We were celebrating Pride month in the library when I came across a few books that were
based on the topic. That’s when I saw this book. Its title was the first thing that fascinated me.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
I turned the book around and read the blurb.
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The book was about – as the title said – Aristotle and Dante. It said that Dante could swim while
Ari couldn’t. Dante was a bit fairer and Ari wasn’t. Dante used to think of arts and poetry while
Ari used to think of his brother in prison. Dante was an extrovert, while Ari was an introvert.
I just found the premise to be so fascinating.
Ari and Dante, two completely opposite souls but together. This is not all, it gets better.
The book is divided into parts & then subdivided into chapters. The title of the first part was “the
different rules of Summer” and, in fine print below,“The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea”. Wow! Every teenager can relate to that line. The more I got into the book, the more it became
difficult to put it down.
The book revolves around Aristotle and Dante exploring their sexual identities. The more they
get to know each other and their lives, they understand the difficulties faced in love and the
brutal reality of human life.
My favorite character in the book was Dante’s father; Sam. He is the most supportive father
anybody can ever ask for. The main reason he is my favorite character is the way he was
always there with the boys. Whenever any of them was in trouble or one got way too much into
their heads, he used to go and help them out. And let me tell you that he is one of the chillest
dads ever! Other than being fun, he was also expressive.I think that expressing and sharing
what you feel with your loved ones is an important thing. This is why Sam is my favorite
character.
I really find this book relatable as it is parallel to what I and many other teenagers feel during
this stage of life. The emotions and the thoughts of the characters were something I am familiar
with.
I would recommend this book to all my friends. It shows how it is perfectly normal to like
someone of the same gender as you. It tells you how it is okay to be different and to feel things
differently. I learned from this book that everybody has their own problems going on in their
personal life. Judging someone or excluding someone based on their choices or decisions is
completely and utterly wrong.
I recently found out that this book is banned in some libraries in America. Being a young adult
myself, I think this book is worth reading. Many parents and teachers think that reading about
people having a different sexuality is going to change their sexuality too. I think being aware
about topics like LGBTQ+ and about movements like Black Lives Matter is important as it gives
Your information about what is going on out there in the world. Being a democratic country, giving
opinions about such topics is our right but fighting for your rights which are taken away from you
because you are different or unique is wrong. How is that fair?
This book has managed to show passion, love, social issues and friendship all together. It was
an honest, exploratory book about identity & how love should be open, free & without any
shame.
Read the book to find out more!
Submitted by
Dwija Patel
Std. 10