Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

A young adult book which unapologetically dives into the difficult time of being a teenager who feels like an outsider in his own life. Aristotle meets Dante, a young boy who goes about life differently than anyone Ari has ever met before. As their friendship grows we journey with Ari through his questions, misgivings, frustrations, and joys. We watch as Ari and Dante grow closer and see how their relationship evolves. LGBTQIA ( )

A real journey about inner feelings, deep thoughts. It was very eye opening reading the thoughts Aristotle experienced, and the book did it very well showing them and having an impact on you (it did for me anyway). I got the feels at the happy points and teared up at the sadder ones.

Overall- an amazing book! ( )

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a young adult LGBTQ+ novel about two Mexican-American teenagers and their struggles with their racial, sexual, and familial identities. The book is told through Aristotle's perspective, an introverted individual with very little friends who has a poor relationship with his family. One summer he meets Dante, and they hit it off very quickly. Through the lives of these two, we discover what it means to be gay in American society as a Mexican American boy and how it impacts an individual mentally, physically, and socially. Aristotle also identifies strongly with his Mexican identity, and tries to do anything to amplify it, even if it means conforming to racial stereotypes that are set by white American society. This goes to show and contributes to the marginalization of race in American society. Overall, this book is a conversation and an analysis of the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. Benjamin Alire Saenz discusses the social and familial roles that Aristotle feels as a Mexican American, as well as a son, and explores how gender and sexuality fit into Mexican American culture in general. A decent read overall, but I found it quite repetitive at some times. Meaningful read, as the topics addressed in the book are very important in today's society. ( )

3.5 stars ( )

I absolutely adored everything about this book. Ari is just... everything. He was nicknamed Melancholy Boy and I think it fits him perfectly. He repressed so much of his feelings that when he finally let out anything of the pain he felt out loud, it made me instantly tear up. I really loved Dante, and their parents too. They were all just so perfectly imperfect. ( )