Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

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

74 reviews

simon_toast's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

I went to start this book expecting a simple coming of age romance. I was really wanting a book about trauma, sibling loss, and recovery. To my surprise I got just that. It was unexpected and gorgeous. The relationships between children and parents made me cry and the way it addressed memories and dreams warmed my heart. I am a library book person, but this will have to join my shelf. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Car accident, Violence, Alcohol, and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse, War, Violence, and Homophobia

Minor: Transphobia, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, and Addiction

roodborstje's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Hate crime, Transphobia, Violence, and Homophobia

Minor: Mental illness, Drug use, Medical content, Murder, Alcohol, Death, and War

buwubie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Misogyny, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Grief

bethsbooketlist's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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

So this was a birthday present from. @books_and_tea89 and has been on my wish list for a while. And it was everything I wanted it to be and more!

First thing you should know, this is extremely character driven, not plot driven. Its a slow burner of activity so if you like plenty of plot twists and action, this may not be for you. I am usually like that but these characters have been developed so exquisitely it absolutely didn't matter 

Ari and Dante are beautiful beautiful human beings inside and out, and I adored getting to know them and follow their journey. The story is told through Ari's eyes, and he is a complex, tender soul who captured my heart completely. I cried with him, I loved with him, I fought fiercely with him. I genuinely ached when reading this book, especially seeing Ari's relationship with his family change over time. To summarize key themes, I would say hope, teenage mentality of the time and unconditional love in its many forms 

I can't say much more without giving away anything, but for a spellbinding emotional read I urge you to pick up this gem. I only realised how much it had touched me once it had ended - I will be thinking about this book for a long long time

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Hate crime

Moderate: Bullying, Cultural appropriation, and Mental illness

Minor: Death

cookreadrepeat's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, War, Violence, Alcohol, Car accident, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy

bookswithlemon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident

Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Cursing

Minor: Transphobia

radhikag's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

5.0

I don’t even know what to say except that I love this book and I am a mess right now. Crying happy, beautiful, hopeful tears. What a treat to read this book and get to know and love Ari & Dante. Will absolutely be reading the sequel 🥰

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, War, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Car accident and Sexual content

Minor: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Transphobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Grief, and Sexual violence

alyssadavis's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-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

3.25

“When do we start feeling like the world belongs to us?”

I wanted to tell him that the world would never belong to us. “I don't know," I said. "Tomorrow."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness, Animal death, Car accident, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

Minor: Violence, Alcohol, Pregnancy, and Racism

luluslittlelibrary's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.75

This book was pretty good. I enjoyed the beginning of the book the most and wish that the first summer was written in more detail and in a slower pace so that I could have enjoyed it for longer. There were certain plot points that didn't feel very realistic and there were lots of holes that were simply jumped over. I think the author was trying to do too many things at once with this book and it would have been better if it took a slower pace. However, the characters were written wonderfully and they were what made me enjoy the book so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, and Pregnancy

Minor: Alcohol, Grief, and War

spoookycat's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Racism

Moderate: Hate crime, War, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal death, and Car accident

Minor: Mental illness and Alcohol