Book Descriptions
for Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Picking up where Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe left off, this novel follows Ari’s life and his and Dante’s developing relationship through the rest of the summer and their senior years of high school. Ari and Dante are in love, but even as their relationship becomes more intimate both are struggling with internalized homophobia, knowing their lives and their love will face added challenges because they are gay. These heartrending feelings are tempered by the abundance of love and support they receive from their parents, Ari’s sisters, and friends they learn they can trust. For loner Ari, these friendships prove especially lovely and surprising. He knows Dante is steadfast; he wasn’t expecting Carmella, a girl he’s disliked for a long time, to be so, too. AIDS—about which so little is known at this time in the 1980s beyond the grief for those left behind—and the increasing activism of the gay community are two larger social elements of a story in which insightful, introspective Ari also struggles to resolve anguished feelings about his older brother, who murdered a trans woman and has no remorse. This quiet, immersive novel about two Latinx teens on the cusp of adulthood, growing and changing before readers’ eyes, combines beautiful writing with incredible depth of thought and feeling. (Age 14 and older)
CCBC Choices 2022. © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2022. Used with permission.
From the Publisher
A #1 New York Times bestseller
Four starred reviews!
“Messily human and sincerely insightful.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is an “emotional roller coaster” (School Library Journal, starred review) sure to captivate fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H.K. Choi.
In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys in a border town fell in love. Now, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence.
Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.
The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own.
Four starred reviews!
“Messily human and sincerely insightful.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
The highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is an “emotional roller coaster” (School Library Journal, starred review) sure to captivate fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H.K. Choi.
In Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, two boys in a border town fell in love. Now, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence.
Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.
The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own.
Publisher description retrieved from Google Books.