Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Now a major motion picture starring Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, and Eva Longoria!
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) This Printz Honor Book is a "tender, honest exploration of identity" (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about family and friendship. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
A Time Best YA Book of All Time (2021) This Printz Honor Book is a "tender, honest exploration of identity" (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about family and friendship. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship--the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
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Community Reviews
Sometimes, there are no words. There are no words that can accurately encompass the beauty of this novel.
I love this book. I can write that sentence with no reservation. Too, I love the characters--how I both did and did not understand them at separate times. I love how ecstatically, exquisitely human they are. I love seeing so undeniably both Ari and Dante in myself.
In a subtle, gentle, beautiful way, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe has changed my life. The experience of reading it was, in itself, a celebration of such a life.
Thank you, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, for your work. Thank you for gifting the most beautiful of voices to the LGBTQ+ community. Poetry in action.
I love this book. I can write that sentence with no reservation. Too, I love the characters--how I both did and did not understand them at separate times. I love how ecstatically, exquisitely human they are. I love seeing so undeniably both Ari and Dante in myself.
In a subtle, gentle, beautiful way, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe has changed my life. The experience of reading it was, in itself, a celebration of such a life.
Thank you, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, for your work. Thank you for gifting the most beautiful of voices to the LGBTQ+ community. Poetry in action.
NATALIE.
3 Stars?
You gave only 3 MEASLY stars to this OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD, BELOVED, DROWNING-OURSELVES-IN-OUR-TEARS BOOK?!
WHAT THE HECK?!
I'm sorry. For whatever reason, this just didn't knock my socks off. I thought it was cute and sweet, but I wasn't in tears. I wasn't swooning. I was just...reading.
A Couple of Things I Liked
1. The parents. I'm a sucker for a couple of cool parents with good senses of humor and unconditionally love the crap out of their kids. I did, however, also appreciate Ari's dad, a veteran who was forever changed by his time in the war.
My father took the book and sat down with it. As if it was some kind of treasure. See, I didn't get my dad. I could never guess how he would react to things. Not ever.
2. Dante and Ari. I think. I don't know that I necessarily found them to be realistic. No, maybe I just didn't relate to them. But then again, I'm not the target audience that this book would speak to, so it is not relevant if they spoke to me or not. I can still appreciate. They were still interesting enough for me to want to keep reading about.
A Couple of Things I Did Not Like
1. All the damn laughing. Grinch time!
I get it. Dante and Ari have wonderful times together. They talk. They laugh. They laugh and laugh and laugh (that's actually a line in the book as a matter of fact). Everyone else seems to laugh an awful lot as well. The word laugh comes up 70 times according to my Kindle. Sometimes you can just write a line that is humorous without having to point out that someone laughed. The bigger issue I have with this is that whenever they laugh, there is NOTHING written to indicate to me what was so damn funny.
2. The conversations. Between Dante and Ari. Between the parents and Ari or parents and Dante. I just did not find them to be realistic. If I tried to read the conversations out loud, they didn't sound genuine. They sounded like they were meant for a book. Same with Ari's thoughts. For example, in reference to his mother: And just then, she looked young. I thought she was really beautiful. She was beautiful. I envied her. She had always known exactly who she was. I wanted to ask her, Mom, when will I know who I am? But I didn't. Maybe guys do think these things. I just don't KNOW any of these guys. Don't get me wrong, the writing can be beautiful at times, but I wanted it to feel more real than poetic (although the best is when it can be real and poetic).
I am glad that it touched so many people for the right reasons. I just wasn't one of those people, which is ok.
3 STARS
3 Stars?
You gave only 3 MEASLY stars to this OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD, BELOVED, DROWNING-OURSELVES-IN-OUR-TEARS BOOK?!
WHAT THE HECK?!
I'm sorry. For whatever reason, this just didn't knock my socks off. I thought it was cute and sweet, but I wasn't in tears. I wasn't swooning. I was just...reading.
A Couple of Things I Liked
1. The parents. I'm a sucker for a couple of cool parents with good senses of humor and unconditionally love the crap out of their kids. I did, however, also appreciate Ari's dad, a veteran who was forever changed by his time in the war.
My father took the book and sat down with it. As if it was some kind of treasure. See, I didn't get my dad. I could never guess how he would react to things. Not ever.
2. Dante and Ari. I think. I don't know that I necessarily found them to be realistic. No, maybe I just didn't relate to them. But then again, I'm not the target audience that this book would speak to, so it is not relevant if they spoke to me or not. I can still appreciate. They were still interesting enough for me to want to keep reading about.
A Couple of Things I Did Not Like
1. All the damn laughing. Grinch time!
I get it. Dante and Ari have wonderful times together. They talk. They laugh. They laugh and laugh and laugh (that's actually a line in the book as a matter of fact). Everyone else seems to laugh an awful lot as well. The word laugh comes up 70 times according to my Kindle. Sometimes you can just write a line that is humorous without having to point out that someone laughed. The bigger issue I have with this is that whenever they laugh, there is NOTHING written to indicate to me what was so damn funny.
2. The conversations. Between Dante and Ari. Between the parents and Ari or parents and Dante. I just did not find them to be realistic. If I tried to read the conversations out loud, they didn't sound genuine. They sounded like they were meant for a book. Same with Ari's thoughts. For example, in reference to his mother: And just then, she looked young. I thought she was really beautiful. She was beautiful. I envied her. She had always known exactly who she was. I wanted to ask her, Mom, when will I know who I am? But I didn't. Maybe guys do think these things. I just don't KNOW any of these guys. Don't get me wrong, the writing can be beautiful at times, but I wanted it to feel more real than poetic (although the best is when it can be real and poetic).
I am glad that it touched so many people for the right reasons. I just wasn't one of those people, which is ok.
3 STARS
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