Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: Tenth Anniversary Edition by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

73 reviews

siestudygirl's review against another edition

Go to review page

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

3.25

This book definitely holds impact, not just during its time of publication, but to present day. I received this book as part of a book swap, and I was stoked to dive into it! I liked how each character had their respective flaws that didn't make them unlikable. However, although I definitely picked up on the plot, I did not like some of the pacing. Nor was the writing style (consistent, short, blunt sentences) totally my speed. In fact, only when there was some kind of confession did the writing style change. 
Overall, this is a good book! But some of the pacing and writing didn't really help with engagement. 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

marla_a's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

brianna_reading5's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

hello_lovely13's review

Go to review page

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

4.25

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

solo_shelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

I stopped reading this last year bc I didn’t like the writing style and Aristotle was so depressing, it felt like looking at a mirror and … that was not good for me at the time lol. 

I picked it up again bc the book has been sitting on my bedside table and I wanted to get rid of my TBR alphabetically.

 Giiiiiirl.

Me realizing that the writing style is either fanfic-y and/or like my stream of consciousness: 👁️👄👁️
And although sometimes Aristotle is funny and relatable, I definitely started pushing myself around pg 170 and started skipping whole paragraphs to try to finish. Aristotle is very relatable to me and it absolutely makes me #depressed bc it was too close for comfort. 

I know lots of people liked this book, and I kept pushing myself bc I wanted to see what happened between the boys but… once I noticed that I was skipping so much and not  attention, I just had to stop :/
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

barbarella85's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful sad slow-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

3.5

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny reflective tense 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

3.5

The plot was nice but the pacing was too slow and the writing style was confusing at times.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings

corvoid's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

cglharmony's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

anxieteaandbiscuits12's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny 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

4.25

I did enjoy the book overall but I did find it a little difficult to get into for the first 100 pages, but that could be because this had been sitting on my shelf for about a year before I made myself read it, I felt that the beginning was quite slow and a little repetitive as we were introduced to Dante and Ari’s friendship, thought the characters were established quite well. I did struggle with the time transition between sections and sometimes having to double check who was speaking during long periods of dialog. However, after a ‘incident in the rain’ I found that both grew a little more and matured and I found it easier to invest myself in the book and by the end I was wishing I had brought the sequel so I could read more about Ari and Dante’s new relationship as it was such a beautifully written transition and I loved how the change between relationships was written.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings