Two boys, different like the moon and the sun, meet and a friendship stronger than any other bond they have starts. Over the years, the boys have to face the harsh reality of what they're feeling and what is important.
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Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire Sáenz
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Summary
Our main characters are dealing with way more than just teenage hormones.
Aristotle has never had a proper relationship with his family, and there is an elephant in the room - his brother Bernardo that no one talks about.
He is sad, depressing, has no friends and loves to compain.
Dante is a complete opposite. An only child loves by parents he loves back, being great at arts and sports. He is loved by everyone and he loves the world back... all but his tennis shoes.
The two meet at a pool, Dante offering he will teach Aristotle to swim. From then, their fates intertwine and they circle around each other, saving lives, making memories and going through hard times - but never parting ways.
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About the author
Quoting the book: "Benjamin Alire Sáenz is an author of poetry and prose for adults and teens."
This is my first book from this author, and even though I know this book has a second part, I am quite content with ending my journey here.
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Technical side
Publisher: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Year: 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-0893-7
Pages: 357
Narrator: Aristotle Mendoza, main character
Bought: 08. 09. 2021
Read: 21. 07. 2024
This book is divided into 7 parts, all starting with a quote used in that chapter, and a clue of what the part will be about.
The chapters count from 1 in each part.
The author is using regular speech marks, and italic which I appreciated as a word play.
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Rating
I agree with one star reviews on GoodReads. Sorry.
The book was okay, but it was... disappointing. So disappointing. The narrator kept key things a secret without hinting which to me made the conclusion absolutely unbelievable, hurried and it made it seem like a last minute decision.
Pity. I was excited about this book.
I care more about the colored tab that fell out from somewhere than this book.
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Colorful tabs
I... jumped on the wave of "booktok girlies" and I went and bought colorful pens and colorful tabs to highlight some important information, descriptions, funny moments, quotes and sad parts, or parts that I loved.
I got into it so hard, I started doing it with all the books I am reading.
At first it was "scary". I was taught to NEVER write in my books. But they are my books and I want to go through the pages and see what stuck with me or what I considered important. Have it as a bookmark so I can access it anytime I pick the book up and get thrown right back into it.
Because there is nothing sadder about books than not remembering what you loved about it.
So let me pick a few tabs and write them down, and also write down the meaning of some words I learned.
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Quotes:
Page 74:
I wondered how that felt, to really like yourself.
Page 138:
Even when I wanted to hate my mother, I loved her.
Page 207:
I kept hearing my mom's voice in my head and it really pissed me off that her voice was there.
Page 263:
And I wondered if I would ever feel like my own body was beautiful.
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Vocabulary:
- inscrutable - impossible to understand or interpret
- agnostic - a person who believes that nothing is known or can be known of the existence or nature of God
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