Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Ratings566
Average rating4.2
3.5 stars.
The writing is beautiful, the characters are well developed, and I absolutely loved both sets of parents. I see what was done with Aristotle, that the “darkness” and angst and anger inside him came from him not accepting himself and it was nice to see him realize how good he actually has it. His parents were so loving and supportive, and I loved that we went through the journey to him finally admitting that he is “crazy about them.” It was sweet, and you don't typically get that in YA novels so it was definitely appreciated.
Dante was also a wonderful character. However, I personally thought a bit too much time was spent on Ari's thoughts and often I felt he was being unfair to others by thinking what he thought. Still, this was a well written novel and the overall arc and development was beautifully done.
I read this book for work, a thing that is not regularly a part of my job. I read the first few pages as soon as it arrived for me, just to have a look, and then I did something I have never done before and will likely never do again. I spent the next who-knows-how-many hours of work time reading. I just dumped all the things I needed to finish up before the weekend and just read. After work, I went out to eat and read. I sat in my car in the parking lot and read. I came home and read. I finished the book an hour after bed time and am now feeling a little bit bereft.
Here is all the review I can manage right now: I am glad I was shut away alone in an empty office, or later in my car or at home alone, when the tears flowed. A beautiful book. (And that is saying a lot, since there are some elements I rather don't like; but I can't help loving it anyway.)
All these amazing - amazing books that I've been reading lately. It's hard to deal with the love.
This book was wonderful. Just so wonderful. I couldn't help but just relate SO MUCH to the main character, his line of thought, his personality, his way of dealing with things and not doing things even when he wanted to because he thought it'd be better to not do it, basically his whole being.
I absolutely adored the family aspect. These parents are just amazing people and they make mistakes and don't always act like “adults”, and all of the characters are basically just so real and wow wow wow wow I really just loved every single thing about this book.
Such a beautiful and innocent book. Sweet words and sweet people.
Ari, what a character made me laugh, made me smile and to my surprise made me weep too.
I will pick this book up again for sure!
Sometimes, I wish there was a way to give a book two different ratings. I want to give this book 3 stars for the overall story and lack of a plot, but 5 stars for the theme and the way this book made me feel inside. I guess 4 stars is what I am just going to have to give it. I understand the reason why this book has won so many awards, it truly has the makings of a modern classic. Aristotle and Dante is truly a book unlike anything I have ever read before.
Every time I open this book's Goodreads page, so much happiness radiates from my laptop's screen and that is saying a lot.
I am not going to rant. I am just too lazy, and I want to sleep. But the book didn't click with me. I hated it while still 10% in and I hated it more and more as the pages flew by. I rolled my eyes repeatedly.
I hope no one hates me for this.
This is the first book I ever feel guilty about hating.
this book. oh boy, this book.
“I mean, when do we start feeling like the world belongs to us?” “I don't know,” I said. “Tomorrow.”
as anyone who knows me in the slightest can tell you: i have terrible memory. doesn't matter if it's concerning my favourite book, i'll have forgotten half of its details within the week. it's horrible, i hate it, i'm working with brain trainers to fix it but y'know, sometimes it is what it is.
anyway, point is: i knew i loved this book when i first read it - i'd given it 5 stars, put it on my special bookshelf, all that jazz. but at the same time it felt a little distant, that love. it was there but it wasn't really tangible, if that makes sense?
rereading this book was like coming home to an all encompassing comfort. i felt like crying for half of it, but in the best way. the immense love for these characters, their relationships, their story that benjamin alire s??enz has worked into this book are palpable in every word, every piece of dialogue. this is a story that came from the heart, and that's why it's made a place in my heart so effortlessly.
it's just in everything: he extreme gentleness s??enz adopts to describe complicated, conflicting, feelings, the rarity of seeing teenagers in (ya) literature have a set of wonderfully understanding and still complex parents, the way the narrative is allowed to unspool and the characters are allowed to find their way without any rush.
this book meant something to me in a very intrinsic way that's difficult to explain but easy to feel. i genuinely think it meant more to me this second time around. it hit me in all the right places. it made me want to lie down in the desert and watch the stars and wait for the rain. it made me feel understood and less alone.
(ps. i highly recommend listening to this wonderful playlist while reading)
Livre poignant, magnifiquement bien écrit, bouleversant. Les personnages sont adorables et attachants, je n'ai pas réussi à lâcher le livre et je l'ai dévoré d'une traite tellement il est prenant. Beau et touchant, un petit joyau.
Beautiful story filled with simple yet elegant prose. Aristotle is wonderful narrator. I recommend this to those who enjoyed [b:The Perks of Being a Wallflower 22628 The Perks of Being a Wallflower Stephen Chbosky https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1363910637s/22628.jpg 2236198]4.5 out of 5 stars (rounded up this time).
I am so glad I own a copy of this book it's just so beautiful and just.... I can't even.
It made me laugh, it made me cry, it made me roll my eyes. This has to be to the easiest book I've ever read. The writing was so seamless that I finished it in two sittings. This is a love story, and the secrets discovered are of Ari's universe. However, what really made me love the book was how in-tune I felt with Ari's character. We share things like not completely understanding our parents, too afraid to ask questions, too afraid to know the answers. I remember feeling synonymous to a bucket of anger that was overflowing at times. And I also like to be alone. More than anything, I have to say that I appreciated this book for its frankness and courage in not shying away from topics that a lot of other books for young adults just tend to gloss over.
I really liked it . The characters reminded me of the boys from Hannah moskowitz ‘ gone, gone ,gone . I liked this one . Gathering my thoughts 4 review
It is was a free read on pulse it
lmao wanted to remove this book from my faves shelf and instead removed it from all my books, damn.
I read this book in 2014 (I think) and really liked it, so much so that I marked it as a fave all those years ago. I don't remember much about it but I'm gonna stay true to my original rating from back then until the day comes where I might decide to reread it.
This will probably top of favorite books for 2013. The story of Aristotle and his friend Dante is one of teenage searching for the secrets of the universe. The uncover those secrets over the course of two intense summers during high school. I could not put this book down and I am happy to have discovered Benjamin Alire Saenz.
I liked but did not love this book, which is okay, because I'm not the intended audience of this book. I think that LGBT/questioning teens would love this, especially boys. Especially boys who don't fit the stereotypical “flamboyant sassy friend” role (and God knows I love a book with a sassy gay friend). Dante and Aristotle are also both Mexican American with 2 very different families, but Saenz also beautifully shows the intersectionality of race/class/culture/religion/sexuality and both families are still totally supportive and loving toward their gay sons.
HOORAY FOR THAT.
I am a little over the trend of YA books set in the 80s, but I'll give this a pass because growing up as a queer teen in the 80s was different from now–in terms of available pop culture/role models/etc–and I think it works with this narrative. Also it wasn't constantly making references to Madonna or whatever. It was pretty easy to forget it was set in the 80s, really.
I hope that this book finds its audience, because I think that this book will be VERY important to the right teens.
Another beautifully written Saenz novel, but it still didn't move me as much as Last Night I Sang to the Monster. Also, my hardback version from JLG had at least 5 errors that the copy editor didn't catch, which I found really frustrating. None of his books have yet found an audience among my kids, but I'd like Saenz to catch on with my high schoolers.
2nd Reading (9/2018) Appreciated Lin Manuel-Miranda performing the audio. Stand by my original review, though I will say that happily my HS kids now LOVE this book! It's been a fave on the BOB list.