Title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Genre: Contemporary
Format: Audiobook
Length: 7h 30m
Series: Aristotle & Dante #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: 21st February 2012
My Rating: ★★★ (3 stars)
Goodreads | Storygraph
Synopsis:
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.
My Review:
This book has been on my TBR for a while and I listened to it on audiobook which was read by the wonderful Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Ari and Dante are layered characters, and I was really interested in their coming-of-age story. We get to see them grow as people and watch as their relationship develops. Ari is dealing with his war-haunted father, his much older sisters, and the incarcerated brother who he loves but can’t talk about. Dante is inquisitive and sensitive, he asks intrusive questions, draws and reads poetry. Of the two boys, I was drawn more to Dante.
I did find this book to be a little slow to get started, and I found that the dialogue did leave a little to the imagination and at times I felt it was a little forced.
I did enjoy the story, but I did struggle with the dialogue and pacing of the story. I may revisit this story again in the future, I may feel differently reading it a second time.
