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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
ARISTOTELES Y DANTE DESCUBREN LOS SECRETOS DEL UNIVERSO by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
94 reviews
schivakumaran's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Grief, Car accident, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
greek_book_wanderer's review against another edition
- 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
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.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, and War
Minor: Drug abuse, Transphobia, and Car accident
nere's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
“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.
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Medical content, and Car accident
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: Animal death and War
ryankaybee's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
avriel212's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Hate crime and Homophobia
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Transphobia, Violence, and Car accident
Minor: Murder
tezariah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
vicgurd's review against another edition
- 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
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Car accident, and Murder
matheo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, and Alcohol
eyelash_0205's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Animal death, Homophobia, Violence, Car accident, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use
idajoh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
But the author is a transphobe so please do not support him<33 (I purchased my copy before I was aware of that)
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Transphobia, Medical content, Car accident, Toxic friendship, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Murder, and Alcohol