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A review by looney_moons
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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? Yes
3.5
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review.
While being back in the world of Aristotle and Dante, in the world of Aristotle's beautiful thoughts and Dante's magnificent words, was magical to say the least, this book felt rushed and flat for me. I understand that Saenz had a hard time writing this book - and unfortunately, that shows. Not only were there little to no connection between events, but the ending, happy as it may be, felt rushed and out of character. Ari kept talking about how he had changed, and while his action showed that that was the case, I felt like I was being told it too much. It was a beautiful sequel, but we did not need it. For fans of Ari and Dante, I would simply stick to our original masterpiece. I went into this book wanting nothing but more Ari and Dante content, wanted to see them love each other the way they both deserve, and ultimately I left this book feeling disappointed that I got just that.
While being back in the world of Aristotle and Dante, in the world of Aristotle's beautiful thoughts and Dante's magnificent words, was magical to say the least, this book felt rushed and flat for me. I understand that Saenz had a hard time writing this book - and unfortunately, that shows. Not only were there little to no connection between events, but the ending, happy as it may be, felt rushed and out of character. Ari kept talking about how he had changed, and while his action showed that that was the case, I felt like I was being told it too much. It was a beautiful sequel, but we did not need it. For fans of Ari and Dante, I would simply stick to our original masterpiece. I went into this book wanting nothing but more Ari and Dante content, wanted to see them love each other the way they both deserve, and ultimately I left this book feeling disappointed that I got just that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
It simply must be noted that the author has tweeted transphobic things in the past few weeks, and that some readers may find that material in this book is transphobic. As a trans person, I do not find the writing to be transphobic - in fact, quite the opposite - but I am incredibly disappointed in the actions by the author. The author has since apologised and seems to be attempting to rectify his mistake.