Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

Hardcover, 2012

Status

Available

Collection

Publication

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (2012), Edition: First Edition, 368 pages

Description

Fifteen-year-old Ari Mendoza is an angry loner with a brother in prison, but when he meets Dante and they become friends, Ari starts to ask questions about himself, his parents, and his family that he has never asked before.

Awards

Lambda Literary Award (Finalist — 2013)
Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2015)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — High School — 2016)
Stonewall Book Award (Winner — 2013)

Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

2012-02-21

Physical description

368 p.; 8.25 inches

User reviews

LibraryThing member edspicer
Saenz, B.A. (2012). Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe. New York: Simon & Schuster. 359 pp. ISBN: 978-1-4424-0892-0. (Hardcover); $16.99.

Saenz made a splash back in 2004 with his lyrical teen novel, Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood (and it is still a book that I HIGHLY
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recommend). Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a much different title, but no less hard hitting and effective. It begins with an epigraph: “The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea.” The past tense nature of this quote, combined with the dubious nature of free will expressed in its words, perfectly frames the events of this story. The epigraph suggests that we will move forward, once we begin thinking for ourselves. Ari struggles with verbal expression. He lacks confidence. His dark complexion matches his mood especially when his thoughts dwell on his imprisoned older brother. He is angry and ready for a fight. His family refuses to speak of the reason Bernardo is in prison. In fact, his family has a difficult time talking about anything of significance—his father, for example, refuses to discuss his Viet Nam War experiences. What Ari is, Dante is not. Dante recites poetry and spews philosophical arguments easily. He is athletic and teaches Ari to swim. His complexion is very light. His family talks about anything and almost everything. Dante is outgoing and friendly. Saenz is purposefully contrasting the differences between the boys to highlight the fact that both are Mexican. The boys even argue about who is more Mexican than the other. Their world, however, has a very defined social order that even Dante cannot ignore. When Ari realizes that Dante’s feelings for him stretch the social conventions of their world, he is faced with several serious challenges, not the least of which is the need to articulate his problems and worries. The plot twists are layered effectively, which helps disguise a welcomed ending that is not often seen in Latino literature. In addition to issues of race, Saenz has readers confront bullies, family secrets, and social mores. It is, however, the distinctly teen philosophical discussions, sometimes goofy, sometimes intensely serious, between Ari and Dante that gives this novel its large heart. Like many students, these boys wonder about purpose, about love, about acceptance, about friendship, and about their place in a world that often goes out of its way to exclude them. Purchase this one for high school libraries.
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LibraryThing member poetontheone
I wish there were more young adult novels written by skilled and versatile writers invested in craft and literature about people of color who feel too much, feel too little, who are queer, who have family in prison, whose fathers don't talk about the war, whose mothers love them almost too much.
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Young adult novels about love, and friendship and family that ache with authenticity and the warm glow of summer and the chill of rain and the drama of real life. There should be so many more books like this, but there is this book, and it is wonderful. Stop worrying about white girls named Alaska and introduce yourself to a young brown boy named Aristotle. You will be glad you did.
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LibraryThing member ViragoReads
First person perspective quickly became a non-issue once I got a few chapters into this book. This is probably the best first person story I've read.

All the feels. So, so many feels. This story was so profound. I felt like I was Aristotle, or Ari to his friends. He was a lonely, lonely boy, and
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though I had good friends--great friends growing up, I remember feeling such an aching loneliness at times. I also remember being caught in my own private wars and living inside my head, keeping so many of my thoughts to myself.

Ari was a beautiful boy who was confused not only about himself, but about the entirety of his family. His father returned from the Vietnam war a shell of his former self--not that Ari would know that because he was born after his father returned from the war. It was as if whatever haunted his father was inherited by Ari. He grew up being so bothered by the fact that he didn't know his father because he wouldn't let anyone in. He grew up as practically an only child because his siblings were so much older than him. He grew up hating that his brother, who was in prison, was treated as though he didn't exist. He hated that there were so many secrets in his family, yet he didn't want to share any of his secrets either. There was so much anger and confusion roiling around inside of Ari. And it really came through in the writing. I just wanted to hug him, and I remember being him.

And then Dante came into his life. Dante was such a polar opposite of Ari, but like a light in the otherwise darkness of Ari's mind. They were a strange pair, Aristotle and Dante, but they fit so perfectly together. Dante taught Ari to swim, and became Ari's first ever real friend, let alone best friend. He immersed Ari int art, and books, and a different family life than he was familiar with. Dante made Ari feel things that he didn't want to. He made Dante want to share his mind, which was something Ari just didn't do.

Watching them fall in love... It was amazing and beautifully written. This was like a slice-of-life, but with a plot. I wasn't always certain they were falling in love. The author, in my opinion, keep me wondering. I figured Dante out pretty easily, but Ari, as Dante called him, was "inscrutable". Just when I thought maybe he returned Dante's feelings I was like, oh maybe not. Even when Dante was beaten badly enough to be hospitalized, and Ari found out one of the boys who had done it, he went ballistic and returned the favor to the little punk. Maybe I'm just clueless, but I certainly would destroy anyone who hurt my bestie, and I would definitely have pushed her out of the way of a moving vehicle. That's what besties do, or at least I thought so. Which is why it made sense to me when Ari continually said he hadn't done it on purpose, it had just been a reflex. Protecting people you love-no matter the manner of love--is a reflex. You don't think about it, you just do it. I honestly believed for the longest time, that Ari loved Dante as a friend. Their experimental kiss threw me off because the author tried very hard to make the romantic feelings seem one-sided...or as I said, I'm just clueless.

I'm not doing very well on this review. This book has got me shooketh. It was just a beautiful story, and I loved every page of it! It was sad and funny and exciting and heartbreaking. Dude, this book made me cry. Not full-on ugly cry, but I got misty and that's a good as tears when it comes to me. This book also triggered me a bit. But it was a me-thing. I was reminded, every time Ari thought about his father, of how much I miss mine. And like with many other books on my shelves, I can't believe it took me so long to read this.
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LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
Aristotle and Dante are teen Mexican-American boys living in El Paso in the summer of 1987. They have challenges. Aristotle can’t swim. Dante can’t abide wearing shoes. Aristotle is as silent as his father. Dante is as talkative and friendly as his father. Neither of them have ever kissed a
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girl or a boy. And worst of all, they are burdened by parents that love them. It’s hard to figure out who you are or what you want to be at the best of times. Fortunately best friends help cut through all the distractions.

Both a coming of age story and a coming out story, the novel is presented from the point of view of Aristotle. He is a late child in the marriage of his parents. He has much older adult sisters and a brother in prison of whom no one speaks. His father, a Vietnam vet, has his own demons and nightmares about which he cannot speak. And Aristotle is very like his father. By contrast, Dante knows himself better but not always how to tell his parents about himself. He is brave in his way and extremely loyal. When bad things happen to both boys, it’s almost impossible not to root for them to overcome the obstacles in the way of their happiness.

I especially like the treatment of both sets of parents in this novel. Everyone is a complex individual and their relationships are equally complex. Of course there is melodrama, but it won’t seem excessive if you too were ever an angst-ridden teen.

Recommended.
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LibraryThing member ecataldi
Excellent read! I couldn't put it down. I've really been enjoying all the young adult books this year and this is no exception. This book manages to be deep, probing, and realistic, but not too heavy.

Fifteen year old Aristotle, known as Ari, is a loner, all that changes however one summer he meets
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Dante at the pool and the two become inseparable. It's a complicated relationship, it starts to dawn on Ari that Dante likes him, like REALLY likes him. Ari tries to pretend that nothing is wrong but things but his inability to talk about problems muddles the situation. Ari is complicated young boy, he takes after his father who was in Vietnam and came back a changed and quiet man. He also can't help but wonder about his brother who has been in prison since he was four. Ari discovers that in order to discover the secrets of the universe he must discover, himself, his complicated family, and his relationship with Dante.

A truly great read, the characters are multi-faceted and real. You care greatly about them and you want them to overcome their obstacles. I definitely plan on reading more from this author.
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LibraryThing member Narshkite
My first book for this year's Book Riot challenge, and it reminded me why I love this challenge so much. This is a book I never would have read if BR had not directed me to read a YA book from an LGBTQ+ author. I generally avoid YA books. This book though made me happy to check into YA land. There
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is so much to like here. I was intrigued by the candid exploration of what it means to be Mexican in America when your life and interests do not comport with those of most of the people around you. I loved that sexuality was represented accurately, as a spectrum. That love is love is love, that bisexuality is real and not (as Carrie Bradshaw once said) a stop on the bus to Gaytown. I liked that the parents were not out of touch or ridiculous, but rather smart, complicated, sometimes wrong, but good parents and people. Also, Lin Manuel Miranda was a fantastic reader! The book isn't perfect, it oversimplifies many things, and allows people to live their truth without substantial repercussions which would almost certainly flow from their actions. It really is good, though. I have recommended it to my own teen who has friends who are Gay, Bi and Trans, but who could still stand to learn about some of the small, nonpolitical, struggles his friends might experience and not share with their straight cisgender peers.
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LibraryThing member LauraAshlee
I had to give myself some space from this novel after I finished it because I was so floored. I’m still not sure I can capture exactly how it made me feel or how much I loved it.

Aristotle, or Ari, is angsty and confused. He’s angry that his parents won’t talk to him about his brother, who’s
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in prison. He’s also a loner, never feeling like he quite fits in with other boys. Dante is a brilliant boy who tries to look on the brighter side of life. The two seem to have nothing in common, but learn a lot about themselves through their friendship. Ari and Dante are the kinds of characters that feel very real and jump off the page, but you would be hard-pressed to find real people like them. I loved the literary references, commentaries on different aspects of life, and their parents. It’s so easy to find YA books with parents who are either never around or are unsupportive. Ari and Dante have wonderful parents who love them, talk to them, and want them to be happy. I wish everyone could have parents like them. The writing was so beautiful that I immediately wanted to read everything Saenz has ever written. I liked that the LGBT elements weren’t of the in-your-face variety. It’s just genuine. I also loved their struggle with where they stand as Americans and Mexicans. It was so refreshing to read about these topics when they’re handled subtly and well. This book definitely deserves all of the acclaim and awards. The narration was good, but I had to let it grow on me. I wasn’t sure about his voice in the beginning. After listening to nearly the entire book in one sitting, his voices became the characters’ voices to me. I’m already re-reading this one in print to pick up on any quotes I might want to tag and I can still hear the narrator’s voices in my head.

Go read this book now!
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LibraryThing member saresmoore
I listened to the audio narration by Lin-Manuel Miranda. This is one of the most beautiful and poignant stories I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. Forget YA, this is simply a wonderful book.
LibraryThing member heycaye
Man, I'm a Gina here.
It was definitely not love at first read. I hated the redundant, wiseass conversations which all seemed to go in a loop, and there were several little flaws that I spotted too (thumbs down to the proofreading department).

At first I thought Dante's POV would make a much better
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book. Ari can be such a real downer, because he makes a depressing storyteller.

But in the end, I get him.

It all unfolded beautifully. The first few chapters were a struggle for me, but I'm glad I persevered. This book turned out to be one of the most beautifully written ones I know. I was sobbing real hard at the last few chapters.

I don't know how but I felt the characters' pain acutely. Maybe because I do have friends who are in similar situations. And at first I didn't want to know what kind of thoughts Ari and Dante have- I wanted to shut them down because it felt too real, and it hurt.

Still, I was more than grateful to have known their story. In the end I decided that I love them both after all. Maybe a little too much :)
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LibraryThing member Othemts
Sáenz has written a beautiful novel about friendship, family, love, coming of age, and coming to terms with your identity as a teenager. Set in El Paso in the mid-1980s, the book is narrated by 15-year-old Mexican American boy Aristotle - or Ari - who has learned to repress his feelings from his
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parents. His father won't speak of the horrors of fighting in the Vietnam War and neither of his parents will talk about Ari's much older brother who is in prison. The story begins when Ari meets and befriends Dante, another Mexican American boy his age, at the swimming pool. Dante and his family are more open in their feelings and he draws out Ari over a series of meaningful conversations. The two boys deal with the typical trials of teenagers as well the specific problems related to understanding their identity as Mexican Americans and masculinity. They suffer injuries when hit by a car, are separated when Dante's family goes to Chicago for a year, and explore their sexuality. Without giving too much of the plot away, this is an absolutely beautiful book and one that I think a lot of young people (and formerly young people) can identify with.
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LibraryThing member Cheryl_in_CC_NV
Finally my library bought a copy! Well alrighty then. It's a little heavy-handed with all the themes & messages. And of course queer boys are adorable; I think it's a rule in YA. I found the strategy of telling it all from inside Ari's head interesting. Of course he's just a 15 yo boy and so cannot
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be both believable and a 'reliable narrator,' but somehow, in his authenticity, we do fully understand much more of what's going in his (and Dante's) families than he does... or that he admits that he does.... you decide for yourself when you read it. If you're interested at all, that 'when' is a better word than 'if' - don't skip this one.

I trust the author's perception of the Mexican-American experience. Though I'm white, I live in a very 'brown' community, and I could easily recognize my neighbors in the roles of these characters, having these kinds of feelings and conversations.

Some of the writing is downright wonderful, imo.

I laughed. I got to thinking that one of my jobs in the world was to laugh at Dante's jokes. Only Dante didn't really say things to be funny. He was just being himself."

"I renamed myself Ari.
"If I switched the letter, my name was Air.
"I thought it might be a great thing to be the air.
"I could be something and nothing at the same time. I could be necessary and also invisible...."

I need to look up the line of poetry: "from what we cannot hold the stars are made." I like that Ari doesn't always understand the literature Dante has him read, but he always finds something to love about it.

I also need to look up paintings: Edward Hopper's Nighthawks (though I think I know which one that is) and The Raft of the Medusa (I think I might possibly know that, too).

And I need to find more books by the author."
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LibraryThing member MarthaJeanne
This book is quite slow at times, but is well worth staying with.
LibraryThing member EllsbethB
I'm so glad I listened to this book on audio, narrated by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin does a great job playing a teenager and portraying some of the other characters. This might be one of my favorite YA Lit books. It's subtle, but it does a good job dealing with issues surrounding friends, family, and
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society. It was refreshing to see a YA book with involved parents and realistic relationships, instead of making parents the "enemy" or cutting them out of the story completely. This book is a worthwhile read.
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LibraryThing member ErlangerFactionless
A very quiet book dealing with a rather serious issue.

One summer, the lonely Aristotle (call him Ari, please) meets Dante, who teaches his how to swim. The book details Ari and Dante's friendship, the normal process of being a high school boy, and, of course, the secrets of the universe. It isn't
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thick plot-wise, so there's not a lot more to describe. Just a beautiful, gentle read.
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LibraryThing member alphaselene
5Q, 4P, M, J, S - This is a gorgeous coming of age narrative filled with overlapping stories of hurt and healing. The two main characters, Ari, a tough, brooding boy of little words and his best friend, Dante, an artist, expert swimmer and lover of conversation, find solace, understanding and show
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each other new ways of seeing the world. Set in the Texas desert, with summer rainstorms and the smell of cactus blooms, I was amazed by the twists and turns of the plot and the ways in which Saenz was able to render two very different forms of queer masculinity within a specific Chicano-American context. The interplay of class, race and sexuality is beautifully rendered in the characters of the parents, who despite different educational backgrounds and experiences of war (the Vietnam War specifically), find a common ground in their love for their sons and their desire for their happiness.
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LibraryThing member mawls
I got lost in this one. While reading it, nothing else existed. I love that feeling. An honest and believable coming of age story.
LibraryThing member Sullywriter
Beautifully written, honest, realistic portrait of the evolving love between two friends.
LibraryThing member anderlawlor
Gorgeous. Read this book! I cried and laughed. If I get it together I will write a proper review, but for now, take this as my recommendation. I borrowed this from the library, stayed up all night to finish it, and have ordered a copy from my independent bookstore. I liked it.
LibraryThing member lindap69
Ari and Dante appear to be totally different personalities but fundamentally they come from similar backgrounds and strong beliefs. This is a story of their growing friendship and their growing into themselves over the course of a year. I loved this book about a topic that can be uncomfortable.
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Lots of insights into life, growing up and coming to know yourself. So well written I may have to re-read it if nothing new comes out by this author shortly!
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LibraryThing member alwright1
A story about friendship and growing up and family and being a human person. I am a person who is occasionally vulnerable to what has become in popular internet vernacular "the feels." This book did not cause me to engage in "the feels." It engaged my actual feelings and emotions about being a
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person and relating to other people. So powerful while being actually pretty simple.
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LibraryThing member lbblackwell
Aristotle is a loner in search of his identity. He meets Dante, also a loner, who offers to teach him how to swim. Over time, the two boys develop a very special friendship that leads them to discover secrets about themselves and about life.
This is a great book to teach children about acceptance,
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love, friendship, but I am not certain that it could be used in an elementary setting.
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LibraryThing member rdwhitenack
A touching story of two teen boys that begin a friendship over the course of a summer that later evolves into a relationship worth so much more. The author deals with a controversial and touch topic in a very skillful way that evades most stereotypes. Not a whole lot really happens in the
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story--all peaks in the storyline come second to the relationship of the two boys. Many young readers would dispense of the idea of reading this book with most short summaries, but those that stayed on would not be disappointed.
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LibraryThing member Saucy1831
This book should get the prize for the most interesting title and the author should get a prize for the best character development of all time. A Young Adult novel so not aimed at me as the prime target audience but somehow, once again, he make sme relate very deeply to the main characters to which
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I have nothing in common. As with his book, Last night I sang to the monster, I related very deeply to a 15 to 17 year old boy with serious identity, confidence, and other issues.

A book that just kept me reading. I had kind of guessed the end but the author handled it rather beautifully and undramatically.

This author is now on my favourite authors list (if there was actually such a list other than in my mind!).
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LibraryThing member ShellyPYA
Aristotle and Dante meet when they're 15. Ari has never had a true friend and he struggles with family relationships; his older brother is in jail and his dad has been withdrawn since he came back from Vietnam - they never talk about the brother or the war. As Dante and Ari become friends, they
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learn things about each other, their families, and themselves.
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LibraryThing member TheMadHatters
Ari and Dante are complete opposites, and don't seem to have much in common, but a chance meeting brings the two of them together in a friendship that the reader gets to follow through a year in their lives. Ari and Dante both learn from each other as they deal with issues life brings their way.

Pages

368

Rating

(1414 ratings; 4.3)
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