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4.08 AVERAGE
4.08 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
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:
Complicated
I would give this book 10 stars if I could. A beautiful, heart-felt tearjerker for the hopeless romantics and dreamers of the world. Everyone should read this book and the one before it to let these characters into their hearts and lives.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
inspiring
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:
No
The way that Alirez didn’t think Ari and Dante’s story was finished, I didn’t either - so I’m glad I picked this up 🥹
I feel Ari’s battles of growing up, and Dante’s emotional outbursts so thoroughly. I feel like a little bit of both of them live in me 🤣
I’m giving this 3.5 out of 5 stars, because although it was beautiful overall, there were parts that felt repetitive and wearing to me 🥲 Thank you ✨ Content warnings below!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
carino. anche se spesso mi ha annoiato, rimane davvero un bel libro
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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:
Complicated
Getting the obvious out of the way, this was not as good as the first book. But that isn’t to say that it was bad. It was actually really nice, and I did like a lot of things about it.
There were things I disliked too, though. Firstly, why is everyone crying? I have nothing against crying, but someone is tearing up in every chapter. There are definitely strong moments that are really well done. But there are also a lot that don’t feel strong enough but you see tears running down someone’s faces, and at one point it just feels somewhat unrealistic.
And speaking of unrealistic, I had the same issue with the dialogues. The dialogues in the first book flowed really well. And that made me all the more disappointed with the dialogues in this book. Not that they were always bad, a lot of them were amazing and felt great, but some just didn’t feel real. It might be just me, but it’s a lot of impactful lines one after the other, and that does sometimes make them come across as slightly corny.
I think most of the issues I had with the book came down to one thing. It felt like it had too many ‘strong’ moments. And there are a lot of really, really good ones, they made me want to not put down the book. But there seem to be so many of those. It ends up being a constant stream of attempts at powerful scenes, without enough building up to a lot of them. And at times, that just leaves them feeling lacking and unrealistic.
And lastly, I did not like how much of a secondary character Dante was except for being the guy Ari loves.
But overall, it was a good book. Not something I regret reading at all. I really liked the ideas and concepts it talked about. How it explored complicated feelings, how we tend to not see people as people, how comforting silence can be- it was great reading about it all. Would say it is worth reading despite its shortcomings.
There were things I disliked too, though. Firstly, why is everyone crying? I have nothing against crying, but someone is tearing up in every chapter. There are definitely strong moments that are really well done. But there are also a lot that don’t feel strong enough but you see tears running down someone’s faces, and at one point it just feels somewhat unrealistic.
And speaking of unrealistic, I had the same issue with the dialogues. The dialogues in the first book flowed really well. And that made me all the more disappointed with the dialogues in this book. Not that they were always bad, a lot of them were amazing and felt great, but some just didn’t feel real. It might be just me, but it’s a lot of impactful lines one after the other, and that does sometimes make them come across as slightly corny.
I think most of the issues I had with the book came down to one thing. It felt like it had too many ‘strong’ moments. And there are a lot of really, really good ones, they made me want to not put down the book. But there seem to be so many of those. It ends up being a constant stream of attempts at powerful scenes, without enough building up to a lot of them. And at times, that just leaves them feeling lacking and unrealistic.
And lastly, I did not like how much of a secondary character Dante was except for being the guy Ari loves.
But overall, it was a good book. Not something I regret reading at all. I really liked the ideas and concepts it talked about. How it explored complicated feelings, how we tend to not see people as people, how comforting silence can be- it was great reading about it all. Would say it is worth reading despite its shortcomings.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
3.5
Thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book follows Aristotle and Dante after the events of the first book. They are learning how to be gay Mexican boys in America, and at the same time dealing with many other struggles.
In terms of plot, there isn’t much. There is one big plot point that happens in the latter half of the book, but other than that, it didn’t feel like one cohesive story to me. It felt more like a bunch of different glimpses into Ari’s life, which the author then used to try and portray certain messages.
I love Ari and Dante’s families. While Dante is an interesting character, we don’t get to know him very well since the book is told from Ari’s perspective. I do feel like Ari comes into his own a bit more in this book, and starts to develop his own thoughts more than in the previous book. He certainly undergoes some major character growth, and I liked that he could rely on his family, but that he also found a family of his own with his friends.
The thing that I struggled with the most was the writing style. There’s no doubt that the author is a great writer, and that there were many amazing passages throughout this book, but I often felt like the way characters spoke didn’t feel realistic to me, and that some passages were just added in the book even though they didn’t necessarily make much sense within the context of a particular scene.
I do think that this is an important book because it touches on many important subjects. I also know that, while I only like the book, most people adore it, and I am clearly in the minority here.
Overall, while I don’t think this sequel was truly necessary, I did enjoy it more than the first book and I am glad I read it. These books mean the world to many people and for that alone I think everyone should read them. If you experience the same struggles that Ari and Dante do, perhaps you’ll see yourself reflected within these pages. If you don’t share their struggles, perhaps these books will open your eyes and teach you something valuable.
Thanks to Jonathan Ball Publishers for gifting me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
This book follows Aristotle and Dante after the events of the first book. They are learning how to be gay Mexican boys in America, and at the same time dealing with many other struggles.
In terms of plot, there isn’t much. There is one big plot point that happens in the latter half of the book, but other than that, it didn’t feel like one cohesive story to me. It felt more like a bunch of different glimpses into Ari’s life, which the author then used to try and portray certain messages.
I love Ari and Dante’s families. While Dante is an interesting character, we don’t get to know him very well since the book is told from Ari’s perspective. I do feel like Ari comes into his own a bit more in this book, and starts to develop his own thoughts more than in the previous book. He certainly undergoes some major character growth, and I liked that he could rely on his family, but that he also found a family of his own with his friends.
The thing that I struggled with the most was the writing style. There’s no doubt that the author is a great writer, and that there were many amazing passages throughout this book, but I often felt like the way characters spoke didn’t feel realistic to me, and that some passages were just added in the book even though they didn’t necessarily make much sense within the context of a particular scene.
I do think that this is an important book because it touches on many important subjects. I also know that, while I only like the book, most people adore it, and I am clearly in the minority here.
Overall, while I don’t think this sequel was truly necessary, I did enjoy it more than the first book and I am glad I read it. These books mean the world to many people and for that alone I think everyone should read them. If you experience the same struggles that Ari and Dante do, perhaps you’ll see yourself reflected within these pages. If you don’t share their struggles, perhaps these books will open your eyes and teach you something valuable.
medium-paced