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.