Reviews tagging 'Death'

Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

131 reviews

annesophie01's review against another edition

emotional inspiring sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Death

pkc's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

I fell in love with Ari and Dante when they set out to discover the secrets of the universe and I had measured hopes here. I’ve been burned when it comes to sequels that weren’t necessarily pre-planned and how they treat their characters and advance their story. This was equally wrenching and beautiful. There’s a fair amount of tragedy, and framing it in the context of the height it the AIDS pandemic grounded it in some much needed (albeit sobering) realism. This book is accessibly esoteric - grand thoughts that everyone can relate to but might not have the words to give context and light to. I certainly wouldn’t have the words or ability. The story ends definitively, but do I want a third instalment? You bet your sweet bippy I do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, Grief, Death of parent, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Transphobia

angietheace's review against another edition

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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Misogyny, Transphobia, Death, and Racism

Minor: Deadnaming

luisalovesbooks's review against another edition

adventurous 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: War

Minor: Homophobia, Murder, and Pandemic/Epidemic

cordiaelly'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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia

Moderate: Death

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!

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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

papaya_'s review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Death

finnsnotfinished's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia

Moderate: Death of parent and Death

Minor: Deadnaming

wallflovver's review against another edition

challenging 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? Yes

5.0

i always find my reviews for books i didn't like are much longer than for those i feel genuinely moved me

i loved this book so much and i find it so hard to write anything specific in a review.. but this ari and dante have been the only thing on my mind lately and i don't see myself moving on from them for a while

when i finished this, i just in floods of tears. this sounds so dramatic but i genuinely feel changed.. 

i know i will be returning to these books again and again

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, War, Death, and Death of parent

nick13's review against another edition

emotional slow-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

Whenever I found out that a sequel to the first book existed I was extremely skeptical whether or not it needed one but after reading this, I can say without a doubt it did, or well it didn't really but I'm glad it does. Usually I don't care for sequels if the first story wraps everything up as they are usually lazy cash grabs but this one is nothing of the sort. Using all of the character growth and development in the precious story, this one takes the idea of growing up and expounds upon it, showing how growing up from a kid to an adult is so much more nuanced than most think and shows how people are forever growing and developing through their own experiences and the others around them. With all this being said, what I'm really trying to get to is that this book is incredibly well written with lines that I'll think about for years to come and has a story and characters that in some aspects are even better than the first one. While I cannot say this one is better objectively from the first book due to a little bit of a lackluster ending in my view, this book seemingly had a much more profound impact on me as a person than the last one or even most books I read do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, and Death