Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Univ

[Mark_Balas]

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

I have one problem and that is how to start giving my review on this book. I can't describe how good this novel is. Does "best" still have a superlative because that's how I would describe this book. It was hard for me to choose the next book to read after I finish this one. The emotions lingered.

The premise of the book is quite shallow but how it was narrated was just amazing. It's a story of Aristotle or Ari and Dante, the year 1987, coming to terms with growing up.

I love the characters and I like how each of them grow as the story progressed. I like how each of the characters managed to not just be "characters" on a novel. It reiterated that they are not perfect, that they do have flaws but they know when to care.

I don't know why it took me some time to read this book. I regretted that. On the first couple of pages I knew I was in for a ride. I delve into the book without knowing what I am going into. After reaching half of the book, I sensed something that this is not just about friends and it had me awkward a little bit but I did still continue. I removed all the prejudice. And no regrets. No regrets.

The prose was beautifully written. The author used simple words but it was made in perfection that one could feel the feelings. It made me connect with the characters in a way. It was like you're there with them enjoying summer and looking at the stars at the back of Ari's truck.

It's about acceptance.

It's about living and embracing your life.

It's about loving your identity.

It's a celebration of life.

This book is epic.

Amazing.

This book just became the best book that I read this year.

A very easy 5/5 stars for me.

[little_wonderland]

I understand why people love this book. I liked the representation of a minority and the struggles that come along with being one, LGBT community, and the importance of family. The realization of how teenagers act is pretty realistic too. I also love that Dante is a boy who is not afraid to express his feelings. I think that's really cool and YA needs boys like him.

But I couldn’t connect with the characters during some moments. I couldn’t get into their heads because of the writing style sometimes (for example when Ari smiled in one chapter and in the previous chapter(s) he was depressing... I couldn't imagine Ari smiling because of this sudden change... sometimes he and Dante laughed at things that I didn't find funny, why were they even laughing? - I read My Lady Jane before this book so I know how "funny" looks like, just saying, in case someone would think my sense of humor is weird).
Majority of the book contains dialogues and therefore I enjoyed every description or inner monologue that was longer than 3 lines (e.g. the war story). Sometimes the dialogues worked, but sometimes they felt a bit awkward to me.
The ending was also quite rushed and a little unrealistic. Also, I had no idea saving someone’s life determines your romantic relationship with them. (Ari's parents used it to somebody's - maybe theirs, or Ari's, or the author's, or some readers's - advantage but... seriously?)

Overall, I think this book was not a waste of time and that's what matters.

[bellarose04]

Where to even begin with this book.
It is so amazingly well written and it felt like almost every sentence was deeper than it seemed. I read this book in practically one sitting, I got so concentrated and deep into it.
It left me incredibly self aware after reading it. I thought deeper about everything and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I would read this book a million times over again if I could. The two characters were written like they were missing pieces to each other and they helped each other along. The molded together perfectly and it was amazing to read about their self discovery and relationship through the book. The only complaint I have is that the sequel isn’t coming out fast enough. I love these characters and the book and I want to read about them forever. I love the author and I can’t wait to read more from him. I would highly recommend this book to anyone. It was amazing and breathtaking.

[garima597]

This is one of the best book which i have read. It is written amazingly and it describes the difficulties faced by lgbt community in perfect way.

[Monvem]

This book has been a great experience to read, and I loved every second of it. This book, emphasizes the representation of a minority such as a Latin, LGBT teenager comes right in hand with the importance of family and community and the role they take in while raising and educating these boys. As a Latin woman, with LGBT familiars I find this book important, it shows a journey of self-discovery and the obstacles that you may find along that journey. As well as it embodies the importance that family takes in a Latin household.

I loved the different personalities and familiar backgrounds Dante and Aristotle have; while I resonated more with Dante, I could understand and visualize Ari´s situation. The two boys were written like they were a puzzle, each eager to discover themselves and each other along their journey.

The novel is so incredibly well written and made me feel the depth of every word written. I couldn't get my eyes off of the book, I read it in less than 3 days, and I would re-read it again. The book left me with a self-awareness that I didn´t have before, yet I felt happy and relieved that these kinds of books exist today.

[11Roses]

This book is definitely a journey. One that I definitely think you need to be in the right mindset for to be able to get past the unstructured plot. However, when I did find that mindset I read this entire book in one sitting and I have no regrets.
The narrative is so beautifully written and the characters are so heart-wrenchingly real. I agree with the original reviewer in that this novel definitely left me lingering over the aftermath of the emotional rollercoaster.

[Adya Rani]

Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe by benjamin Alire Saenz
the best book I've ever read in my entire life. I loved it alot and I've read it so quickly.


I don't even know where to begin
We follow to characters with the main character Aristotle Mendoza (Ari).
This book is a first person book which is written from Ari's point of view. He lives in El paso, Texas in the 80s.
Ari is 15 years old when the book starts. He is trying to figure himself out. He really doesn't know himself very well yet. He is struggling with being a teenager and growing up.
he really has trouble making friends. Then one day he meets this boy named Dante and their friendship develops.


i literally loved the writing style but the ending was quite rush like I mean you know....
this books comes from a LGBT community and i read this book in the pride month so i loved it sooooo much..
This book also make us feel the problems teenagers goes through.

The way that the author treats his characters with such gentleness reminded me that i need to treat others that way and I need to treat myself that way.

One thing I do wanna mention is that there are couple triggers.The big one is homophobic violence. i am very sensitive to cruelty so it was a little bit hard to read but it's not that it was really disturbing it was just very emotional and made me cry

That's all I wanted to say. This is one of the best book ever so just buy it