Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World

Hey book lovers! I’m here with a book review for Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, which is the sequel to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe. I received an arc from Netgalley and I’m very late posting my review. I have one more review to do for another arc, then I’ll be caught up. I’ll be reading just one arc a month in order to be able to read the books on my TBR and keep up with the reviews. That’s the plan anyhow…and I’m pretty sure I said the same thing in January when making resolutions – hahaha!

About The Book 📚

Title: Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World

Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Publication Date: October 2021

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Suggested Reader Age: 14+

Genre: Coming of Age, Love, LGBT, Family Life, Mexican-Americans

About The Author

Born 1954, raised in New Mexico
Award-winning poet and novelist
B.A. degree in Humanities and Philosophy
studied Theology at the University of Louvain in Leuven, Belgium
was a priest for a few years in El Paso, Texas
M.A. degree in Creative Writing
University of Iowa as a PhD student in American Literature
awarded a Wallace E. Stegner fellowship
his first book of poems, Calendar of Dust, won an American Book Award in 1992
entered the Ph.D. program at Stanford
began teaching at the University of Texas at El Paso in the bilingual MFA program
first novel: Carry Me Like Water
He lives and works in El Paso, Texas.

My Review

› Told from Aristotle’s perspective, this book is about two young adults learning to love each other, struggling to keep it hidden from the world. The story takes place in the 80s when being gay and AIDS were talked about hand in hand. Ari is “the poet” and his boyfriend, Dante, is “the philosopher”. Ari is trying to build a relationship with his father and has to deal with an enormous loss. Ari and Dante are wading the waters, trying to figure out how to have a relationship, whether they should tell friends and family, and what will happen after they are finished high school.

› I use the CAWPILE method to rate books.
0-3 Really bad
4-6 Mediocre
7-9 Really good
10 Outstanding

› Characters: 6
I disliked pretty much all of the characters, which would have been okay if it were intended, but I don’t think I was supposed to get to the end of the book not liking any of the characters. However, they are developed in regards to feeling distinct, with strengths and flaws.

› Atmosphere: 6
There are many intense scenes that should have made me feel something, but I didn’t feel anything.

› Writing Style: 8
Quality writing, quick to read due to the amount of dialogue.

“It was true, adults were teachers. They taught you things by how they behaved. And just now, my mom and Mrs. Alvidrez taught me a word Cassandra had begun to teach me: “forgiveness.” It was a word that needed to live inside me. I had a feeling that if that word didn’t live inside me, the word “happiness” would never live inside me either.”

› Plot: 4
This was very, very, very slow. I had a hard time sticking with it to the end.

› Intrigue: 3
I didn’t want to keep reading, and only finished it because it was an arc.

› Logic: 4
Ari’s mom talked about wanting his father to touch her and it just gave me the heebie-jeebies. His mother also outed him to his sisters without his permission and no one called her out on this! I’m a mom of two, and I would never in a million years out one of them to the other. Also, sexist comments like: “Wolfing down food like a guy” pulled me out of the story.

› Enjoyment: 5

Average 5.14

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★

› Final Thoughts
• After giving five stars to the first Aristotle and Dante book, I was extremely excited to receive an arc of this book. Sadly, I walked away feeling disappointed. This story would have been better left as a stand-alone. If you loved Ari and Dante and want to be back in the world, seeing their love and struggle, then you’ll probably enjoy this.