Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Começando o ano com o nível lá em cima! Não leio tantos YA quanto poderia ou gostaria, mas quando pego um livro como esse, me dá vontade de sair lendo tudo pra encontrar histórias tão bem contadas quanto essa. Todo o sentimento e o relacionamento entre os personagens é bonito, sensível, carinhoso, verdadeiro... muito bom!

I don't think I've ever read a book that's made me want to sit down and cry while simultaneously contemplate my existence. This was such a beautiful story - when people say ‘coming of age' this is exactly what they mean.

Honestly, I had no idea what to expect going into this. I hadn't really read the synopsis or heard people talk about it beyond saying that it was a good book and I'm glad I didn't. Not knowing made it even better, it made me feeling like I was growing up alongside Ari. Maybe I have.

It was an incredible read. I'm glad I started the year off with this book.

I really enjoyed this book. It didn't have a lot of plot but instead focused on the inner lives of two teenage boys trying to figure out who they are and define their identities. The characters were very like-able and the author did a great job of capturing the angst that often accompanies this time of life. I listened to the audio book and thought that the narration was well done. Highly recommend for older teens and adults!

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.

4.6

This book is surprisingly good! I knew I should've read it back then. This book is so sweet, romantic, and harsh, all at the same time. I felt way too many emotions while reading this. The story was a well-developed piece of realistic fiction. Should we be ashamed of loving someone of the same sex? Should we be ashamed even if we really love them? Should we love someone and not think about the consequences? Those are some questions you just can't outrun if you “truly” love someone. I commend Sáenz for writing a controversial, yet, very relatable literature that will probably hold much meaning today and the foreseeable future. It's one of those stories that are so pure and raw, it will touch every single person it comes contact with. This book is a gem that shouldn't be overlooked. Highly recommended for readers who loves thought-provoking books. This will change your perception of the world.

Oh. My. Goodness.

That's literally all I can say.

I just finished this and I cannot put into words how much I love this book oh my goodness.

I'll come back in the morning I need to sit with this wow

Edit: okay hello it's the next morning, here are my thoughts.

This book is PHENOMENAL. I'd heard a lot about it and thought about picking it up for a while, but when I heard someone compare it to “I'll Give You The Sun” by Jandy Nelson (my all-time favorite book) that was when I knew I needed to read this immediately. And honestly?? I really see the comparisons! Noah and Ari are super similar characters and the writing style is very similar. While Alire-Sáenz doesn't exactly match Nelson's constant flowering metaphors, this book isn't any less gorgeously written. From the very first line, before the book really even started, this book just slapped me in the face while hugging me tightly.

It was wild.

I don't want to spoil the first line but it was so painstakingly relatable and I felt understood from the first moment I opened the book.

One of my favorite quotes (aside from the first line) is:

“I knew that there was something about me that Mrs. Quintana saw and loved. And even though I felt it was a beautiful thing, I also felt it was a weight. Not that she meant it to be a weight. But love was always something heavy for me. Something I had to carry.” UGH... LOVE THAT SO MUCH!!! FELT THAT IN MY SOUL

Towards the end, I had a few ideas of where I thought it was going to go and I did end up calling one of the final conflicts, I still greatly enjoyed this.

I think this is gonna be closer to a 4.5. I'm not sure why, just kind of a gut feeling, but I'll still round up bc this book def deserves it!!!❤️❤️

“Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.”[b:Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe 12000020 Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante, #1) Benjamin Alire Sáenz https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1328320260l/12000020.SY75.jpg 16964419] is a coming of age story about two Mexican-American teenage boys who are trying to figure out their place in the world. It deals with topics such as friendship, identity, sexuality, and family relationships. The story begins with Dante offering to teach Ari how to swim, and their friendship blossoms from there. Throughout the novel, Dante is constantly teaching Ari about life and changes his perspective on a lot of topics. Ari hates his life but when he meets Dante, his life seems to be more tolerable and his outlook on many things seems to become more positive. At the end of their first summer together, Ari pushed Dante out of the way of an oncoming car and is beaten up badly. Only weeks later, Dante moves to Chicago. This only makes their friendship grow stronger, whether they notice it or not. Both are going through their own problems; Ari with his brother and Dante with his sexuality. The best part about friendship is the ability to go back to normal after not talking for so long, or after dealing with personal problems. Both boys are trying to find themselves in the world. Ari struggles with family issues for a long time before his family finally opens up about why his brother is in prison. He also deals with his closed-off father, who is still scarred from his time in Vietnam. Dante realizes he's into kissing boys instead of girls and is ashamed of himself. Dante gets caught kissing a boy in an alley and is beat up for it. Ari becomes protective and Dante and finds out who is responsible for giving his best friend pain. We find out that Dante is in love with Ari in like the middle of the book...and Ari is still clueless about his sexuality. But when he comes to terms with the fact that he reciprocates those feelings, he also feels a sense of shame – having been in love with his best friend and not realizing it. But when the two fully realize and admit their feelings, the book closes with a happy ending.

Quality internal conflict and believable character development. Really gets into how to do show not tell with internal thoughts without making the character seem dumb. The character has a level of awareness etc. etc. Would be a 4.5 if it didn't have a really scuffed ending sequence that kinda made me go ‘aight ig'.

I think the hype for this book got to me and I was kinda underwhelmed by the writing style. It's almost entirely dialogue driven to the point that I don't even know what these main characters look like or what the general environment looks like. It is a nice coming of age story but in recent years I think film and literature have been so packed with those that they've become all similar to me.

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.

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.)

this book is perfect. it's so fucking beautiful. the language is so simplistic and yet every single sentence has a deeper meaning. i love ari because he's so realistic - he's stubborn and he's normal and i love that. and dante's just beautiful, he's lovely and he's free and he doesn't care. and the fucking parents too oh my god i wish i had those parents they are so amazing. i love most characters in this book (excluding some of the very small characters that were fucking assholes). i just think it's a very teenage book — it explores what it's like to be a teenager and all of these questions about the universe. i like that it makes you think. i love this book.

Am not crying, you are.

Maaaaan was this book worth the long wait?
Oh yes it was. Wanted to listen to this for so long! But just couldn't get my hands on it.
Narration is by the brilliant Lin Manuel Miranda.
The book follows the lives of two boys Aristotle and Dante, just two loners, who happen to become the best of friends.
Even though this was meant for a younger audience, age should not be a restriction to listen to this one.
Full of profound ideas, and a story that tugs at your heart strings, this has easily been the top 3 books I've read this year.

Would recommend to listen to the audio book, as it contains some Spanish words, which should be heard in Lin's perfect voice :)