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Reviews tagging 'Animal death'
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
91 reviews
marla_a's review
- 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
Graphic: Car accident, Hate crime, Outing, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Homophobia
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Hate crime, War, Death, Drug use, and Grief
triangular_pascal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Animal death, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical content, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Cursing, War, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Violence
hexa's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Transphobia, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Murder
jasmineslibraryy'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Car accident
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Medical content, Animal cruelty, Blood, Violence, and War
Minor: Outing and Deportation
adam_ski'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
4.75
An absolutely a beautifully written story that follows the protagonist through his journey of life and the valauble lessons he learns on his way to find the greatest mystery of the universe.
Graphic: Homophobia, Car accident, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Violence, Bullying, and Medical trauma
Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Murder, and Animal death
Mostly appropriate with some key elements of the story potentially triggering - including a car crash and physical abuse (caused by homophobia). A side character also suffers from trauma after a war. Also includes some minor mentions of drug use, alcohol consumption, the death of an animal, and a mention of a murder that happened years before the story begins. The story is on the whole happy and hopeful, albiet not appropriate for some.bookmark3brodi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Car accident, Bullying, Murder, Animal death, Grief, Homophobia, and Outing
anxieteaandbiscuits12'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Mental illness, Alcohol, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Outing, Death, Blood, Medical trauma, Murder, and Body horror
Minor: Animal death and Bullying
schivakumaran's review
- 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, Car accident, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Death, Cursing, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime
greek_book_wanderer's review
- 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 death, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Hate crime, War, and Death
Minor: Car accident, Drug abuse, and Transphobia
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: Violence, Car accident, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Medical content
Moderate: Death and Murder
Minor: War and Animal death