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

This felt like a total departure in tone and style from the first book. The writing didn't flow at all and it was hard to get into the story because of it. The characters felt so different from the first book, and not in an evolved way ... not a terrible read at all, but not what I was hoping for from the memory of the first book. I would likely have rated it higher, but the strains of transphobia in the book were impossible to ignore.

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letiross's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.75

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georgie321's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.5

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millie_mcd's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? N/A

3.5

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journey2's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World picks up immediately where the first book left off. On the same magical night. Our heroes are happy and in love and have found their voices in the world but knowing what comes next is the hard part.

These books are beautiful, the characters are intellectual, the relationships with parents and family are based on love and honesty and seeing each other as people and they are honestly so refreshing.

The questions they ask, the things they struggle wih are real and tangible. Falling in love with another boy at the height of the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and having to hide yourself for fear of persecution, I thought about these things a lot as I read them. (Arguably I read the first book in one sitting cover to cover!)

These are gorgeous books and if you haven't read them yet I suggest you do!

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megan_montgomery's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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

4.5

i didn’t feel like the first one needed a sequel but i really liked this addition!!!

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luly_sc's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective relaxing sad 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

4.0

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tsnhjhn's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

Wonderfully written prose: poetic and lyrical and philosophical.

During the height of the AIDS crisis, two young gay men are forced to grapple with homophobia, grief, loss, and the emotions that come with growing up.

I love love love Ari and Dante and although I wouldn't say the dialogue is realistic by any means, the dialogue stands out because it's not realistic (aka it's not primarily shallow with some deep conversations). I like to think of this book as one where all of the characters share every single honest and raw thought with each other and have intense conversations about life with a lighthearted air. And I loved and appreciated that. Of course, no one will speak like they do IRL, but in Ari and Dante's world, they do. All of the characters are so loveable because of this--how could you not love someone who bares their whole heart out to you?

My only slight criticism is that the ending

where Dante just leaves angrily and Ari then goes to Paris

was just a little too fast-paced and frankly slightly sloppy for me; it definitely could have been better done, but maybe it was just showing their young age and although they may seem incredibly mature throughout the book, they're still young and just heading off to college. This was not a make-or-break deal for me though, the last scene was indeed quite sweet.

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