Scan barcode
A review by juliaximena
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
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
4.0
Love love LOVED this!!
This was an emotional rollar coaster. I've seen some people say it isn't anything groundbreaking, and I get that, but honestly I just love reading a sweet book sometimes. Ari and Dante felt so real to me, with Ari sometimes being so relatable it hurt. I loved the developement and depth his character got, and so so many others did too. I especially liked the focus on the parents since in so many books about teenagers, the parents are usually more or less out of the picture or ignored by the story. It was very refreshing to have them be important characters.
I've also seen some people not enjoy the writing style, but I loved it. The many line breaks and conversations with no descriptions, just the words spoken, were very effective in my opinion. I annotated the hell out of this and probably will continue to do so on future rereads. So so many good quotes and lines I enjoyed.
Also the emotional aspect is *chefs kiss*, I had so many moments I just had to put the book down, smile and think "life is good after all". I'm not sure if that's just me and my current emotional state, but it made me happy all the same. It also, of course, made me sad, because who expects what seems on the surface to be a sweet summer friendship story to become so tragic, and so many times? Beautifully written, the sad parts and the happy ones, either way filled with so much emotion and poetic language.
I'm docking a point because I wish we could've had at least a chapter or two with the ship in place, and also I can't bring myself to ignore the two pages that umm... aged poorly.
This was an emotional rollar coaster. I've seen some people say it isn't anything groundbreaking, and I get that, but honestly I just love reading a sweet book sometimes. Ari and Dante felt so real to me, with Ari sometimes being so relatable it hurt. I loved the developement and depth his character got, and so so many others did too. I especially liked the focus on the parents since in so many books about teenagers, the parents are usually more or less out of the picture or ignored by the story. It was very refreshing to have them be important characters.
I've also seen some people not enjoy the writing style, but I loved it. The many line breaks and conversations with no descriptions, just the words spoken, were very effective in my opinion. I annotated the hell out of this and probably will continue to do so on future rereads. So so many good quotes and lines I enjoyed.
Also the emotional aspect is *chefs kiss*, I had so many moments I just had to put the book down, smile and think "life is good after all". I'm not sure if that's just me and my current emotional state, but it made me happy all the same. It also, of course, made me sad, because who expects what seems on the surface to be a sweet summer friendship story to become so tragic, and so many times? Beautifully written, the sad parts and the happy ones, either way filled with so much emotion and poetic language.
I'm docking a point because I wish we could've had at least a chapter or two with the ship in place, and also I can't bring myself to ignore the two pages that umm... aged poorly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Alcohol