Originally published in 2012, Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, has become a staple of LGBTQ+ literature and representation. Winning multiple awards such as the Stonewall Book Award, the novel has been praised greatly for its LGBTQ+ and Latino representation. Set in the 1980’s, it follows the story of two teenage Mexican-American boys, Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana growing up and realizing their own feelings for each other and themselves. It tackles their struggles with discrimination, family relationships, and their own ethnic identities.
Sáenzis is known for his novels and poems about life as a Mexican-American in America. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, is just one of his many contemporary, young-adult novels depicting life as a minority. This novel would be good for anyone who loves books that feel real. It is a really good realistic-fiction novel and has a lot of emotional ups and downs.
Aristotle Mendoza is a quiet, closed-off boy. He struggles with his own problems of his racial and sexual identity, crafting himself a strong, masculine persona to hide his own emotions and self-conflict. Dante Quintana is everything but that. Dante is vulnerable and open. He doesn’t hide his emotions but instead shares them and embraces them. One summer day Aristotle and Dante meet at the local pool. They bond and become unlikely friends. Over the summer their bond grows and they help each other become better versions of themselves.
The summer ends in an unlikely accident and the two grow apart. Ari becomes angry and distances himself from everyone around him. Dante moves away and explores his own identity in the city. Throughout the rest of the story their friendship hits unexpected ups and downs. They continue to discover new things about themselves and others.
The story is certain to leave readers with a new emotion after every chapter. This novel isn’t necessarily a feel-good coming-of-age story but there are a lot of moments in which readers will certainly be left with a warm and fuzzy feeling. All of the characters are relatable for young adult readers. They show the mundane daily lives of these characters which make them feel real. r The characters aren’t super extravagant or crazy so it makes them feel like someone you would meet in real life. Each character has their own rich backstory and personality allowing the reader to relate to at least one of them. .
I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes young adult, realistic fiction. People who enjoyed novels like The Song of Achilles, would really enjoy this novel. People who love romance as an underlying theme such as that in Song of Achilles will enjoy it in Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.
The best part of the story was its relatability and realism. It was very natural, through the dialogue and situations. While reading, readers will feel as if they were really in the mind of Aristotle and they really knew how he was feeling and what he was thinking. It is a great novel for people who want to feel represented. It was easy to read while still being thought provoking. It was simple but it still made you feel something which I think is really good for a novel, especially for someone trying to get out of a reading slump.
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