Reviews with content warning for Religious bigotry - Aristotle e Dante si immergono nelle acque del mondo

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Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

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

36 reviews

preciouslittleingenue's review against another edition

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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

How I loved this. I don’t know what it was about the graduation speech but it had me crying. I really loved Cassandra’s character, and her speech was just so powerful. The part where she made everyone hold hands and said that they were all human beings really got me. Wow. I loved watching Ari make friends with those girls and watching their friendship grow. If last book was the “Ari learns to be part of a family” book, this was the “Ari learns to be part of a friend group” book. And I just loved it. The young man who Ari helped come out at the graduation party also had me tearing up. Ari’s principal not caring about what he found in his journal was so moving too. That’s what really struck me about both of these books: there is so much goodness in this world. And I suppose that means THE world. Because it’s not like this is set in an alternate reality. It’s really hard to forget that fact, what with all of the horrid things you see online or in person even. The ones that carry that hatred just get more and more bold. But there was SO much more love and acceptance in these books than there was homophobia. And I really, really would like to believe that that’s true in real life too. I’m very grateful to have read these books. Thank you, Sáenz.

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nikexistiertnik's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

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

first of all, i am happy i read this book, and i am happy it exists.
i loved ari's personal development - seeing him evolve, build friendships, open up for love, made me very happy, especially the relationship he came to have with his father and his mother.

meeting bernardo was one thing i had really hoped would happen in the first book, so i was excited that it finally happened now; and while i appreciated that it wasn't a fantasy meeting and that he wasn't suddenly a wonderful and misunderstood man - because sometimes people we used to love turn out to be horrible and memories can't change that -, i was really uncomfortable with how mentions of his victim were handled. i understand why bernardo would misgender her, but i really don't get why it would be necessary to mention her deadname and then have ari misgender her afterwards.

this sequel also made dante feel more human and less idealised, but i still would have wanted more of his perspective, he feels like such a slippery and blurry character to me, regardless of all the flaws and mannerisms we learn about.
although i appreciated a lot of the topics that played parts in the story, like the aids pandemic or the impact the vietnam war had on veterans etc., it seemed rushed, like there was just too much content for this book, while also being very repetitive.
as a result, i feel like waters of the world could be 150 pages shorter, but at the same time it could discuss and deal with its topics for another 150 pages - the balance is just kinda off.
the ending is another example for that; i feel like it could've been cut short

and had them be broken up, because that's what happens with teenage relationships and there's no shame in that

or it could've been explored in greater length

and had them have better communication etc.

overall, i enjoyed the writing - even though there were kind of a lot of errors that could've been avoided by reading over it one more time - and the relationships ari was able to build over the course of the book. i couldn't fully get lost in the story, but i did feel with him, i did relate to lots of his thoughts, and i appreciated some of the political content that was brought up.
it was just not exactly what it could've been.

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chris_reads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.25

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kaitfaye1's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring

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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diana_raquel's review against another edition

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emotional 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

2.75

*2.75 stars*

"I thought he was only going to teach me how to swim in the waters of this swimming pool. Instead, he taught me how to dive into the waters of life"

I really wanted to like this. When I read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, I knew I was going to love that book from the first paragraph. This one? Not so much.

Thematically speaking, this book follows the same themes that its predecessor, which makes sense, since this is a sequel. We continue to see the internal struggles of the characters regarding heritage, friendship, their relationship with family, the future, and their sexuality. In a few ways, this book, just like its predecessor, challenges the notions that society has about ethnicity, family, friendship, and love but, most importantly, it challenges the idea of what makes and means to be a man.

So, if this is a continuation of a story that I absolutely adored, why this rating? Well, this is why coming-of-age stories shouldn't have a sequel. At least, in my opinion. Because, how do you follow that? With another coming-of-age story? Haven't the characters come of age, yet? Look, I understand, the first book left enough space for more character development. And, for the most part, there's strong character development in this book. The problem? If the first book was the most perfect movie ever made in Hollywood, this was the cheap Walmart version. It's boring. I only enjoyed the last 30% of the book. And, honestly, I didn't like the ending.

I think that Ari and Dante shouldn't have gotten together in Paris. I think it would make more sense, within the setting of a coming-of-age story, when the character is clearly entering a new phase in their life. Yes, it's cute and romantic! And also predictable. And boring.

I absolutely recommend the first book. This one not so much. It's boring. It tries to capture the essence of the first one but it fails. I'm only giving a 2.75-star rating because I do recognize the strong character development.

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heavenssnat's review against another edition

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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.

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