A review by miricles
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

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

5.0

While LGBT themes are definitely important in this book, what I enjoyed the most was how Ari’s relationship with his parents was portrayed. I find that media portraying parents who haven’t recovered from trauma fixing their relationship with their children and saying sorry is rare, so I enjoyed the nuances in their relationship and the lovely message for both children and parents, especially the core demographic of teens and young adults who are reading this.

I’ve cried reading this, and it feels incredibly cathartic because I grew up having  a complicated relationship with my own parents because they had their own unresolved trauma, leading me to sometimes bear the brunt of their bad days. To see parents be portrayed as flawed humans with the capacity to grow is something so novel to me, and I believe this book shows this process.

I feel as though there’s an overall theme of connectedness because Ari and Dante each has an impact on the other’s life in ways they were mostly unaware of until later in their teens. This connection eventually led to changes in their own families, and seeing the way everything came together despite there being so much happening in the span of one book felt satisfying and surprisingly not messy.

I’m definitely gonna come back to this book soon.
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