Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Aristotle e Dante si immergono nelle acque del mondo by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

254 reviews

eveofthestars's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful 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'm so sad I finished this book and yet I didn't want to put it down. I flew through this book, I read it in one weekend and throughout it I thought: "I want to read this book forever, I don't want to do anything else and above all I don't want it to end." I don't think I'll ever find books as beautiful as these, that speak to me in such a way. I could praise the writing for days — you can feel the poet in Sáenz and it's part of what makes these books so gorgeous. I'm so happy to see the journey Ari went through, with all its hardships, and the person he's becoming. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go grieve the fact that there're no more books in the series.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

Moderate: War, Transphobia, and Violence

Minor: Sexual content

heidipretzel's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Racism

Moderate: Death of parent, Bullying, and Alcohol

Minor: Transphobia, Violence, and Deadnaming

d00rframe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny relaxing tense 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

4.5

I love this book!! its so sad yet comforting? highly recommend 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Grief, Cursing, Abandonment, Death of parent, Homophobia, Dysphoria, and Bullying

Moderate: Violence, Transphobia, Murder, Hate crime, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, and Gun violence

kjm9773'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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Cursing, Homophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Racism

Minor: Murder, Suicide, and Transphobia

sammymilfort's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Vomit, Bullying, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Medical content, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Car accident

I love Ari and Dante so much! I am conflicted how I feel because this series and story means so much to me, and it felt like a 5 star to me. Ari’s growth was so beautiful to see. Benjamin’s writing will always tug at my heartrings At the same time, I understand there is a nuance and problematic aspects to these characters that make it questionable and uncomfortable for people to read To me Ari and Dante are imperfect people who can learn from their views and our curious about the world I wish Saènez took from a note of compassion and love that he imposed on his characters into his own world view. The hate he has shown towards the trans/gender nonconforming community is honestly unacceptable and goes against many of the themes he writes about in his book. I am not part of this community but I stand with the community, who has given this author many chances to change or apologize and learn from his behavior, but he has shown no heart to some of the harmful damage he has has done After this I am no longer reading any books by this author

yasidiaz'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

Ari and Dante are another pair that has made a permanent home in my heart, and I can't be mad about it. 

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe will forever be my favorite one between both books, but this sequel is so much more than I could have asked for. I cried so much with this book, perhaps more than the first one. Seeing the internal struggles of Ari, especially while being a gay teen at the height of the AIDS pandemic, broke me but felt necessary. 

I love the way we see Ari grow, how he matures as a person, and how he learns to love himself and be loved. I love the emphasis that just because he and Dante love each other, doesn't mean they are or have to be perfect, that they will always be learning and growing as men. And as much as I love romance, I love a story that puts as much emphasis on the friendships and familial relationships, as much or more than the romantic ones.

Most importantly, the love their parents had for Ari and Dante will always be dear to me. I am glad this never turned into a story where the gay kids had to deal with homophobic parents. Those things happen and we have many stories touching those lived experiences. But the reminder that not every parent, even in the 80's, is going to turn their back on their children is revolutionary. And as a Latine person, who had to grow up with media portraying Latine parents as unsupportive and downright abusive, representation like this is even more needed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Death of parent

Moderate: Transphobia

jnreads's review against another edition

challenging tense slow-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness and Death of parent

Moderate: Transphobia

delisouseyelids's review against another edition

emotional 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Misogyny, Violence, War, Alcohol, Car accident, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Child death, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Grief, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Transphobia, and Cursing

kristin_kk05's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia and Homophobia

wiktoria_bojda's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Pandemic/Epidemic, Xenophobia, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia