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A review by silly_little_clown
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I think this book goes a bit too slow for me. And also way too long. It almost lost me at the half way mark because there was just no big enough of a drive for the plot to go forward. A lot of things happened. Tiny little incidents that for sure let us in on how our characters has grown and developed some side characters. But none of them felt tied together in a way that made me feel like there’s a theme to this whole book. I guess the main thing is that main characters are figuring out small things in high school one by one.
I’m glad that Aridecided to refer to the trans woman that his brother murdered as a she in this book. Though I’m not against the fact that he used the term ‘transvestite’ to describe the victim because it seems appropriate for the time period the book was set in.
Because I read the first book and this one back to back, one thing jumped out to me. There was just a LOT of social injustice topics that are being discussed in this book by most of the main characters, at some point I felt like it’s a bit anachronistic??? Especially some of the phrases that the characters used. It’s not that I don’t believe some American people in the late 80s would have expressed these kind of thoughts. It just kind of took me out because some things that were said feel so modern. In a way that the first book was written with a genuine voice in the 80s by a teenage boy living back then and this sequel is written with more of a 2020s commentary. Not saying this is better or worse. It was just a choice made by the author I think. To let the book grow with its audience.
Also thedeath of Ari’s dad literally came out of nowhere. I was so shocked and confused. Cried almost every single pages after his death.
The ending felt so rushed. Even though I’m glad that the conflict got resolved that quickly, I just think maybe we should’ve seen it brood over time more and let it marinate you know?
I wished we got to see Dante’s POV in this book. He’s just not that present in this book. And I would’ve love to see how he deals with his struggles and what he thought of things since it had already been established in the first book that he has such a brilliant mind.
Honestly I feel like this book is an example of sequel not living up to the hype of the first book. Since I read the two back to back (reread the first book for this one), I can confidently say that the first book is better than this sequel sadly.
I’m glad that Ari
Because I read the first book and this one back to back, one thing jumped out to me. There was just a LOT of social injustice topics that are being discussed in this book by most of the main characters, at some point I felt like it’s a bit anachronistic??? Especially some of the phrases that the characters used. It’s not that I don’t believe some American people in the late 80s would have expressed these kind of thoughts. It just kind of took me out because some things that were said feel so modern. In a way that the first book was written with a genuine voice in the 80s by a teenage boy living back then and this sequel is written with more of a 2020s commentary. Not saying this is better or worse. It was just a choice made by the author I think. To let the book grow with its audience.
Also the
The ending felt so rushed. Even though I’m glad that the conflict got resolved that quickly, I just think maybe we should’ve seen it brood over time more and let it marinate you know?
I wished we got to see Dante’s POV in this book. He’s just not that present in this book. And I would’ve love to see how he deals with his struggles and what he thought of things since it had already been established in the first book that he has such a brilliant mind.
Honestly I feel like this book is an example of sequel not living up to the hype of the first book. Since I read the two back to back (reread the first book for this one), I can confidently say that the first book is better than this sequel sadly.