Reviews with content warning for Transphobia - Aristóteles e Dante Mergulham nas Águas do Mundo

Reviews tagging 'Transphobia'

Aristóteles e Dante Mergulham nas Águas do Mundo by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

254 reviews

aidareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

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novelty_reads's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

3.5

ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe it took me a while to love it. I actually put it aside after 100 or so pages and read it again a few months later. I'm glad I gave that book a second chance because I loved the story, the philosophical discussions and the raw, tender love between Ari and Dante. When it came to book two, I expected all the elements of the first book but only continued and heightened in Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World.

Now reviewing this book, I must admit I'm a little on the fence. When I finished reading, I was satisfied with the book as it really elevated Ari's character and touched a lot on elements of growing up and going from boyhood to manhood. It also discussed grief, death and love especially familial love as shown with Ari's parents and Dante's family. The book touched on these themes very well and I enjoyed reading about them.

While I loved the glimpses into Ari's character and the aforementioned, I felt like the book was lacking the depth of raw connection between Ari and Dante we've seen in the previous novel. I wanted more of the love between the two boys because it was what made Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe such a beautiful read. I felt like there was limited page time given to the two discovering more about each other and strengthening their relationship. It's the one thing I would've loved more of.

I also enjoyed reading about the platonic relationships Ari developed in the novel. It was another one of my highlights and I liked getting to know our new characters. They added another layer to the novel and I don't think I would've enjoyed the book as much if they weren't there.

All in all, I enjoyed this story. There were many good things and a few things that I wish were strengthened more. I liked the characterisation and platonic and familial relationships portrayed in this book and liked how the author portrayed significant topics such as homophobia and AIDS in the 80's when the book is set. I just wish there was more connection shown between Dante and Ari because unlike book one, I wasn't entirely sold on their relationship. I also felt like the ending was slightly rushed and a bit unnecessary. That being said, overall, I liked this book and wouldn't mind a book three.

ACTUAL RATING: 3.45 STARS

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lennie_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful 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

Thank you to Netgalley & Simon and Schuster Children's Books UK for this ARC.

Full disclosure - I waited so long to read the arc that I read the finished printed version.

I was so so happy when Saenz annoucned that we had a sequel to the first book.
Whilst I i love the first one, after a re-read it reminded me that we really don't see much of happy Ari or Ari & Dante actually together. And we only experience things through Ari's narrow and unreliable lens.

Despite the books being written 10 years apart, Saenz seems to be able to dive immediately back into Ari's head so it genuinely doesn't feel like any time has passed from book 1 to book 2. (Pun not intended but I'm keeping it!)

In this book we see a much happier Ari who is finally accepting himself and accepting love from his friends, family and Dante.
Although the two still have to navigate rampant homophobia during the AIDS pandemic, racism and the more 'usual' teenage struggles of college and a possible long distance relationship.

This book also seems to delve into different types of relationships, different types of love, and how they're all important in their own ways.

I love the way Saenz write: it just flows so well whilst also being so poignant and beautiful.

This book also confirmed my theory of Ari being demisexual. It doesn't say it anywhere explicitly but istg he is the most demisexual coded character ever.

If you loved the first book then you 100% should read this one. It'll give you the more fleshed out HFN whilst also getting to know the characters more, especially now that Ari's perspectives have been opened up so his perceptions of people are more 3D.

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finnsnotfinished's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad

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

3.75

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ccee's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Off-kilter sequel to one of The YA Books Ever. Nothing really happened, Ari and Dante’s relationship did not have any further development. Random introduction of characters, ensemble cast did not lend itself well to this world.

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lilshelly's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Well, I finished. I might return with a more full review at a later date, but these are my broken thoughts post-read.

There's so much in this book. So many stories and so much love and so many people to discover. I will say that I like the first book alot more. That isn't to say this one is bad -- but I do feel there was alot that could have been done. The pacing was very quick, which I'm not always a fan of. And some events that happened felt very sudden and disconnected. Some scenes that we anticipated and were done in a few pages and never brought up again. It felt very much like the author envisioned a ton of important plot points and forgot how to link them together. 3/4 of the book could have been cut out because of this.

Also, many editorial errors that left me confused. (At one point, we see Aristotle Quintana which made me reread for several minutes trying to figure out what that meant before deciding it was a clerical error.)

And everyone spoke in eloquent quotes, CONSTANTLY, which takes me out of the realistic aspects of the narrative. People are not profound in every conversation they ever have. It was honestly exhausting. They spoke like the sole purpose was for us to quote them on pinterest boards and photo captions.

I had trouble figuring out who was speaking half the time and how we were meant to understand the tone. So. Much. Dialogue. And so. Much. Profundity. It honestly didn't feel like a story about high schoolers anymore. High schoolers do not speak this way every second of every day to every question they are asked.

And everyone is always crying and always kissing Ari on the cheek. What's up with that? The only dialogue descriptors we get are "tears, crying, sobbing."

The whole book was setting up Legs to die. We had countless notes of her not being able to run anymore. She couldn't jump on the bed. And it had me so confused because, didn't Ari adopt her as a puppy like a year ago, if that? Dogs don't age that quickly. It left me confused on if I remembered her age correctly. It felt super strange and inconsistent, and then she didn't die. No, Ari's dad did, shortly after the two had a bonding trip. He died over the span of a few paragraphs from a heart attack. No prior discussions of declining health or anything. And considering this tragedy was alluded to in the book summary, it's odd that it took until like page 400 for it to happen. It was meant to be a pivotal point and it only impacts the last 100ish pages.

Also, Dante is basically a background character in this book. And it really feels like Ari doesn't like him much? He hardly says it or really shows it. I expected Ari to give Dante his journal or something at some point considering Ari writing in the journal was massive in his development. But, no. It never comes up.

I also was thrown off by Rico's death. I honestly forgot who Rico was because this book introduces so many characters that it's hard to keep up. It's hinted that Rico killed himself, but I couldn't find any discussion really. His funeral was just plopped in to show, I presume, the death of another gay man.

Also, can we talk about Ari visiting Bernardo? Oooooh brother. I expected this scene to be long and pivotal. Ari yearned after his brother the whole first book. It was such an important aspect of his identity. And then we get to prison, they talk for a page, and that's it. It's done. And barely referenced again. Ari says he found the missing piece of himself there, but there's no narrative discussion of what that means. He just drops it and the dreams stop. That's not how things work.

This book is SO dialogue heavy that I had no idea what the world looked like anymore.

Also, Bernardo killing a trans woman was an important point. And during that conversation between Ari and Bernardo, Ari consistently refers to the woman as she, correcting Bernardo's misgendering. Yet later, like at the end of the book, Ari asks his mom the name of the person Bernardo killed and visits her grave. And in this time, refers to the woman as "he" SEVERAL times before correcting himself. I found this incredibly strange as Ari made it a point to correct his brother. Why did he suddenly "forget" that? It reeks of transphobia, I fear.

I think there is a beautiful story here. I do, however, despise the thread of queer stories being laced with tragedy. That need not always be the answer. There's a hallmark in our stories, too. But I do like the approach with cartography. It gave an interesting spin to the story, even if it felt hammered to death.

I like Ari and Dante a whole lot, and I'm happy to have witnessed their growth. But this book feels like it could have used more time on the editing table.

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