Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

I actually hugged this book after reading it. It's just such a beautiful story. If you're looking for a character driven coming of age story, you'd probably like this. The plot isn't that heavy, and the prose can be very sparse, so you certainly have to long the characters to enjoy it. But it's nearly impossible not to love these two boys.One thing that impressed me about this story was the nuance in the relationship between Ari and Dante. There's so many subtle moments in their friendship that it wasn't until the very end of the book when I realised how things would turn out. Ari himself wasn't sure how he felt, and the reader wasn't always sure either. I've rarely seen a friendship with so much depth.

First person perspective quickly became a non-issue once I got a few chapters into this book. This is probably the best first person story I've read.All the feels. So, so many feels. This story was so profound. I felt like I was Aristotle, or Ari to his friends. He was a lonely, lonely boy, and though I had good friends--great friends growing up, I remember feeling such an aching loneliness at times. I also remember being caught in my own private wars and living inside my head, keeping so many of my thoughts to myself.Ari was a beautiful boy who was confused not only about himself, but about the entirety of his family. His father returned from the Vietnam war a shell of his former self--not that Ari would know that because he was born after his father returned from the war. It was as if whatever haunted his father was inherited by Ari. He grew up being so bothered by the fact that he didn't know his father because he wouldn't let anyone in. He grew up as practically an only child because his siblings were so much older than him. He grew up hating that his brother, who was in prison, was treated as though he didn't exist. He hated that there were so many secrets in his family, yet he didn't want to share any of his secrets either. There was so much anger and confusion roiling around inside of Ari. And it really came through in the writing. I just wanted to hug him, and I remember being him.And then Dante came into his life. Dante was such a polar opposite of Ari, but like a light in the otherwise darkness of Ari's mind. They were a strange pair, Aristotle and Dante, but they fit so perfectly together. Dante taught Ari to swim, and became Ari's first ever real friend, let alone best friend. He immersed Ari int art, and books, and a different family life than he was familiar with. Dante made Ari feel things that he didn't want to. He made Dante want to share his mind, which was something Ari just didn't do.Watching them fall in love... It was amazing and beautifully written. This was like a slice-of-life, but with a plot. I wasn't always certain they were falling in love. The author, in my opinion, keep me wondering. I figured Dante out pretty easily, but Ari, as Dante called him, was "inscrutable". Just when I thought maybe he returned Dante's feelings I was like, oh maybe not. Even when Dante was beaten badly enough to be hospitalized, and Ari found out one of the boys who had done it, he went ballistic and returned the favor to the little punk. Maybe I'm just clueless, but I certainly would destroy anyone who hurt my bestie, and I would definitely have pushed her out of the way of a moving vehicle. That's what besties do, or at least I thought so. Which is why it made sense to me when Ari continually said he hadn't done it on purpose, it had just been a reflex. Protecting people you love-no matter the manner of love--is a reflex. You don't think about it, you just do it. I honestly believed for the longest time, that Ari loved Dante as a friend. Their experimental kiss threw me off because the author tried very hard to make the romantic feelings seem one-sided...or as I said, I'm just clueless.I'm not doing very well on this review. This book has got me shooketh. It was just a beautiful story, and I loved every page of it! It was sad and funny and exciting and heartbreaking. Dude, this book made me cry. Not full-on ugly cry, but I got misty and that's a good as tears when it comes to me. This book also triggered me a bit. But it was a me-thing. I was reminded, every time Ari thought about his father, of how much I miss mine. And like with many other books on my shelves, I can't believe it took me so long to read this.

I did not like this book very much because I felt like it did a poor job of conveying the time and place of the novel's setting. I grew up in El Paso in the 1970s and 80s. It was a magical place in many ways, almost none of that comes across in the book. How could the author miss describing what the mountains look like at sunset, the fury of a summer thunderstorm, the sights and smells of the desert? And for gods sake, the food??? Only mentioned in passing. The author also glossed over the challenges of being LGBT in the community during this era. Kids who were suspected of being anything but straight were routinely bullied and as a result LGBT youth were heavily closeted. The challenges that would have been faced by the main characters were grossly under represented. That said, Dante and Ari are compelling characters and I did enjoy spending time with them. But this book could have been so much more.

I read this for the #ReadProud challenge, Week 3.This was a contemporary gay YA novel featuring Mexican-American teenage boys. It was a very fast read, with many many very short chapters - I have a weakness for short chapters, so I liked this a lot.It had wonderful characterization, and angsty teens who came across as actual angsty teens and not some sort of novelistic cliché. I especially loved that (minor spoiler at the end*) - I had that experience (with being trans) where other people knew before I did, and it is not something I see in fiction a lot. I also liked that the parents were well-rounded people and characters in their own right.I also really liked the cover and the fact that 1. there was calligraphy on the cover 2. the calligrapher was credited (Sarah Jane Coleman).But there was one part where I did feel that the book kicked me in the jaw, and not in a good sense. This is a major spoiler, and it is about anti-trans hate crimes:(spoilers from here onward)The crime that the protagonist's older brother is jailed for is revealed toward the end as.... he killed a trans woman ("transvestite" - sic) sex worker in what seemed to have been a "trans panic" episode. Now. It is made amply clear throughout the book that the brother committed a real crime, so I was glad that it was revealed to be a real crime and he wasn't innocent. BUT. The fact that a lot of the plot involves the family coming to terms with his being in prison, AND the fact that out of ALL possible crimes, the author had to choose this one, really made me feel uncomfortable. I will also probably not pick up the upcoming sequel, because I really don't want to see more 'coming to terms with' with that. This was just one paragraph in the book, but it really soured me on it. Without this paragraph, it would have been an easy five stars... but this changed the interpretation of an entire plotline, and in a way that felt gratuitious to me, especially seeing as this was the only time trans people appeared in the novel.and the minor spoiler from above:* - one of the characters had to be cluebatted about being gayMy usual disclaimer about where I got this book: I bought this one with my own money.

"One summer night, I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke."That's all it took, the first sentence of this beautiful poetical book for me to fall in love with it.The thing about this book, unlike so many others that I have read, I could relate to it very much. I laughed, I cried, and when I had finished it, I started the book again. Never have I re-read a book just after that I have finished it. Never. And I have read a few books. But this was something else. This was a book that I could open on a day I felt sad, and was convinced the world was against me, and it could make me smile and let me know that i would be okay, that there were going to be bad days, but there would also be good ones.This is a beautiful book, which I know I will pick up over and over again, just to get that feeling of warmth through me.If they gave me a chance to read a book for the first time again, it would be this one.

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'm so happy that I was lucky enough to have had ordered it in paperback. This is such a beautiful book, so lucid and so mind gripping. Dante and Aristotle are characters you can relate to in different ways and in the end the message is surreal- we all are fighting private wars within ourselves. And sometimes it is time not to run and take the blows head on and be free.Do give it a read, I never knew I'd start to look at a relationship between the same sex in a different way. I'm so glad I did it.The front and back cover is so pretty and makws you wanna just start reading the book right away.Couldnt really understand why the cover was like that- now I do.

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.

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.