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Reviews tagging 'Death'
Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
128 reviews
tbrxinfinity's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia
micaelamariem's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This was such a beautiful book 🥹 I will always be an Ari and Dante Stan. I loved to see how much Ari grew as a character, from being a loner to accepting love and friendship into his life. The writing was beautiful, each word carefully crafted to reflect deeper life meanings and holding strong sentiments. And above all, the theme of love, not just of the romantic type but loving your fellow humans, was strong and shown throughout in many different ways.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Violence, Racism, Alcohol, Cursing, and Child death
d00rframe's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I love this book!! its so sad yet comforting? highly recommend
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, Cursing, Abandonment, Death of parent, Homophobia, Dysphoria, and Bullying
Moderate: Violence, Transphobia, Murder, Hate crime, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Gun violence
kjm9773's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Cursing, Homophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Racism
Minor: Murder, Suicide, and Transphobia
melli29_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
holy crap this was written so beautifully. i loved ari's personal development and the newfound friendships. also cried like 6 times haha.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
delisouseyelids's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Misogyny, Violence, War, Alcohol, Car accident, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Child death, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Transphobia, and Cursing
hello_lovely13's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was somehow hopeful and melancholy at the same time, and the result is just beautiful. While reading this, I really wanted to reread the first book. To say that this was a love story (in the sense that this is a romance book) would severely diminish the impact and honesty this book has. It has a simple, yet poetic writing style that makes every topic addressed in this book (self-love, grief, belonging, hate, etc.) so accessible and resonate within the reader. There were a couple of times that I thought the writing style was too simplistic for the situation it was discussing, but for a majority of the time I thought it was perfect. There are many everyday, meaningful conversations, and that is right up my alley. This is a beautiful exploration of what it is like to love in a world so filled with hate, both in general and specifically for your identity. Ari struggled a lot with self-hatred in the first book (so the first one is much more melancholy than this one), and he really deals with that in this book. The character progression is heart-warming to see as he grows and learns. Even if things can't last forever, it's impact will linger and become a part of who you are; it is just up to you to determine how it will change and influence you. It is just wonderful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual content, Deadnaming, and War
Internalized homophobia, AIDs crisiscarrot2025's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I absolutely adored this book. I think I managed to love it more the first one which I didn't think was possible. It was absolutely amazing seeing the journey of these two as they faced their first real gay relationship during the aids pandemic. Watching as they question their love and struggle to find happiness in a world that is too quick to cast them aside. I especially loved the ending. Seeing their relationship tested and them proving that no matter what, they will always be with each other and love and care for each other.
I can not recommend these series enough. It's the absolute perfect story.
I can not recommend these series enough. It's the absolute perfect story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Murder, Death of parent, and Homophobia
I can not stress enough how beautiful this story handles topics that most would fail at. It takes every moment and uses it as a lesson, not just for shock value. Seeing Ari grapple with just what his brother did at the same time as he's watching the world ignore the aids pandemic was just heartbreaking. Adding in the unfortunateannabella's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book and so maybe it was right place right time but I really liked this book. I found it deeply emotional - a critique of the first for me was it was too dialogue heavy, though this was years ago. Here there were beautiful metaphors and I admit I had to just lean into some of the dramatic existential language of Ari but leaning into that made me love it and him, he had such strong character growth. The exploration into AIDS added another element for me and it was refreshing to have a queer love story which gave just as much love and focus to making supportive parents (although this was also heartbreaking at points), and it made me so angry at the world. A book that I was excited to pick up each evening and knew the tears would be flowing!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Deadnaming
joisaddler's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Death