Aristotle and Dante | Books heaven

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secret of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

Genres: Romance, LGBTQ+

Pages: 392

Cover: Paperback

Age rating: 14+

Buy on: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Dante is able to swim. Ari is unable to. Dante is confident and well-spoken. Ari struggles with language and is self-conscious. Dante loses himself in art and poetry. Ari loses himself in his thoughts about his incarcerated older brother. Dante's skin tone is fair. Ari has somewhat darker features. A youngster with Dante's free and distinct outlook on life would probably be the last to dismantle the barriers Ari has put up around himself.

Despite all the odds, Ari and Dante form a unique friendship that will teach them life's most important lessons and help them determine who they want to be. However, there are significant obstacles in their path, and the only way Ari and Dante can overcome them is by having faith in one another and the strength of their friendship.

SPOILS ALERT!

General Opinion

BEST BOOK OF 2024!!! Now if you wonder why I didn't post this on my top 3 books of 2024, I post that before I read this book. I devour this book in 1 day and can't remember putting it down, and was so upset when it end, I WANT MORE ARI AND DANTE!!!

Characters

Ari was a quiet boy, who was often alone and like it that way. Until one summer when he met Dante, from that moment his life change forever. Ari now has a friend, and the two of them hit it of like they were meant to. What Ari doesn't know was how their relationship would go beyond friendship.

At the begin of the story, Ari thinks that Dante was odd, seeing how Dante was closed with his parents. In compare, Ari wasn't closed with his father, a person who's soul was still linger in the Vietnam war, and it takes a while in the book for them to get to know each other. Ari was quiet and Dante was not, but they always manage to make each other laugh. And their moment together was just precious and adorable.

It was amazing seeing how Ari character grow, from a shy timid boy that always run from his feeling, to a man that faced it, as well as opening up to people, making friends beside Dante.

Dante is just adorable. He was the key to Ari discovery of the universe, his love for Ari is so pure and wholesome that my heart just melt every time they're together. Dante was the solace in Ari lonely life, the reason why Ari began to see the beauty in life.

Plot

This story is a slow burn, mostly because Ari took a long time figuring out his feelings for Dante, realizing that he loves him and not just as a friend. But Ari and Dante had love each other the moment they met. Continuing with Ari saving Dante's life from a car, beating up a boy who hurts Dante, his actions speak louder than his love.

Dante always know he love Ari, loudly expressing his feeling to Ari, saying that in his mind, he was kissing Ari and not the boy in front of him. Yet Ari rebuke it, saying that he doesn't feel the same, hiding from his true self. But near the end of the book, his parents help him realize that he was in love with Dante all this time: “Ari, the problem isn’t just that Dante’s in love with you. The real problem—for you, anyway—is that you’re in love with him.” They slay for that.

The book ends with them sharing a kiss, and I scream so hard!!!

Quotes

“Swimming and you, Ari. Those are the things I love the most.”
“I’m always looking for you.”
“As Dante and I lay on our backs in the bed of my pickup and gazed out at the summer stars, I was free.”

Conclusion

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS BOOK!!! It won so may awards and clearly DESERVED! This book make me feels all kind of emotion: empathy, sad, giddy, and hopeful. It is a beautiful love story of 2 boys, and would recommend this to anyone, you would not miss out!!!