Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari's features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.
But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other―and the power of their friendship―can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.
Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari's features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.
But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other―and the power of their friendship―can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.
Book 2/20 on my 2022 #FReadom list: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Rich exploration of the many things that teenagers (and adults) don't talk about, and why, and what happens when they finally emerge aloud. Highly recommend. Also, Aristotle and Dante introduced me to W S Merwin (1927-2019), whose poetry Benjamin Alire Sáenz wove subtly throughout. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52502/in-the-winter-of-my-thirty-eighth-year
Book 2/20 on my 2022 #FReadom list: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Rich exploration of the many things that teenagers (and adults) don't talk about, and why, and what happens when they finally emerge aloud. Highly recommend. Also, Aristotle and Dante introduced me to W S Merwin (1927-2019), whose poetry Benjamin Alire Sáenz wove subtly throughout. www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52502/in-the-winter-of-my-thirty-eighth-year
Review of 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
I'd meant to read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe when it first came out in 2012 but for one reason or another, it remained to wait on my #tbr pile. That as I discovered, was a mistake as I loved this book and went on to read the sequel straight afterwards.
I think I had wanted to read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and be wary of doing so in equal measure because it seemed everybody loved the book and I've often been led astray and left wanting by extremely popular books. So @Believeathon did me a favour as I'd chosen this book to fulfil a prompt and I wasn't left disappointed and wished I had indeed picked it up sooner.
Aristotle and Dante are so different and yet, complement one another by balancing the naturally intelligent Dante with Aristotle, who struggles …
I'd meant to read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe when it first came out in 2012 but for one reason or another, it remained to wait on my #tbr pile. That as I discovered, was a mistake as I loved this book and went on to read the sequel straight afterwards.
I think I had wanted to read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and be wary of doing so in equal measure because it seemed everybody loved the book and I've often been led astray and left wanting by extremely popular books. So @Believeathon did me a favour as I'd chosen this book to fulfil a prompt and I wasn't left disappointed and wished I had indeed picked it up sooner.
Aristotle and Dante are so different and yet, complement one another by balancing the naturally intelligent Dante with Aristotle, who struggles more when it comes to schooling and is more brooding than bookish. Fate and chance bring the two together and despite their differences of which there are many, the two become fast friends and nothing can come between them.
Dante is my favourite of the two, with his love of poetry and desire to be lost in books as his craving for knowledge is insatiable. He's unintentionally funny, something Aristotle loves about him though I do sometimes want to wrap the gentle, emotional Dante up and protect him from the world he lives in of the 1980s and reassure him that some things that make him wary, are better.
Benjamin Alire Saenz's writing style is stunning, with phrasing that is poetic and draws you into knowing a character's very soul by how he portrays them and the events around them. I like that Aristotle and Dante are not infallible, that their faults make them who they are and no one really tries to alter them to fit a stereotype of what a teenage boy should be like; especially Dante.
I felt a plethora of emotions reading Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, I laughed, I cried, as I said; I wanted to protect them from the world around them. The world-building takes me to a time where I was too little to understand how difficult it was, but history has taught us well that there was so much intolerance during 1987 which is when the book is set and Saenz brilliantly ensures that you see the reality of racism, and intolerance and ignorance affects Aristotle, Dante, their families and some friends endure.
The two of them have to bear their souls both to one another and themselves to truly learn just who they are both to themselves and where their place is in the world. It is a tale of self-discovery and acceptance, of painful honesty and I love how they grow together, and apart. There is a fragility to their honesty, and especially for Aristotle, learning that he isn't who he always thought he was and that the love he feels, whilst extremely dangerous, is something to hang onto with all he is and to fight for the right to love who he wants - even if he is fighting himself initially because again, the 1980s were a horrific time for members of the LGBTQ community. Something again, Saenz writes about with such understanding and realism that I cried regularly for these two beautiful boys.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a tale that received so much hype and often, I am reticent to give in and join the popularity train but I am so glad I did with Saenz's fantastic tale of friendship, love and growing up in the eighties. I will have this on my re-read pile as I think I will always take something from this wonderful book.
My one and only insistence for a spoiler-free experience
5 stars
Content warning
Homophobia, violence,
I'm serious. I don't give two shits about spoilers normally (though I'm not disrespectful, I'll tag), but the less you know about this book the first time you go in, the better imo.
It's not a thriller or mystery or anything, there's not really any "twists", it's more, it's just a beautifully-written book, but I feel the first journey you get where you realize you know the protagonist better than he knows himself, and see how that unfolds, is a better experience. There's a part towards the end that's so beautiful and against what people would encourage especially in commercial fiction, and I want you to enjoy that without expectation.
Review of 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
It had been a long time since I'd read a young adult novel. I'm glad this one made me go back. I'm not crazy about love stories... only a little. But this one was very different, very unique in its own way. I liked that. Hell, I loved that.
I fell in love with Dante like I fell in love with Ari, as easily as the pages were turned. The book made me smile, but it also made me cry. This type of love makes me cry. Because it's not easy and it's not expected and it just happens and then you have to deal with it and it's okay, it really is, but it's hard anyway.
This book touched me. Ari was me, so confused and lonely and looking for something. And Dante was his answer, how beautiful is that? It must be so beautiful, to find something, someone …
It had been a long time since I'd read a young adult novel. I'm glad this one made me go back. I'm not crazy about love stories... only a little. But this one was very different, very unique in its own way. I liked that. Hell, I loved that.
I fell in love with Dante like I fell in love with Ari, as easily as the pages were turned. The book made me smile, but it also made me cry. This type of love makes me cry. Because it's not easy and it's not expected and it just happens and then you have to deal with it and it's okay, it really is, but it's hard anyway.
This book touched me. Ari was me, so confused and lonely and looking for something. And Dante was his answer, how beautiful is that? It must be so beautiful, to find something, someone worth dying for.
I don't know. Some things are just worth it, you know?
