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Reviews tagging 'Death'
ARISTOTELES Y DANTE DESCUBREN LOS SECRETOS DEL UNIVERSO by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
177 reviews
twelve_taco'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? Yes
5.0
Absolutely loved this book! First time in a long time I felt like I couldn’t put a story down. The main characters were sad, and cute, and authentic, and awkward, and lovable; but above all, hopeful. Would read this again and highly recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, War, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Grief and Injury/Injury detail
nenya's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I must say, as a total, this book was somewhat of a disappointment. It tackled teenage confusion, angst and the journey of sexual discovery but in a - to me - not very groundbreaking way. Rather, most of the time it felt insufferably basic and like I‘d read and seen pretty much exactly that before (which is kind of the case). Furthermore, I mostly disliked the writing style because to me, it made the impression of wanting to be edgy or alternative but just ending up being boring. It also made me feel quite detached from the story (I recognize that this was done on purpose to properly show Ari’s way of thinking and well… it is first person narration after all so that is overall a good thing but in this case, it just didn’t quite work for me most of the time) However, I wouldn’t say that this is a bad book - for one I believe that my expectations were set a bit too high (after all, not every popular book is something for everyone) and I might quite simply be older than the target audience, plus I think there were some things done and represented very well. The relationships Ari and Dante have with their parents for example - they are each uniquely different but yet the same in the sense that these children experience immense parental love and a generally healthy relationship with their parents and are furthermore able to recognize this and reciprocate - which I think is very beautiful and also new to read about, since a good parent-son relationship is not very often written about in coming of age or YA pieces of fiction. It also showed parents as people with their flaws and traumas and how it is a part of growing up to stop idealizing one’s parents and instead seeing them for who they are.
I also liked reading about the Mexican-American experiences of the two (however, I as a non-Mexican am not qualified to judge about how well this was done. Since the author himself is Latino, I imagine it to be quite authentic and hopefully relatable to a certain audience), because this once again seems generally under-represented in YA fiction. I also have to admit, despite the (for me) unappealing writing and narration style, the characters - and I mean each of them, even the dog (who has my whole heart btw) most definitely have a lot depth, authenticity, show flaws as well as growth and courage. The ending (which I won’t spoil here) also seemed very fitting and I actually liked it a lot more than the rest of the book. Once again, this isn’t a bad or superficial book but it just didn’t really catch me - I think I‘d recommend this to people between the age of 14 and 16/17 (and I mean, everyone is different, so I wouldn’t exclude people older than that, but as someone who is older, it didn’t seem like quite the right book)
I also liked reading about the Mexican-American experiences of the two (however, I as a non-Mexican am not qualified to judge about how well this was done. Since the author himself is Latino, I imagine it to be quite authentic and hopefully relatable to a certain audience), because this once again seems generally under-represented in YA fiction. I also have to admit, despite the (for me) unappealing writing and narration style, the characters - and I mean each of them, even the dog (who has my whole heart btw) most definitely have a lot depth, authenticity, show flaws as well as growth and courage. The ending (which I won’t spoil here) also seemed very fitting and I actually liked it a lot more than the rest of the book. Once again, this isn’t a bad or superficial book but it just didn’t really catch me - I think I‘d recommend this to people between the age of 14 and 16/17 (and I mean, everyone is different, so I wouldn’t exclude people older than that, but as someone who is older, it didn’t seem like quite the right book)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Drug use, Dysphoria, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Violence
Moderate: War, Murder, Medical content, Death, and Cursing
a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
tense
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
3.5
The plot was nice but the pacing was too slow and the writing style was confusing at times.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual content, Drug use, Medical trauma, Violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Death and Adult/minor relationship
anxieteaandbiscuits12's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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
4.25
I did enjoy the book overall but I did find it a little difficult to get into for the first 100 pages, but that could be because this had been sitting on my shelf for about a year before I made myself read it, I felt that the beginning was quite slow and a little repetitive as we were introduced to Dante and Ari’s friendship, thought the characters were established quite well. I did struggle with the time transition between sections and sometimes having to double check who was speaking during long periods of dialog. However, after a ‘incident in the rain’ I found that both grew a little more and matured and I found it easier to invest myself in the book and by the end I was wishing I had brought the sequel so I could read more about Ari and Dante’s new relationship as it was such a beautifully written transition and I loved how the change between relationships was written.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Mental illness, Alcohol, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Outing, Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Body horror
Minor: Animal death and Bullying
schivakumaran's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.0
Adored this book to my core. Absolutely divine read. The characters feel so real and true and the honest portrayal of growing up into adulthood and the challenges young people face was artfully done. This book dealt with very heavy subjects in such a realistic and compassionate loving way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Death, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime
greek_book_wanderer's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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
4.5
This novel managed to capture my heart. I read it in less than 24 hours and from the first page, I knew that I would like it.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book tackles various themes, like family dynamics, ethnicity and identity. I expected to read a novel that would focus more on the romantic aspect of the book, but it was more complicted than that. The relationship between the two protagonists and their parents was an aspect of the book that I liked. While Dante's relationship with his parents is more open, Ari's relationship with his parents is more complicated, especially with his father who is “inscrutable” and he deals with his own demons. Their parents are by no means perfect, but they love them and their support was so heartwarming. It's really important to see parents who accept their children the way they are and they continue to love them no matter what.
I became very attached to Aristotle and Dante and I enjoyed seeing their growth, especially Ari's and their relationship's progress. I liked Ari as a character, he is very complicated and throughout the book, he was feeling self-doupt and was struggling with his feelings. In the end, he managed to explore them and discover himself and I felt really proud for him.
The writing was simple, quotable and sweet. I enjoyed the dialogues and I found it cute that sometimes Ari and Dante repeated the phrase the other said. Due to the writing and the short chapters, the book was very fast paced and I could hardly put it down.
However, even though I loved the book, I didn't feel like giving it 5 stars. As much as I enjoyed the writing, sometimes it was too repetitive and some dialogues were kinda dull. In some conversations between them, the characters seemed like robots when they communcated with each other and that made the dialogues seem unrealistic. In some chapters, the plot seemed messy and all over the place. I got the impression that the author wasn't sure about what he would write about and sometimes the book would get from one topic to another in a very sudden way. But my main issue was the ending. While I was reading the last chapters, I couldn't help but think that the plot was rushed. There was room for more development and the way Ari realised his feelings was very absurd.I didn't like it that his parents had to point out that he was in love with Dante in order to realise his real feelings for him. That was really undeveloped and I'm not gonna lie, I was disappointed to see that. I still liked the way the book ended and I teared up during the last page.
In my opinion, this novel can be loved by young and older people. It's touching and I believe that many people will connect with it. It's perfect, but it's still a book that can make many people come in terms with their sexuality or identity.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that the book tackles various themes, like family dynamics, ethnicity and identity. I expected to read a novel that would focus more on the romantic aspect of the book, but it was more complicted than that. The relationship between the two protagonists and their parents was an aspect of the book that I liked. While Dante's relationship with his parents is more open, Ari's relationship with his parents is more complicated, especially with his father who is “inscrutable” and he deals with his own demons. Their parents are by no means perfect, but they love them and their support was so heartwarming. It's really important to see parents who accept their children the way they are and they continue to love them no matter what.
I became very attached to Aristotle and Dante and I enjoyed seeing their growth, especially Ari's and their relationship's progress. I liked Ari as a character, he is very complicated and throughout the book, he was feeling self-doupt and was struggling with his feelings. In the end, he managed to explore them and discover himself and I felt really proud for him.
The writing was simple, quotable and sweet. I enjoyed the dialogues and I found it cute that sometimes Ari and Dante repeated the phrase the other said. Due to the writing and the short chapters, the book was very fast paced and I could hardly put it down.
However, even though I loved the book, I didn't feel like giving it 5 stars. As much as I enjoyed the writing, sometimes it was too repetitive and some dialogues were kinda dull. In some conversations between them, the characters seemed like robots when they communcated with each other and that made the dialogues seem unrealistic. In some chapters, the plot seemed messy and all over the place. I got the impression that the author wasn't sure about what he would write about and sometimes the book would get from one topic to another in a very sudden way. But my main issue was the ending. While I was reading the last chapters, I couldn't help but think that the plot was rushed. There was room for more development and the way Ari realised his feelings was very absurd.
In my opinion, this novel can be loved by young and older people. It's touching and I believe that many people will connect with it. It's perfect, but it's still a book that can make many people come in terms with their sexuality or identity.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Hate crime, War, and Death
Minor: Car accident, Drug abuse, and Transphobia
livinpoetry's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Such a beautifully written book with characters that make you reminisce on growing into your own identity. These two boys each are beautiful characters that show you so much of humanity and how society is meant to be built on true relationships.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Minor: Death
nere's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Saturday, August 13, 2022 (Reread)
“Sometimes I thought that being fifteen was the worst tragedy of all.”
Ari and Dante are two Mexican-American boys navigating teenage-hood. It’s a quiet simmering novel. To pick this up means you’re peering into the mind of a boy in the suburbs, a stream of consciousness of sorts. And it is equal parts introspective, light-hearted, elusive, and devastating. Mind you, not devastating in all the ways queer people are all too familiar with. It’s devastating because it sees you, it understands you, and it aches because it’s nothing you’ve ever felt before. At least, that’s the only way I can rationalize why I end up in snot-filled disgusting tears every time I finally finish this book. Its chapters are short and its prose is quip to match.
Ari is as insular and alone and freedom-seeking as one constantly is in the gripes of young adulthood. It’s one of the few novels I feel capture this feeling so perfectly. The anguished and flighty hormonal mood swings, mixed in with the specific flavor of repression you experience as a gay teenager. I’m admittedly wary of the sequel since nothing I feel can rival this. Nonetheless, its existence doesn’t change the fact that I’ll always have this warm little moment with Ari and Dante to go back to whenever I so choose. I love it I love it I love it I cherish it. To read this is to peer into my soul just a little bit—it's a looking glass. It reminds me to be kind to what I see.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Car accident, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Medical content
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: War and Animal death
purplepenning's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, War, Violence, Racial slurs, Grief, Racism, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty and Cancer
matheo's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Hate crime, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Grief, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, War, Body horror, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Animal death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Drug use