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Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'
Aristotle e Dante si immergono nelle acque del mondo by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
386 reviews
ernestoittig's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.75
The Aristotle and Dante series is a story about love, apart from being a love story.
I loved this book so much. From the beginning I clocked it as a great work. I think it took me so long to finish it because I struggled to be in the right environment to emotionally take it all in; and also because I didn't want it to end :p.
I somehow enjoyed this one even more than the first one. It may be because I read this one in the original English while the first one was a translation. But--and this is pure speculation--I believe that the success of the first book may have freed Alire Sáenz's prose in a way, gave him licence to write as he pleased, so to speak. This book felt like an essay into the more poetical aspects of literary expression, a rejection of the cheap and rote slop of contemporary YA "literature"; a very welcome breath of fresh air.
As for its plot and themes, I found them to be very profound and touching. I saw myself in the characters in this book in ways I haven't in a work of fiction for quite some time. The circumstances of the protagonist and mine are very similar in many ways, but I think anyone with a kind soul will see themselves in the main characters. I found its setting very pertinent to today; it is nice to see how far we've progressed on Queer liberation in such a short time, but also useful to find parallels between the struggles our elders experienced and the issues we are facing today. It has been a while since I read a work marked as YA fiction that had something to say, some kind of statement to make, however uncontroversial it may be.
I think often LGBT novels are pigeonholed into being simple permutations of the same fanfic tropes (but hey one of the dudes is Puerto Rican and also Catholic but like, progressive about it. Diversity win!), and that's fine if you want to pass the time. But sometimes one wants to read something more profound and less hand-holdy. But often these stories are not made as visible by publishers and the god-forsaken social medias. I am very glad to see this series receive the recognition it deserves.
To close, this is a very good story. One that won't leave my mind for a long time. A true coming-of-age story, but like, good instead of boring. Very narratively capable, held up until the very end, digestible, and lovable. I don't give it 5 stars only because I reserve that status for true literary masterpieces, but it is genuinely one of the best books I've ever read and has great personal significance
I loved this book so much. From the beginning I clocked it as a great work. I think it took me so long to finish it because I struggled to be in the right environment to emotionally take it all in; and also because I didn't want it to end :p.
I somehow enjoyed this one even more than the first one. It may be because I read this one in the original English while the first one was a translation. But--and this is pure speculation--I believe that the success of the first book may have freed Alire Sáenz's prose in a way, gave him licence to write as he pleased, so to speak. This book felt like an essay into the more poetical aspects of literary expression, a rejection of the cheap and rote slop of contemporary YA "literature"; a very welcome breath of fresh air.
As for its plot and themes, I found them to be very profound and touching. I saw myself in the characters in this book in ways I haven't in a work of fiction for quite some time. The circumstances of the protagonist and mine are very similar in many ways, but I think anyone with a kind soul will see themselves in the main characters. I found its setting very pertinent to today; it is nice to see how far we've progressed on Queer liberation in such a short time, but also useful to find parallels between the struggles our elders experienced and the issues we are facing today. It has been a while since I read a work marked as YA fiction that had something to say, some kind of statement to make, however uncontroversial it may be.
I think often LGBT novels are pigeonholed into being simple permutations of the same fanfic tropes (but hey one of the dudes is Puerto Rican and also Catholic but like, progressive about it. Diversity win!), and that's fine if you want to pass the time. But sometimes one wants to read something more profound and less hand-holdy. But often these stories are not made as visible by publishers and the god-forsaken social medias. I am very glad to see this series receive the recognition it deserves.
To close, this is a very good story. One that won't leave my mind for a long time. A true coming-of-age story, but like, good instead of boring. Very narratively capable, held up until the very end, digestible, and lovable. I don't give it 5 stars only because I reserve that status for true literary masterpieces, but it is genuinely one of the best books I've ever read and has great personal significance
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, and Murder
Minor: War
katypotaty0908's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Transphobia and Murder
soph05's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Racism
erikagibson126's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
perleerose's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-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
4.25
What really made this book for me was all the side characters, I loved seeing them all change and shift as they formed this little friend group. The ending did feel a bit rushed and doesn’t give me any sense of closure. I am glad I finally got around to reading it.
‘My love for him is silent. There are a thousand things living in that silence.’
‘My love for him is silent. There are a thousand things living in that silence.’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Homophobia, and Racism
angievansprang's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
3.0
This was cute, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as the first book. I felt like the writing was not as compelling and the plot felt disjointed at times. I had a hard time following conversations and many of the major plot elements felt extremely abrupt. I felt that there was little to no flow between chapters in this edition. And god how I HATE a third act breakup!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy
sadie_g's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.75
This book is simply gorgeous. It made me cry and smile so much.
I love the emphasis on friendships and all the types of love someone can have. And Ari and Dante’s love is beautiful.
I love the emphasis on friendships and all the types of love someone can have. And Ari and Dante’s love is beautiful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Transphobia and Murder
tbrxinfinity'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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Homophobia
marker_yippee's review against another edition
challenging
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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism and Transphobia
adisiki's review against another edition
4.0
Another very cute story! This one got a little too heavy-handed with the messaging and the poetic language for my taste, it just got to an unrealistic point where people don’t actually talk like that in real life. But I appreciate tackling topics like racism and homophobia in fiction, particularly young adult fiction, and the characters are so sweet and so high school. I thought it was a good sequel, maybe just a bit too long.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Grief, and Death of parent