Book Review – Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Hey book lovers. I hope you’re reading a great book. I’m here with a review for a stunning YA Contemporary Romance book featuring LGBT characters called Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

About The Book 📚

Publication Date: 2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Suggested Reader Age: 14+

Genre: YA Contemporary Romance, LGBT

My Review

“One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke. In the morning, when I opened my eyes, the world was the same. I threw off the sheets and lay there as the heat poured in through my window.”

› Aristotle is a miserably sad fifteen-year-old Mexican-American. His mom is a high school teacher, he has twin sisters who are twenty-seven-years old, and his twenty-five-year-old brother is in prison. His father struggles with mental illness since the Vietnam War. Ari is frustrated that his father barely speaks, and no one has explained how his brother ended up in prison.

While at the pool, Aristotle meets Dante who offers to teach him how to swim. Dante is full of life and laughter.

“He wasn’t good at controlling all the laughter that lived inside him.”

While Ari is struggling to understand his world, Dante doesn’t feel Mexican. After Ari is hit by a car when he saves Dante, they form a life-changing friendship and we’re taken on a journey as they discover more about the world and how they fit in it.

“I bet you could sometimes find all of the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.”

› Ari and Dante are big readers so there are many books mentioned in this story. Dante introduces Ari to poetry by William Carlos Williams. They also read and talk about War and Peace, Grapes of Wrath, Ernest Hemmingway, and The Sun Also Rises. Music is also a big part of this book. La Bamba is mentioned many times, Ari also talks about Patsy Cline, Heart, Abbey Road, Faith, The Long and Winding Road, and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.

“Another secret of the universe: Sometimes pain was like a storm that came out of nowhere. The clearest summer could end in a downpour. Could end in lightning and thunder.”

› With short chapters and lots of dialogue this is a quick character-driven novel. This is not an insta-love romance novel and would make for a great book club discussion about existence and self-acceptance.

“Sometimes, you do things and you do them not because you’re thinking but because you’re feeling. Because you’re feeling too much. And you can’t always control the things you do when you’re feeling too much.”

› Final Thoughts
• Authentic, organic, moving. I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put this book down. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is one of THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKS I’ve ever read. It reminded me of History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera, The Weight of Feathers and When the Moon Was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. Highly recommend! ★★★★★