LITTLE BOOK CLUB discussion
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
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All the Secrets of the Universe
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I ended up giving this book a 4 out of 5. I thought it was just a really cute book, very well written and an easy read. Even though it had many deeper themes, like identity. Both the whole mexican thing, which I think is a very interesting one. Like, they are both mexican and american, and what those two labels mean to them. Dante seems to think "mexican" has some almost negative connotations, and does't feel that mexican, which I thought was a interesting side to the book. And of course sexuality. However, I didn't think that was explored as much. That was one of the things that I didn't like that much about the book. Ari's self discovery wasn't that well explained I found, and I found it sort of strange that his parents we're the ones who had to tell him he was in love with Dante. Even though it was a cute scene. I don't know how I feel about it..
The ending was a bit too "nice" for my liking. It was like, "OK, so I'm in love with Dante, and know we can be together and everything is nice". I would have liked to see more of how Ari actually realized and came to terms with this.
But overall, a very nice book. I both laughed and cried. So, yay.
Oh, and the whole story of Ari's brother! That was such a good storyline, and was also what made me cry when I read this book.
I loved this book! I love how it's more than your typical "discovering thyself" YA book. Like Sigrid said, it's about heritage. They both have differing views on being Mexican American and I love that we can see the flip side of cultural identity. Another thing I loved that differs a bit from Sigrid is how the boys' sexuality is explored. The topic isn't IN YOUR FACE like many LGBT YA books. Instead, the characters deal with their sexualities alongside other daily issues. I also love how this book gradually went from (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER)developing friendship to deep friendship to romance because many YA romance books like to dive RIGHT INTO the romantic relationship of the characters and not the frienship side. Or, they'll go from leaning on each other in a "Hey, did you copy down the homework?" sort of way to suddenly dating. Not all YA books are like this, but I love the ones that aren't because I love a story that builds. As for what I would've liked to see in this book...hmmm...this one's kinda hard because I read this book MONTHS ago. I think it would've been great to see the boys branch out more as far as friendship goes. It's true that we all have that one best friend that we love being around more than our typical friends, but I wanted to see Aristotle and Dante branch out socially. I don't know. Like I said, it's been a while since I've read this book (and even if I love a book, I'll gobble up several books after that I will come to love and forget details of previous ones). Overall, I think what I love about this book most is that it brings a fresh perspective to identity, heritage, sexual discovery (did I REALLY use that phrase - wow), and how teenagers tackle obstacles they face.
Sigrid wrote: "Oh, and the whole story of Ari's brother! That was such a good storyline, and was also what made me cry when I read this book." I almost forgot about that! I should really reread this book if I'm going to get into this discussion. Or read a synopsis - lol. Ari's brother almost made me cry several times.
Sara wrote: "I loved this book! I love how it's more than your typical "discovering thyself" YA book. Like Sigrid said, it's about heritage. They both have differing views on being Mexican American and I love t..."Yes, I agree that the romance was much more realistic that soo so much of the typical instalove that we far too often see in YA. It was just towards the ending. I just felt like we got so much of Ari's thoughts and feelings about everything else, but not that much about his actual feelings for Dante. Because I would just assume that at some point he would think about if those feelings were romantic or not.
And yes, agree on the branching out socially point! We got a bit of that with the two girls Ari hung out with, but it would be nice to see more of their world outside of their families.
This book was so incredibly beautiful. It was a little slow paced initially but Saenz writing just took me into this world so completely and fully that I became immersed with every word he wrote. Whilst not being the most sophistocated novel in terms of its language style, it is so accessible to every audience that it's fluidity and easiness becomes its true merit. Every sentence has a purpose and nothing is done too hastily or gratuitously.The real skill to this novel is the connection you are able to build with every single character, even the minor ones you dislike. Saenz took me right in there and made these characters not just my friends, but almost apart of me. Whenever they felt something I was right there feeling it with them, whenever they were struggling or confused I was right there sharing that same burden. This is definitely a 4.5 stars for me. It is so poignant, so beautiful, and so impactful. The dedication is truly delightful and in that one sentence sets up the entire shockwave on the book - "to all the boys who've had to learn to play by different rules".
The structure was phenomenal - every scene had it's own place and was woven into the main story arc and themes that were being dealt with. Quite difficult subjects were being discussed such as masturbation, imprisonment, shame, violence, anger; but it was done in such a way so as not to overpower the story. My overall thoughts on this is that I was not being told a story, these characters were living their story and I was with them all the way through living and breathing it with them. My only fault is that the pacing of this novel could have been tweaked ever so slightly, but what a pure and easy joy to read.
2ND TIME READING IT AND I STILL LOVE IT!there is litterally nothing wrong with this book. it's not like a love story even though it ends beautifully and it was just perfect. but it doesn't smother you in gross lovey dovey things. and even though ari was angry a lot he never seemes to be able to hurt dante intentionally.
if there was any problems i would say i wanted more interactions between ari and dante because it was just so amazing there is nothing else to say.
Also the first time i was looking to get this book i saw reviews that were so vaugue and now i understand because all i want to do is say read the book because there is no "overall veiw" of this book. it's far to complicate and beautiful! 200/5 stars
I loved this book so much and gave it 5/5 stars. The writing was absolutely beautiful and I loved reading about Ari's struggles with growing up and learning to be okay with who he is. His friendship with Dante warmed my heart and it was so good to see it slowly become more than that. SLOWLY. That's what most YA books lack in my opinion, a slowly developing romance and this book managed to do that perfectly. I absolutely adored everything about this story and probably wouldn't have picked this book up if it hadn't been our book of the month(s), so I'm really glad I did.
I love coming of age stories. Dante and Ari are still learning about themselves and where they fit in the universe. They are not like others their age. I relate to these to type of stories a lot. Great story.
I had heard great things about this book and that still didn't prepare me for how brilliant this novel is. Reading from Ari's point of view was solemnly beautiful. He seemed both mature and lost and he understood that, he was stuck in the limbo between being a boy and a man.
I liked the ending I love the contrast in Dante and Ari. Dante came to terms early on where Ari knew there was something different but couldn't put his finger on it until his parents told him. The ending had me in tears, I loved how it ended with them starting another journey that their love took the entire book to develop from a friendship. It was great how their struggle with sexuality and identity were a big part of the book but not the centre piece. It was just another part of their lives that they had to understand.
A wonderful book 5/5 so easy to read especially for a book that deals with heavier topics.
Possibly one of the best books I've read in a long time! I adored this book to pieces! I laughed, cried and I really felt for Ari's story about his brother and learning to love himself, and how can you not like Dante? Overall I gave this book a 5 out of 5 stars. :)
I read this book back in the summer of 2014, and I LOVED it! I only picked this up because I had been listening to Ariel Bissett rave about this book for so long, I figured I should make a point of reading it! So I did. And a big 5/5 stars from me! I love how different this book is to so many others I've read before! The style in which this book was written was so original, and the book got a lot more deep than I was expecting, which I enjoyed. The tissue box was held close by at all times because I had heard it was emotional, and I did cry a little bit. But overall it was just so good, and the characters really had a strong voice!
Sigrid wrote: "I ended up giving this book a 4 out of 5. I thought it was just a really cute book, very well written and an easy read. Even though it had many deeper themes, like identity. Both the whole mexican ..."I very much agree about the ending. It's been a couple of months since I read this books, but the way I remember is that you slowly see Dante realize certain things about his sexuality, while with Ari it's almost like "uhm son, you're gay." "Oh right, thanks for telling me, let's go make out with my new bf!"
I think it would have felt more real to me if, after the conversation with his parents, we would have seen him come to accept the fact that he's gay a little more gradually... While now, I remember Ari's sexuality not really being explored throughout the story and suddenly he's 100% okay with it.
Okay... I've just finished this book and i am so impressed. It made me think a lot, you know..... It was so beautifully written. I loved it, really. It was fantastic.
Ps. I am not really sure if i liked the whole drug theme in this book. I know, i know it's part of discovering who you are or something similar, but i didn't really enjoyed that... But that's the only one thing i swear :)
Loved this book. I cried at the end of it just out of the blue. I also finished it 2 days after you announced that we were going to be reading.
I literally read this entire book in one day. I just finished and I though it was SO GOOD. The story was so simple and yet really beautiful and meaningful. I liked reading from Ari's perspective and while I am a girl and straight I felt like I could relate to him in so many ways. Particularly to his thoughts about loneliness, sadness and anger. So many passages really resonated with me.
I also felt like the author avoided falling into common stereotypes. For example, while Ari was quiet and kind of a loner he wasn't bookish (I am very bookish and don't mind reading characters who are, it was just refreshing). I also appreciated how much the book explored Dante and Ari's friendship before any romance actually happened.
So many thoughts but really I just loved this book so much!
(spoilerssss obviously) Okay I just finished it and I just loved it so much. This was such a good coming of age story! The writing was poetic and beautiful and all of Ari's thoughts were fascinating--I loved seeing his perspective on the world and Dante and himself. I loved both characters and all of their parents (and Legs) and aagghh it was just really good. The parental relationships were lovely. All the stories we learn about Ari's family were so touching and heartbreaking. And the end made me cry a lot. I really couldn't tell for sure throughout the book if Ari liked Dante or not but I wanted them to be together SO. MUCH. So perhaps the ending was a little too perfect but I didn't even care, I was so happy and relieved.I agree with the comment above that it felt weird to me how Ari's parents just sat him down and told him he was in love with Dante. But other than that there wasn't much I didn't like about this book. It was really enjoyable. Every time I felt like I might be getting bored, something new would happen to totally draw me back into the story. I found meaning and depth in every little subplot and detail but it still managed to stay light and easygoing. I'm so glad this was the bookclub book otherwise I don't think I would have read it, so thank you!
Once I really jumped in to this book, I could not stop! It was such a beautiful story about two boys who don't normally fit in and end up finding each other at a very important time in their lives. I think that this is a story that anybody could relate to just in dealing with a time in your life where you're still trying to find who you are and where you fit in with the rest of the world. I loved the characters and the dynamic between everyone such as Dante's father making quick friends with Ari's father, and not only that, but also seeing the relationship between Ari and his father start evolving, especially after Ari got sick. For a little while, I honestly didn't know if Ari and Dante would end up together, but when Dante ended up in the hospital, that's when I felt like I knew that they really would end up together.
Books like these are the reason why I love being a part of this bookclub. It makes me read books that I would not normally pick up, and I end up loving them almost every time.
gotmy hands on it finally gonna read it soon *fingers crossed*
... but the way I remember is that you slowly see Dante realize certain things about his sexuality, while with Ari it's almost like "uhm son, you're gay." "Oh right, thanks for telling me, let's go make out with my new bf!"I think it would have felt more real to me if, after the conversation with his parents, we would have seen him come to accept the fact that he's gay a little more gradually... While now, I remember Ari's sexuality not really being explored throughout the story and suddenly he's 100% okay with it.
I think you could perhaps peruse the novel once more, because there were a lot of passages where you could sense he was unconsciously struggling with his homosexuality, but he just didn't want to deal with it directly. For example, when he spoke about not feeling comfortable showering with other guys his age, or when he waxed lyrically about his feelings of alienation, when he didn't want to think about masturbation, etc. Ari is an unreliable narrator, because --as he says himself-- he doesn't yet know who he is. To me it was a subsumed gradual realization.
In a way, it parallels the way his family dealt with other issues. Once his mother confronted the situation with Bernardo, his father with the war, it was Ari's turn to deal with his love for Dante.
i don't generally like coming-of-age-novels and I would not reread it, but i really really liked and enjoyed the book. it was weird sometimes, but that make its charm for me - from time to time I like reading a little different books (my go-to-genre is (really long) fantasy) and I wanted to see what was behind that beautiful cover :Dthe gay-thing at the end really surprised me, but I also read it really fast without making too many own assumptions^^nice read all in all - thanks booktube and catriona for making me read it this month :P gave it 4,5 and therefore 5 stars.
Oh this book! I don't even know what to say. That ending so was beautiful. I've read 19 books so far this year and most of them I've had issues with the endings. Most of them are just so abrupt but this one was perfect. I've never cried like that over a happy ending, and I did cry (more than once during this book). Right from the beginning I had a bit of a hunch that they might end up a couple but I wasn't sure that was where this book was going. I thought it was the romantic in me always trying to find the love story and seeing something that wasn't there. I know someone mentioned that they thought that Ari didn't have enough development with his sexuality but I agree with the person that said that the clues were there all along. He mentions that he locks his emotions inside and I just don't think he let himself think it. I think the fact that he's ok with Dante being gay but so ashamed that he himself might be gay shows just how loyal he is to Dante and how much he does love him. I think he needed someone to tell him it was ok and that he was loved. Also there were multiple times when he was directly told that Dante was in love with him. Most straight teenage boys would be bothered by that (ok maybe not most, this is a bit of a generalization but I'm not sure how else to put it). To me if he didn't love Dante back it seems like he would be worried about where that left them as friends. I knew Dante wouldn't be able to just be Ari's friend and pretend that he didn't love him. Ari just was always so accepting and calm about being told that Dante loved him.
I'm giving this book a 5 out of 5. I wish I could rate it higher. It's my new favorite book of the year (Up until now it was Station Eleven) and it might be a tie for my favorite of all time along with Ender's Game.
Has anyone read any other books by this author? If so which ones would you recommend? If any of his other books are half as good as this one I definitely want to read them.
I literally finished reading it about 8 hours ago. I'm not going to say I loved it, because I didn't. It took a while for me to really get hooked but I adored the outcome. In those last couple of pages, I really started shipping Ari and Dante. :)
I just finished this book, so I hadn't had the time to get all of my thoughts in order. So here, I am flying by the seat of my pants! This was lovely. This book club was the first time I had even heard about this book. I am so glad that was nominated to be read. I am giving this book a four out of five. It was such an easy read. I would have finished this book in one sitting had it not been for my kindle dying. *angry muttering* I found the outcome really sweet and endearing. Although, I kind of wished Ari came to his on conclusions. His parents telling him he was in love with Dante seemed forced. I mean, I think his parents sitting down with him was a great idea. He seemed to have really needed their acceptance. But I would have liked to have seen Ari's own eureka moment.
Just read the book all in one sitting! It was amazing! I just loved that it talked about friendship, parents, loyalty, being hispanic american,and sexuality. Honestly this book was really touching, it made me cry, laugh, and learn a new side about friendship and love. Cannot stop talking about how amazing this book was!
This book was a re-read for me, and even though I knew what was coming, and how the book generally went, I had forgotten so much of it! I got to fall in love again with Ari's and Dante's relationship all over again, their families, and how they're all connected, and it was brilliant. The ending made me cry (again), and I so rarely cry when it comes to books in general, so I've gotta give props to Benjamin Sáenz for being able to do that, twice!
I don't love Ari as a character for the majority of the book, truth be told. However, I find him to be an honest character, and you see his development throughout the book, so towards the end of it is when I truly started to connect/like him. He's also pretty relatable, for me at least, because of his black-and-white thinking. He hates so many things, and loves some things, and there's nothing in-between, which reminds me of myself a little bit, especially during my teenage years.
Since I read this in 2014, this book has been my go-to book recommendation for people, and re-reading it has just reaffirmed it. I honestly don't think I have ever read anything like it, and I adore the story within the books pages.
I loved everything about this book besides the ending. Literally everything else was perfect and I was going to give it 5 stars up until the last page. I feel like Ari was forced into thinking he loved Dante. The whole book he didn't and even at one point he said he was going to be friends with Dante anymore (when he moved away), but then all of a sudden he changed his mind and I wasn't convinced.
I think that ari liked dante up until the car incident then dante kind of gets put on the backburner. ari has all these feelings and emotions thrown at him after the car incident and he gets attention that he doesn't want. it takes him some time to rediscover what he had felt for dante in the beginning.
Loved the book. 5 stars.This is the first book that ever got me enraged. When Ari found out that Dante was in the hospital because he got beat up because he was gay, I felt exactly like how ari felt. I kinda was hoping he beat the shit out of all of them. As someone who has been jumped by a gang of people and mentally plotted a devastating revenge, my first reaction was "I kinda hope he kills one of them". I know that's fucked up, but I really did feel like Ari in the moment. I'm glad he didn't and that he didn't end up like his brother.
*SPOILERS BELOW*