A review by annabella
Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

emotional medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

I wasn’t a huge fan of the first book and so maybe it was right place right time but I really liked this book. I found it deeply emotional - a critique of the first for me was it was too dialogue heavy, though this was years ago. Here there were beautiful metaphors and I admit I had to just lean into some of the dramatic existential language of Ari but leaning into that made me love it and him, he had such strong character growth. The exploration into AIDS added another element for me and it was refreshing to have a queer love story which gave just as much love and focus to making supportive parents (although this was also heartbreaking at points), and it made me so angry at the world. A book that I was excited to pick up each evening and knew the tears would be flowing!
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