This was a great Pride Month read. It deserves all the hype around it, and now I'm wondering what took me so long to read it... It a book that's going to be gifted a lot...

I have had Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe on my bookshelf for a long time. I didn't want to pick it up. Mainly that is because I am quite contrary. If someone goes on and on about something then I tend to avoid it. However, I have had a three month break from doing reviews and I decided to just grab something that looked like an easy read.

It was good. I love friendship novels and so that was a major box ticked. I love coming of age dramas and I love the 80s. I should have been completely sold on Aristotle and Dante. I was confused about the character growth of Aristotle. He presented one way through the whole novel but then changed towards the end which was a bit confusing

However, it was a lovely story and it was well written. A nice novel to get me back into the swing of reviewing.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz is available now.

For more information regarding Benjamin Alire Saenz (@BenjaminASaenz) please visit www.benjaminsaenz.com.

For more information regarding Simon and Schuster Children's UK (@SimonKIDS) please visit www.simonandschuster.com/kids.

I’m not sure how I felt about this one, I expected to enjoy it a lot more than I did but I am not sure what exactly it was that I didn’t connect with. The story was interesting but I just felt that there was something missing for me.

Unfortunately this one really isn't for me, and that's ok. I can appreciate it for what it is, and probably would have loved this had I read it 20 years ago but as a rather cynical 30+ year old I just couldn't stop myself from eye rolling a lot at all the, to me, cringy dialogue.

Ari and Dante also felt a lot like the stereotypical angsty teens that I just can't bear reading about. There's no emotional depth to them beyond being a bit hot headed, moody and just typical teenagers who think they're so much better than everyone else. Also, the writing style seemed to be trying way too hard to be something it wasn't. It wasn't beautiful orclyricsl, but instead rather punctuated with sporadic dialogue and overly simple.

Basically, it's a no from me. But I can I understand the teenage appeal.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe was a great book with brilliant characters and writing! The plot revolved around Ari and his life. The themes were truly beautiful in this book. The writing was poetic but the constant use of short sentences made it a little repetitive, Other than that this was a brilliant read and I look forward to reading the sequel!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free e-arc!

I heard about this book but never read it, read very good reviews and I'm happy to join those who loved it.
It's a story about discovering who you are, falling in love, internal fights and friendship.
It's slow paced but the I was hooked since the first pages as i loved the style of writing, the internal monologues and how the relationship between Ari and Dante developed.
Ari and Dante are two interesting characters, well rounded and likeable.
I can't wait to read the next book as I loved this one.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of gangs, ptsd, trauma, mental illness, homophobia, hate crimes, road accident, transphobia, mention of the slur transvestite in historical context, internalised homophobia </spoiler>

It all starts on the day Ari decides to go to the local pool, despite not being able to swim: He meets Dante.

I've been meaning to read this for years, and was excited as I saw a re-upload on Netgalley and was fortunate enough to get access to the file, though I was a bit afraid that this would prove to be one of those hyped books where I could not understand why it's so popular.

I am happy to say I can understand it in this case.
Two teenagers meet, two loners, and befriend each other. That's where it begins, and I am reluctant to say more about the plot, because this is not about the plot at all.

I was surprised that this is historical fiction, set in the late 1980-ies, especially as the GR tags say it's contemporary. If you want to give this a go, please take a peek at the trigger warnings, because there are a lot.

I had a lot of fun - not at every turn of events, of course - and would love to spend more time with this group of people. So I'll make sure to pick up the sequel.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

I found myself quickly enthralled into the lives of Ari and Dante and engaged by their relationship. Ari proved to be an intriguing narrator with a unique perspective that resembled something unlike anything I can recall reading previously myself. I found that the author depicted a well formed story, complete with mystery and mischief, whilst still respectfully tackling tough topics. The characters were well created and allowed me to engage deeper with the novel and the plot, and the character development was excellent and believable. The relationships formed not only between Ari and Dante but between the supporting characters was truly heartwarming and made the read all the more enjoyable. While I felt the story was complete, I still find myself longing for more interaction between the two protagonists of this tale and I’m looking forward to the sequel.

This book had been on my TBR for a very long time, and it is a firm favourite in the bookish community. So, when it was made available on NetGalley again for a limited time ahead of the sequel coming out later this year, I jumped at the chance to finally read it. And I am so, so glad I did.

Aristotle and Dante is a beautiful, tender and heart-wrenching coming of age story. I sometimes struggle to get really drawn into contemporary YA nowadays, but I had no such problem with this book. I was glued to this book from the very first page, right up to the end.

Ari and Dante are, for different reasons, two very complex and compelling characters. Seeing all events unfold through Ari's eyes, hearing his inner struggles first hand, made it almost impossible not to sympathise with him. Was he always making the best choices or behaving blamelessly? Oh, no. But then, he shouldn't really have to, and I was glad to get to know a teenage boy who actually faces the full struggle of living his teenage years in very difficult circumstances. His emotions are all over the place, but I found myself really understanding his pain and his struggle to communicate this to those around him.

By contrast, I found it harder to get really attached to Dante, but that is probably because he is always filtered by Ari. Still, he was also beautifully drawn, revealing his complexity and his inner torments only a little at a time. Their friendship is one of the sweetest, most tender friendships I can remember reading about, and I was there for it!

I also really liked the parents and how involved they were in their children's lives. Their patience and willingness to question themselves, and even challenge themselves when they realised their children needed them to, was absolutely brilliant and flawlessly executed. I love positive parent-child relationships in YA particularly, and this was one of the best I have seen.

One thing that was a bit hit-and-miss for me in an otherwise brilliant reading experience was the writing style. I generally like a more poetic style, similar to the one the author adopted here, and I liked how he managed to still keep the text simple without being weighed down by lyricisms. However, most of the dialogues, especially the ones between Ari and Dante, came across as a bit too clunky and unrealistic, even for two exceptional boys such as them. This is obviously a personal preference, but I found it really distracting and it happened just too often to ignore.

Despite that, I still loved this book and the calm, quiet way it deals with significant, life-changing, scary and, sometimes, outright painful themes of identity, belonging, family, friendship, love and, ultimately finding your place in the world. I'm really looking forward to the sequel now!

This book had been on my tbr pile for a very long time, and I'm so happy ro finally read it. Aristotle and Dante are basically polar opposites, and the story of their romance is beautiful. Definitely recommend

I read this back when it was originally published and it may well have been the first lgbtq book I read. I've been meaning to reread it so this was a sign as I no longer own a copy. It was still as beautifully written as I remember but I don't know if it's impacted me as much. My taste in books has changed and there are more queer books out there that I prefer but it'll be interesting to see how the sequel is received

Confession: I read this book, a long time ago. And I’m desperately longing for its sequel. So, when I saw this one on NetGalley, I immediately downloaded it to reread it.

‘Through that telescope, the world was closer and larger than I’d ever imagined. And it was all so beautiful and overwhelming and it made me aware that there was something inside of me that mattered.’

I love Benjamin Alire Saènz writing. It’s simple, straightforward, and poetic at the same time. A moving story about boys becoming friends and slowly falling in love. Ari, the sad and lonely boy and Dante, so sensitive and open.

‘He had this thing about telling the truth. He was as bad as my dad. Except my dad kept the truth to himself. And Dante believed you had to tell the truth in words. Out loud. Tell someone.’

The first time I read this I gave 4 stars. But after rereading this gem of a book I can’t rate this story less than 5 stars. The story is so heartfelt, sometimes painful, sometimes funny, but always so incredibly beautiful. A must read!

If you haven’t read this little gem, please pick it up. If you have, you’re probably going to read the sequel too. I’ll definitely will! And if you want to read more by Benjamin Alire Saènz, please read Last Night I Sang to the Monster, another beautiful YA masterpiece.

This is such a beautiful, unique book. A coming of age story that deals with identity, with family, with love, with finding out who you are and what is important to you regardless of what the people around you might think of it.
The writing is beautiful and raw, the pacing rather slow, though. This is not a book where a lot of things happen. Ari is a relatable protagonist and his quiet yet powerful love story with Dante is just full of sweetness.

I admit that I'm not one of the many many readers who cried while reading this story, and while I loved the prose and the storytelling, I wasn't as emotionally attached. Personally, I also thought that some of the dialogue was a little too... artificial? poetic? It didn't read like something two young teenage boys would say.
I've read this book twice now and probably won't reread it again, but while it won't make my favourites list, I'd still say everyone should read it at least once. For the two loveable nerds Ari and Dante, for the important, relatable themes and for the beautiful prose.