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

first of all, i am happy i read this book, and i am happy it exists.
i loved ari's personal development - seeing him evolve, build friendships, open up for love, made me very happy, especially the relationship he came to have with his father and his mother.

meeting bernardo was one thing i had really hoped would happen in the first book, so i was excited that it finally happened now; and while i appreciated that it wasn't a fantasy meeting and that he wasn't suddenly a wonderful and misunderstood man - because sometimes people we used to love turn out to be horrible and memories can't change that -, i was really uncomfortable with how mentions of his victim were handled. i understand why bernardo would misgender her, but i really don't get why it would be necessary to mention her deadname and then have ari misgender her afterwards.

this sequel also made dante feel more human and less idealised, but i still would have wanted more of his perspective, he feels like such a slippery and blurry character to me, regardless of all the flaws and mannerisms we learn about.
although i appreciated a lot of the topics that played parts in the story, like the aids pandemic or the impact the vietnam war had on veterans etc., it seemed rushed, like there was just too much content for this book, while also being very repetitive.
as a result, i feel like waters of the world could be 150 pages shorter, but at the same time it could discuss and deal with its topics for another 150 pages - the balance is just kinda off.
the ending is another example for that; i feel like it could've been cut short

and had them be broken up, because that's what happens with teenage relationships and there's no shame in that

or it could've been explored in greater length

and had them have better communication etc.

overall, i enjoyed the writing - even though there were kind of a lot of errors that could've been avoided by reading over it one more time - and the relationships ari was able to build over the course of the book. i couldn't fully get lost in the story, but i did feel with him, i did relate to lots of his thoughts, and i appreciated some of the political content that was brought up.
it was just not exactly what it could've been.

Content Warnings

xlaurareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.5

what an incredibly beautiful, heartwarming, thoughtful sequel to the first book. it had me laughing, it had me crying, it had everything i needed of a book. an amazingly crafted story about love and everything that comes with it. the only issue i had and the reason why this isn't a 5-star read is that, sometimes, it felt a bit too dragged and long-winded. but i loved it nonetheless and would recommend it to anyone without hesitation.

Content Warnings

diana_raquel's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings

talasterism's review against another edition

Go to review page

slow-paced

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

0.75

oh how did you manage to fuck up a book like this ... the plot is lacking a lot to begin with but its the cringy writing that gets to me/neg. just, the whole repeating of a quote he thought was pretty four times TAKES EVERYTHING AWAY FROM IT! i really hated it but wanted to see what happens in the end and okay. sure. good for them. the whole???

breaking up bc u love them trope? Hate it. the whole women are great thin? SO FUCKING FAKE OH MY GOD. Also, Sophocles, really? и наверное что хуевее всего, это что я себя вижу в отражении иногда этих двух. И Я ПРОСТО ВОТ НЕ ХОЧУ но они говорят вещи которве я не так уж и давно и думал, для моего комфорта. ugh

Content Warnings

afion's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.25

Content Warnings

luananki's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

3.75

some books don’t need a sequel and this one might have been one of them.

don’t get me wrong, it’s a good book and i very much enjoyed the poetic and emotional writing. ari‘s thoughts were often times relatable. it was easy to follow his train of thoughts - that‘s one of the reasons why i appreciated the letters so much.

i also liked that it adressed a lot of things that were left unsaid in the first one.

after reading both books i was sad that we didn’t get to find out more about dante’s feelings and thoughts. i’m not sure if ari understood some of his decisions and it would’ve been nice to get to know him better.

i hate the ending.

it felt rushed in every way and honestly like the bit of drama that can be found in every romance novel. it was comforting to see dante supporting ari after his father’s death and how they were able to work through so much trouble. breaking up and getting back together right after without any communication (one of the reasons why i’m sad we don’t get to see anything from dante’s pov) felt very out of character.

the deadnaming and misgendering was painful to read and made me uncomfortable in a lot of ways.

all in all, i enjoyed their story and how ari felt in their relationship. i’m still glad i picked up the sequel even though it could’ve been kept shorter.

Content Warnings

lunep's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

ginadapooh's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

4.75

Content Warnings

More...