Book Review / Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz

 

TO AVOID SPOILERS -  BELOW IS THE DESCRIPTION FOR ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE

A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz.

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.

 

Published:     12th October 2021
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Books
Goodreads :  Click here
Series or Stand-Alone:  Book 2, Aristotle and Dante
Source: From Publisher

 

MY REVIEW

 

Having read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe both in 2016 and again not that long ago, I can't tell you how excited I was to read this.  As I mentioned in my review of the first book, I felt there was a lot that was unsaid and unfinished after I had put that book down.  I was very intrigued and excited to see what was going to happen next in the lives of Aristotle and Dante.

As this is book 2, I am not going to go into too much detail here but the pacing and the writing was perfect and easy to read which matched perfectly with the story.  We are, of course, following on the story with Aristotle and Dante and it was also good to have a lot more of the regulars (parents and friends) coming back into this novel.  

What I loved the most, which is the same as the first book really, is the honest way the relationship between not just the main characters is but the relationships with the other characters such as parents and friends.  It wasn't portrayed in a fairytale way, it was very real conversations with the usual ups and downs. 

Again, a beautiful and moving story.  I would highly recommend (but would certainly recommend reading book 1 first).