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

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad 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

How I loved this. I don’t know what it was about the graduation speech but it had me crying. I really loved Cassandra’s character, and her speech was just so powerful. The part where she made everyone hold hands and said that they were all human beings really got me. Wow. I loved watching Ari make friends with those girls and watching their friendship grow. If last book was the “Ari learns to be part of a family” book, this was the “Ari learns to be part of a friend group” book. And I just loved it. The young man who Ari helped come out at the graduation party also had me tearing up. Ari’s principal not caring about what he found in his journal was so moving too. That’s what really struck me about both of these books: there is so much goodness in this world. And I suppose that means THE world. Because it’s not like this is set in an alternate reality. It’s really hard to forget that fact, what with all of the horrid things you see online or in person even. The ones that carry that hatred just get more and more bold. But there was SO much more love and acceptance in these books than there was homophobia. And I really, really would like to believe that that’s true in real life too. I’m very grateful to have read these books. Thank you, Sáenz. 
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