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Reviews tagging 'Violence'
Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
83 reviews
davbat's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
Amazing and made me cry on the bus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Homophobia
Moderate: Transphobia, War, Death of parent, and Death
kirsten_marie's review against another edition
2.25
I had so high hopes for this one because I loved the first book so much. It had this special atmosphere to it, and I couldn't keep myself from caring deeply for those boys and their story. sadly, I feel all that is lost after reading the sequel.
From the beginning, the writing felt awkward and as the author has tried to compose some beautiful text, but completely missed the mark in the process. It is an extreme case of tell and not show. It felt like watching a bad play. The characters only play their roles and never feel like fully developed souls. There is little to no emotional build-up in serious scenes either. It lacks subtlety and depth. Only on a number of pages I could count on my fingers did I feel invested in the story. I would also argue that there are several very illogical choices and events. 90% of it's entirety is also direct dialogue, which I find unbearably dull.
Should have DNFed this one, but I'm too f*ing stubborn.
From the beginning, the writing felt awkward and as the author has tried to compose some beautiful text, but completely missed the mark in the process. It is an extreme case of tell and not show. It felt like watching a bad play. The characters only play their roles and never feel like fully developed souls. There is little to no emotional build-up in serious scenes either. It lacks subtlety and depth. Only on a number of pages I could count on my fingers did I feel invested in the story. I would also argue that there are several very illogical choices and events. 90% of it's entirety is also direct dialogue, which I find unbearably dull.
Should have DNFed this one, but I'm too f*ing stubborn.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, Murder, Violence, and Transphobia
jerrysaywhaaa's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
4.0
My first though reading this book was that not all great books need sequels and this was one that didn’t need one. It has a very slow start in my opinion, but finally caught my attention in part four. It had me bawling my eyes out reading the final two parts and the ending was so cute. I appreciate the book even more after reading the author’s acknowledgments and seeing why he felt the need to write this book to finish their story. He is a very talented writer for sure. I do, however, wish we got a bit more Dante in the book that has his name in the title.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Minor: Murder
antonia_oana19's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Violence and War
paperbacksandvinyl's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I am UNWELL. Book two in the Aristotle and Dante universe follows the boys into their senior year of high, but we get the whole summer to see them fall more in love. It is such a beautiful exploration of first love and friendship, and just the human experience in general. It was honestly so different from what I imagined and my hurt was broken and stitched together, REPEATEDLY!!
Being so serious, I haven’t cried like this in ages, but this book wrecked me. One of the most beautiful books I’ve read, maybe ever. I know I will carry this story and these characters with me for a very long time 🥹
Being so serious, I haven’t cried like this in ages, but this book wrecked me. One of the most beautiful books I’ve read, maybe ever. I know I will carry this story and these characters with me for a very long time 🥹
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Minor: Vomit and Violence
marisa_kingsley77's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Child death and Violence
ronan900's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Pandemic/Epidemic, Transphobia, Violence, and War
Minor: Hate crime, Bullying, Murder, Sexual content, and Deadnaming
jasmineslibraryy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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
5.0
almost DNF'd, really glad i didn't
this sequel was kinda unnecessary in my opinion but it was beautiful. ari has one of the most beautiful character arcs i've ever read. the first one is still miles better but i still thoroughly enjoyed this!
this sequel was kinda unnecessary in my opinion but it was beautiful. ari has one of the most beautiful character arcs i've ever read. the first one is still miles better but i still thoroughly enjoyed this!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Death, Deadnaming, Cursing, Child death, Blood, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, Bullying, and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Terminal illness, Child abuse, War, and Pregnancy
Minor: Pedophilia and Cancer
lennie_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Thank you to Netgalley & Simon and Schuster Children's Books UK for this ARC.
Full disclosure - I waited so long to read the arc that I read the finished printed version.
I was so so happy when Saenz annoucned that we had a sequel to the first book.
Whilst I i love the first one, after a re-read it reminded me that we really don't see much of happy Ari or Ari & Dante actually together. And we only experience things through Ari's narrow and unreliable lens.
Despite the books being written 10 years apart, Saenz seems to be able to dive immediately back into Ari's head so it genuinely doesn't feel like any time has passed from book 1 to book 2. (Pun not intended but I'm keeping it!)
In this book we see a much happier Ari who is finally accepting himself and accepting love from his friends, family and Dante.
Although the two still have to navigate rampant homophobia during the AIDS pandemic, racism and the more 'usual' teenage struggles of college and a possible long distance relationship.
This book also seems to delve into different types of relationships, different types of love, and how they're all important in their own ways.
I love the way Saenz write: it just flows so well whilst also being so poignant and beautiful.
This book also confirmed my theory of Ari being demisexual. It doesn't say it anywhere explicitly but istg he is the most demisexual coded character ever.
If you loved the first book then you 100% should read this one. It'll give you the more fleshed out HFN whilst also getting to know the characters more, especially now that Ari's perspectives have been opened up so his perceptions of people are more 3D.
Full disclosure - I waited so long to read the arc that I read the finished printed version.
I was so so happy when Saenz annoucned that we had a sequel to the first book.
Whilst I i love the first one, after a re-read it reminded me that we really don't see much of happy Ari or Ari & Dante actually together. And we only experience things through Ari's narrow and unreliable lens.
Despite the books being written 10 years apart, Saenz seems to be able to dive immediately back into Ari's head so it genuinely doesn't feel like any time has passed from book 1 to book 2. (Pun not intended but I'm keeping it!)
In this book we see a much happier Ari who is finally accepting himself and accepting love from his friends, family and Dante.
Although the two still have to navigate rampant homophobia during the AIDS pandemic, racism and the more 'usual' teenage struggles of college and a possible long distance relationship.
This book also seems to delve into different types of relationships, different types of love, and how they're all important in their own ways.
I love the way Saenz write: it just flows so well whilst also being so poignant and beautiful.
This book also confirmed my theory of Ari being demisexual. It doesn't say it anywhere explicitly but istg he is the most demisexual coded character ever.
If you loved the first book then you 100% should read this one. It'll give you the more fleshed out HFN whilst also getting to know the characters more, especially now that Ari's perspectives have been opened up so his perceptions of people are more 3D.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Violence
Minor: Deadnaming
ccee's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Off-kilter sequel to one of The YA Books Ever. Nothing really happened, Ari and Dante’s relationship did not have any further development. Random introduction of characters, ensemble cast did not lend itself well to this world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Violence and Racism