(5 / 5) – Completes Me!
This book deserves every single award that is listed on its cover. I am an absolute lover of YA and Middle-School books and this book has been everywhere in the past few years and with its sequel coming out it felt like it was high-time I read it and it was worth every. single. minute. of my time.
Benjamin Alice Saenz tells the story of two young men in highschool as they form a friendship over the course of two summers. “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” is a masterpiece, featuring the inner turmoil of the teenage years when we are wrestling to figure out who we are, where we come from and who we are becoming.
Not everyone will appreciate the emotional depths Alire Saenz allows Aristotle, in particular, to dive, but I was floored by his prose which allowed for a restrained but deep emotional resonance. The juxtaposition of repression and expression throughout the novel is moving. The archetypes flow in and out of characters allowing for a diverse and honest presentation of the human condition as son, friend, mother, father, etc.
If you have the chance to read this book, read it. It doesn’t take a lot of time and even if it’s not your favorite genre or style, you will find some deeper truths illuminated in new and different ways.
Happy Reading!
Hannah