Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

34 reviews

chris_reads's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, and Racism

Minor: Terminal illness, Deadnaming, and Religious bigotry

kaitfaye1's review

emotional informative inspiring

• 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Transphobia and Religious bigotry

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.

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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

heavenssnat's review

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? Yes

5.0

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe has been my favourite book and my comfort book for so long. I absolutely loved the story and the flawed way the main character was thinking and I loved the focus on the characters. 

This sequel is wonderful. Most of the book is Ari coming into himself, learning to accept love and parts of himself and getting to know his parents, really knowing them. He learns to love more openly, to let people in and to grow up. After reading three fourths of it I knew there was something incredibly heartbreaking coming. It was a bit predictable, I guessed what could've happened even just reading the synopsis, even though I hoped for the best. I cried a lot and was so sad, but the way it was handled was so beautiful. The author has a way of describing what it's like to deal with loss, in all it's different ways, and it's beautiful.

The ending was heartbreaking. Not in the way that I cried, but in a way that that was and still is the reality for people of the LGBTQ+ community. The uncertainty of our futures never really goes away.

I kind of hoped for an ending that wasn't left open like that, I kind of wanted it to be a closed and happy ending. But I know that that's just not the way this author writes. None of his books that I've read so far have had a very closed and specific ending. It's more like a "everything will be ok, life is scary, let's see where it takes us and enjoy it while we can". 

I know that some of my thoughts on this book will change with time, just like they always do. But even though I was terrified of reading this, scared of it ruining the happiness the first book gave me, I am really happy that I read it.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz writes stories that are just so heartbreakingly beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia, Deadnaming, and Bullying

Transphobia:

Ari reflects on the trans woman his brother murdered, even corrects his thinking of her as a "transvestite prostitute". Usage of he/him pronouns for the dead person, as well as deadnaming (there is no record of her chosen name). Visits her grave.

applebutter_and_pickles's review

emotional funny 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Violence, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, and Religious bigotry

headachesince03's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• 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? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, and Violence

lunep's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Homophobia, Bullying, and Violence

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Pregnancy

Minor: Outing, Domestic abuse, Murder, War, Sexual content, and Death

hapalyn's review

emotional funny inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Cursing, and Racism

Minor: Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Murder, Sexism, and Transphobia

notthatlibrarian's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Like a love letter from a queer elder to queer youth. It's not perfect, but it is beautiful.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Transphobia, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Deadnaming

Moderate: Racism and Religious bigotry

kyrstin_p1989's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

Aristotle and Dante give me hope, make me laugh, make me cry. Rarely does an author so clearly understand and intimately describe what it means to be human and more importantly, what it means to love and be loved. This book made me feel so many things. I can’t express how important this book is — for so many people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Outing, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, and War