Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
This Printz Honor Book is a “tender, honest exploration of identity” (Publishers Weekly) that distills lyrical truths about family and friendship.
Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be.
Tender and honest are the very best words to describe this fantastic, tug at your heartstrings book.
And also BEAUTIFUL.
I just wanted to reach out and HUG this book, with a BIG HUGE MAMA BEAR HUG.
And yall…I am NOT EVEN A HUGGER.
This is a story about coming of age and figuring out who you are….a story about family and love and friendship.
How there are so so so many different types of love and so so so many ways to SHOW love….and how hard they can be to find and handle and accept.
It examines the importance of human to human connection and the cherished spot a real, true friend has in our heart….and the HEAVINESS and VITALNESS of that connection with a BEST friend in your tumultuous teen years.
And also the profound loneliness we can experience when we do not have that in our life.
This is such a good glimpse into those teen years where everything is confusing and amazing and horrifying and tremendous, all at once.
When growing up is complicated and super difficult….. and figuring out how to navigate it all seems impossible….and you don’t even realize how valuable it is to have those around you who love you and who you love.
This is a story about overcoming self doubt and learning how to handle a multitude of strong emotions.
This story is about how hard it can be to be your full entire self when you haven’t quite figured out who that is yet…or how to even begin the process of finding out.
(Even though my experience was NOT THE SAME as the characters in the book, there are some universal threads to being a teenager I think many readers can relate to.
It brought me back to my own teen years and the roller coaster of emotions and experiences I went thru at that time….sigh.)
Speaking of hugs, I just wanted to SQUEEZE both characters– Ari and Dante.
I just loved them…when they hurt, I hurt and when they were happy, I was happy. The author does a marvelous job of making you feel completely INVOLVED in the story as it unfolds.
Ari and Dante are 15 and struggling and discovering the world and discovering themselves.
They are so different from each other and so unique in who they are…. yet both are trying their best to just BE in the world.
I kept thinking of my own 15 year old son who doesn’t like to share much with me….is he feeling the things these kids are feeling? what struggles is he going thru that I don’t know about? is his surliness a sign of loneliness? does he have a best friend to truly confide in?….and then I wanted to go hug HIM. (which he is NOT all about lol)
This book touched my heart and emotions ALL OVER THE DAMN PLACE…
OHHHHHH the tears AND smiles I had while listening…they were IMMENSE, yall.
This author has won all kinds of awards for his writing and he ABSO-FRIGGIN-LUTELY should because he is TREMENDOUS at his craft.
Also…it is narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda!!!!!!! (fangirl FREAK OUT moment)…and he is EXACTLY as good as you expect he would be!
He’s so good that I can not imagine a single other person reading these words and expressing the exact same story…it just would NOT land the same.
This was one of those books where I didn’t want it to end….I needed to know MORE… and what happened next!
Good news…THERE IS A SEQUEL! 🥳
Which I began the immediate second that this one ended.
Completely loved this story.
And I just could not WAIT to see what happened in the next part of their journey.