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A review by wlreed312
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
This is one of those books where I see the criticisms of it, and can agree, but it just hit me in such a special place in my heart that it can't be anything less than five stars.
This world resonates so much with me, from the way the west Texas sky is described to Ari's love of the rain to the discussions of the AIDS epidemic. I grew up in west Texas, though not as far west as Ari and Dante, and my relationship with my hometown...isn't good. But the way Saenz captures the ways it can be beautiful leaves me almost breathless. And I was also a teenager during this time, though I'm about five years younger than Ari and Dante. In fact, my older brother graduated the same year they did. I was a bit too young and too sheltered to understand much about AIDS when it first began, but reading about Ari struggling to come to terms with who he is during this time period is so gorgeous. I completely adore Aristotle, how he comes into himself and comes to understand his parents. And speaking of his parents, they are so wonderful in this book. I love how his father grows and begins to try to share the pain he brought home from the war with Ari and Lilliana. When he talks about how a fellow soldier died in his arms, and he went to tell the parents, I was an absolute mess. It really captures how many people who went through a war think war is absolute shit, and the trauma it can leave behind. I love how Ari begins to see his parents as people outside of their relationship with him, and how that helps him shape his relationships with others. I appreciate how much focus there is on friendships, outside of Ari and Dante's love story, because you can't just have one person. I thought Ari beginning to make deeper connections, and how that affected his growth, was really lovely. I loved Ari's anger and despair, as he tried to figure out his place in the world and how to be true to himself. In short, there was so much about this that I related to and loved, even if I don't share the experiences. It's a book that made me cry a lot, and parts of it were so real to things I heard and saw when I was a teen that I had to take breaks or just dissolve into tears. This is a book that feels like home to me, in the best way. But I wish I had had Ari's parents.
This world resonates so much with me, from the way the west Texas sky is described to Ari's love of the rain to the discussions of the AIDS epidemic. I grew up in west Texas, though not as far west as Ari and Dante, and my relationship with my hometown...isn't good. But the way Saenz captures the ways it can be beautiful leaves me almost breathless. And I was also a teenager during this time, though I'm about five years younger than Ari and Dante. In fact, my older brother graduated the same year they did. I was a bit too young and too sheltered to understand much about AIDS when it first began, but reading about Ari struggling to come to terms with who he is during this time period is so gorgeous. I completely adore Aristotle, how he comes into himself and comes to understand his parents. And speaking of his parents, they are so wonderful in this book. I love how his father grows and begins to try to share the pain he brought home from the war with Ari and Lilliana. When he talks about how a fellow soldier died in his arms, and he went to tell the parents, I was an absolute mess. It really captures how many people who went through a war think war is absolute shit, and the trauma it can leave behind. I love how Ari begins to see his parents as people outside of their relationship with him, and how that helps him shape his relationships with others. I appreciate how much focus there is on friendships, outside of Ari and Dante's love story, because you can't just have one person. I thought Ari beginning to make deeper connections, and how that affected his growth, was really lovely. I loved Ari's anger and despair, as he tried to figure out his place in the world and how to be true to himself. In short, there was so much about this that I related to and loved, even if I don't share the experiences. It's a book that made me cry a lot, and parts of it were so real to things I heard and saw when I was a teen that I had to take breaks or just dissolve into tears. This is a book that feels like home to me, in the best way. But I wish I had had Ari's parents.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Death, Grief, and Racism