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Reviews tagging 'Death'
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
131 reviews
heavenssnat's review against another edition
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
5.0
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe has been my favourite book and my comfort book for so long. I absolutely loved the story and the flawed way the main character was thinking and I loved the focus on the characters.
This sequel is wonderful. Most of the book is Ari coming into himself, learning to accept love and parts of himself and getting to know his parents, really knowing them. He learns to love more openly, to let people in and to grow up. After reading three fourths of it I knew there was something incredibly heartbreaking coming. It was a bit predictable, I guessed what could've happened even just reading the synopsis, even though I hoped for the best. I cried a lot and was so sad, but the way it was handled was so beautiful. The author has a way of describing what it's like to deal with loss, in all it's different ways, and it's beautiful.
The ending was heartbreaking. Not in the way that I cried, but in a way that that was and still is the reality for people of the LGBTQ+ community. The uncertainty of our futures never really goes away.
I kind of hoped for an ending that wasn't left open like that, I kind of wanted it to be a closed and happy ending. But I know that that's just not the way this author writes. None of his books that I've read so far have had a very closed and specific ending. It's more like a "everything will be ok, life is scary, let's see where it takes us and enjoy it while we can".
I know that some of my thoughts on this book will change with time, just like they always do. But even though I was terrified of reading this, scared of it ruining the happiness the first book gave me, I am really happy that I read it.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz writes stories that are just so heartbreakingly beautiful.
This sequel is wonderful. Most of the book is Ari coming into himself, learning to accept love and parts of himself and getting to know his parents, really knowing them. He learns to love more openly, to let people in and to grow up. After reading three fourths of it I knew there was something incredibly heartbreaking coming. It was a bit predictable, I guessed what could've happened even just reading the synopsis, even though I hoped for the best. I cried a lot and was so sad, but the way it was handled was so beautiful. The author has a way of describing what it's like to deal with loss, in all it's different ways, and it's beautiful.
The ending was heartbreaking. Not in the way that I cried, but in a way that that was and still is the reality for people of the LGBTQ+ community. The uncertainty of our futures never really goes away.
I kind of hoped for an ending that wasn't left open like that, I kind of wanted it to be a closed and happy ending. But I know that that's just not the way this author writes. None of his books that I've read so far have had a very closed and specific ending. It's more like a "everything will be ok, life is scary, let's see where it takes us and enjoy it while we can".
I know that some of my thoughts on this book will change with time, just like they always do. But even though I was terrified of reading this, scared of it ruining the happiness the first book gave me, I am really happy that I read it.
Benjamin Alire Sáenz writes stories that are just so heartbreakingly beautiful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Racism
Minor: Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Bullying
Transphobia:hannahwillacy's review against another edition
emotional
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia, Violence, and Deadnaming
divaninoor's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Compared to the first book in the series, this is a lot more focused on Ari. While we can see his development and growth throughout the first novel (which continues in this one), Dante is rarely featured as more than just Ari’s boyfriend and he is often painted to be selfish, impatient, and bratty, which was 1) sad because that wasn’t what his character development was moving towards from the first book and 2) confusing because the audience just can’t figure out why they’re still together if he’s rarely featured. This book focuses a lot more on side characters in Ari’s life, some of which I think add a lot to the book and to Ari’s character and some of which just don’t.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia and Death
applebutter_and_pickles's review against another edition
emotional
funny
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
risisreading's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, Death, and Transphobia
jazzy_t's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
3.5
Really great book, with some beautiful thoughts and feeling within it. Written in such a metaphorical descriptive way which is great read. There were a couple of plot holes, where I became confused specifically the death of Rico which seemed to come from nowhere . There were also some parts where I felt I went a little far on content, specifically with some of the speaches the characters did within the book like with Cassandra's speach she basically outed Ari I felt . But overall a really nice book to read with some beautiful quotes and metaphors to take away with you after reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Racism and Transphobia
elli15's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
It made me cry so be warned
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Grief
ridesthesun's review against another edition
challenging
dark
hopeful
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
4.75
God what a beautiful story. Love in all it's many beautiful, messy forms. I want to give Ari the biggest hug on earth; it's what that boy deserves 🥺🥺🥺🥺
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Violence, and Racism
sophie42's review against another edition
emotional
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, and Homophobia
Moderate: Murder, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Vomit and Outing
anamars's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
it took me a long time to finish this book, but in the end i have to say i really liked how it turned out! ari and dante hold a special place in my heart and in my opinion the stronger topics discussed were well delivered and realistic, and important in lgbt history
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Death, and Death of parent