Scan barcode
Reviews tagging 'Racial slurs'
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
22 reviews
sammymilfort's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Vomit, Bullying, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Medical content, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Car accident
I love Ari and Dante so much! I am conflicted how I feel because this series and story means so much to me, and it felt like a 5 star to me. Ari’s growth was so beautiful to see. Benjamin’s writing will always tug at my heartrings At the same time, I understand there is a nuance and problematic aspects to these characters that make it questionable and uncomfortable for people to read To me Ari and Dante are imperfect people who can learn from their views and our curious about the world I wish Saènez took from a note of compassion and love that he imposed on his characters into his own world view. The hate he has shown towards the trans/gender nonconforming community is honestly unacceptable and goes against many of the themes he writes about in his book. I am not part of this community but I stand with the community, who has given this author many chances to change or apologize and learn from his behavior, but he has shown no heart to some of the harmful damage he has has done After this I am no longer reading any books by this authorsundayfever's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
5.0
I don't normally rate the second book in a series higher than the first. But this one really dives in and tackles grief, racism and homophobia in deep ways. A beautiful story about how friendship and love can save people.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Homophobia
Moderate: Transphobia, Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism
esme_28's review
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
marisasbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, and Death of parent
a_sleepy_berry's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
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
3.75
The writing style still annoyed me but it felt a lot smoother than the previous book. Also Ari and Dante are so adorable together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, War, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Murder, and Transphobia
Minor: Outing and Panic attacks/disorders
kriti's review against another edition
reflective
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Deadnaming, and Homophobia
diana_raquel's review against another edition
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.
"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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Hate crime, Outing, Transphobia, War, and Mental illness
forrestalexander's review against another edition
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Homophobia, Grief, and Transphobia
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Minor: Deadnaming
babsi_222's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Finally done with this book and i have to say one thing: I loved ‚Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe‘ I really did. But after reading the sequel, this book- and not really liking and enjoying it, I don’t think I can like the first book as much anymore. I’m sorry for it.
Maybe you ask yourself why I didn’t enjoy reading this book?
- While I like lots of sentences and chapters of the book, so many words/sentences and topics where frequently repeated but not in a new breeze kind of way which made the book bland and uninteresting to read for me. I wanted to scream „YES I KNOW THAT AND HE DOES TOO BECAUSE Y‘ALL TALKED ABOUT IT 400 TIMES ALREADY AND IRL YOU CAN IDC BUT IT‘S SO BORING TO READ UGHHHHH“ but I just said it in my head.
- I don’t need to hear „Ari, when have you become a man?“ or „Ari you‘ve changed“ from every person he meets.
-btw the book has no plot whatsoever and it only contains moments where one of the characters says something intelectual and the other say „how are you so sophisticated?“ and then the talk about the word sophisticated.
- the dialogue writing is incredibly unrealistic. Nobody would say these things at once.
- i saw someone else’s review and they said how much they hated the word „gay“ just being thrown around. I know what they mean because you don’t get one conversation without a „because I‘m gay(?)“. It seems like the author, Benjamin thinks Ari‘s only personal trait is being gay. The whole racism, homophobia, talking about that and about AIDS, queer stereotypes and gender and sexuality-Problem in this book would be too much for me to try and write it out here. But i can so much day that it’s not great at all but you can read @kthedestroyer‘s review and opinion which is veryyyyy similar to mine and where they covered these topics.
Maybe you ask yourself why I didn’t enjoy reading this book?
- While I like lots of sentences and chapters of the book, so many words/sentences and topics where frequently repeated but not in a new breeze kind of way which made the book bland and uninteresting to read for me. I wanted to scream „YES I KNOW THAT AND HE DOES TOO BECAUSE Y‘ALL TALKED ABOUT IT 400 TIMES ALREADY AND IRL YOU CAN IDC BUT IT‘S SO BORING TO READ UGHHHHH“ but I just said it in my head.
- I don’t need to hear „Ari, when have you become a man?“ or „Ari you‘ve changed“ from every person he meets.
-btw the book has no plot whatsoever and it only contains moments where one of the characters says something intelectual and the other say „how are you so sophisticated?“ and then the talk about the word sophisticated.
- the dialogue writing is incredibly unrealistic. Nobody would say these things at once.
- i saw someone else’s review and they said how much they hated the word „gay“ just being thrown around. I know what they mean because you don’t get one conversation without a „because I‘m gay(?)“. It seems like the author, Benjamin thinks Ari‘s only personal trait is being gay. The whole racism, homophobia, talking about that and about AIDS, queer stereotypes and gender and sexuality-Problem in this book would be too much for me to try and write it out here. But i can so much day that it’s not great at all but you can read @kthedestroyer‘s review and opinion which is veryyyyy similar to mine and where they covered these topics.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Violence, and War
bookswithlauren's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
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? No
4.5
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and I have seen some people saying this sequel was unnecessary, however, I really enjoyed this addition and I think it gave us much more of a story. I even think their could be a third book too! I listened to this book on audio as I did with the first and I really do believe it gave me a much better connection with the characters than if I was reading it myself.
Like the first book, we tackle so many real life problems in this book! Figuring out who you are in this world is definitely the main theme of this book series but in this sequel, we delve family dynamics, importance of friendships and navigating a relationship in your teens much more. The characters of Ari and Dante are so beautifully written that I felt a connection with them instantaneously. Their thoughts, feelings, life experiences are so relatable and raw that it really touches the reader, especially if they have similar experiences. I adore both boys' families and they really bring a sense of hope and love to the story.
Similarly to the first book, the only thing I wish was different was how fast paced the ending of the book was. I feel it would have been much better if it was a little more paced out. I do hope we get a third book because I do feel the story ended quite suddenly when there was more to explore.
Like the first book, we tackle so many real life problems in this book! Figuring out who you are in this world is definitely the main theme of this book series but in this sequel, we delve family dynamics, importance of friendships and navigating a relationship in your teens much more. The characters of Ari and Dante are so beautifully written that I felt a connection with them instantaneously. Their thoughts, feelings, life experiences are so relatable and raw that it really touches the reader, especially if they have similar experiences. I adore both boys' families and they really bring a sense of hope and love to the story.
Similarly to the first book, the only thing I wish was different was how fast paced the ending of the book was. I feel it would have been much better if it was a little more paced out. I do hope we get a third book because I do feel the story ended quite suddenly when there was more to explore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Transphobia