

i love this book

Beautifully written.

I discovered Benjamin Alire Sáenz this year only and read Ari & Dante earlier sometime in July! In this book, Sáenz takes us on a one of a kind, rare and magical journey with Aristotle Mendoza and Dante Quintana, Mexican American kids in the 1980s. Following their lives over a period of a little more than 2 years, we see their relationship change and grow. Both these teenagers are absolutely different from one another yet they complement each other in more ways than you can imagine. Told completely from Ari’s point of view, the book is crafted in short, poem-like chapters. The story here is quiet and gentle, even simplistic but that is the very beauty of it.Honestly, ever since I read this book, my life sort of changed. It touched upon me in a way I don’t think a lot many books have yk?My favourite thing about this book is the realness of it all, the characters, the setting, the emotions, the dialogues and everything in between. This book made me smile, it made me cry (constantly). I found every line of this book beautiful - and worthy to quote and that is not an exaggeration. It made me also introspect what secrets the universe holds out for us and if I can discover them?Have I discovered them? Yes. What is it? Where to look? Well, start with this book I would say.Finally in the end all I would like to say that I did not just enjoy this book but I am so grateful for it. No review or anything I say can ever write would do justice to what a sheer masterpiece it is.

I don't even know where to begin.This is a beautiful coming of age story. I genuinely felt giddy when I finished this book.The story follows the lives of Aristotle and Dante from age fifteen to seventeen through Ari's POV. Ari feels disconnected from everyone around him. He doesn't have any friends, his twin sisters are a decade older than him, his brother is in prison and his dad's trauma prevents them from having the relationship Ari desires. One summer day, Dante approaches Ari and offers to teach him how to swim. They bond over their unusual names initially and soon become best friends. The book takes the boys on a journey of self-discovery where they learn about love, family and friendship (there was a huge emphasis on family relationships in particular which I absolutely loved).I think the main reason I love this book so much has to do with the fact that I, too, spent so much of my teens feeling lonely and alone and misunderstood and this book felt like a warm hug. I feel privileged to have read it and can't wait for the sequel. I would definitely recommend.

This LBGTQI YA novel is one of the best I've ever read at encapsulating the sense of insecurity and feeling lost that often accompanies teens on the cusp of adulthood, especially when combined with family issues. It's a delightful, moving, insightful read. If I were to level any criticism at it, it would only be that the ennui becomes a little entrenched towards the middle of the novel when the main character's love interest is absent for an extended period; this section could perhaps have been trimmed. Otherwise, this is a wonderful book about acceptance, honesty, openness, friendship and love.

Aristotle is 15 and mad as hell at anything and everything, he enjoys being a loner and isn’t that fond of his mom and dad. Dante is the light to Aristotle’s dark, he loves everything, is well liked and openly states that he loves his parents. They meet at the swimming pool and friendship begins.The book is easy to get absorbed in, I also listened to parts and Lin-Manuel’s voice brings to life these young Mexican boys, you can almost imagine them being real life people. It brings together so many themes seamlessly from growing up, family, mental health and LGBQ, and woven a perfect story out of it.Saenz has developed 2 main characters that you fall in love with and want the best for, their friendship is such a key factor in the book and they influence each other positively. The act that binded Aristotle and Dante together was so real you could visualise it happening.The other positive aspect of the book is the 2 sets of parents. Aristotle’s parents although they have flaws and secrets themselves, are always there for Ari no matter what and want him to be happy and simply to have friends. Dante’s parents are accepting both of Dante and Ari and their love shines through the book.I loved this book and would highly recommend it to anyone looking for a young adult read about growing up with some LGBQ themes.

[Edit: I concluded the book, and honestly, I do not regret a second of reading it. I wish there had been a little better editing, but at its heart the story was a wonderful prelude to the second book, which I consider already to have superior writing. Do read. Persevere. It is worth it for the last few chapters alone. It got much better towards the end. I upgraded my review to 4 out of 5 stars. Not perfect, but wonderful all the same.]I’ve really tried to like this book, and I have almost finished reading. But it’s been a heavy, arduous struggle. The writing style is completely wooden, you can never tell who is talking, the characters are cardboard, and there are so many grammar mistakes and formatting errors that make understanding who is talking a chore (the author starts new paragraphs when the same character is speaking, and have no distinction between them…), and the plot is supposed to be a love story, but the love interest is hardly present for a third of the story. It is repetitive.I wanted to enjoy it. I’m trying to. But sadly, I think it has not been very well written. How anyone can say this is ‘beautifully written’ really does not understand beautiful or lyrical prose. This was more like the author wrote 200 scenes and just threw them together with no connective tissues.And to top it off, the characters personalities are dreadfully flat. There is no description of how they talk. It is almost literally, “she said, he said” and that’s if the author even chooses to say that, which is also very inconsistent.Overall, I feel this book was extremely poorly edited, and honestly, I’m sad to say, poorly written at times. I will conclude reading it, but that is just to to see the story ends. It is painfully slow at times.Having said all this, I must admire some statements the author writes, and some beautiful moments really can be quite memorable. I love the relationship between Dante and his father. And I felt the strength of the story was honestly how genuine it feels, despite everything I’ve critiqued.I do hope the sequel is written a little more cohesively. [Edit: It already is and I’m only a few chapters in.]