“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone's hand.”
Book: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe #1)
Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT
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 Initial Thoughts…
The synopsis didn’t give much. I thought it was too vague and when I read the book, it is in fact vague. What kind of story is this? A story of how Ari adore Dante so much?
I was a few pages away from chapter one when I realized I kinda, sorta don’t like Ari. He is overbearing and I can already tell that early that I’m not gonna like this book because of him. I’ve read countless YA books that deal with teen angst but this one is so annoying and cringey. There’s so much complaining, whining and hatred here that I kinda felt it was absurd. I know right off the bat that I’m not gonna like it as much as my friends and people who I follow on Goodreads do and I know this is an unpopular opinion. For me, Ari has so much hate for everything and I don’t like it that he’s putting Dante and Dante’s family in a pedestal. I hate it when a protagonist hates his family without a reason at all when his family is obviously trying. And his mom is right when she said that Ari doesn’t know how loved he is because he is busy hating everyone. He made up too many things in his head. For a guy who likes trouble and is not afraid to fight people, he is a coward.
The Story
Ari is an angry teen. He has a love-hate relationship with his parents and sisters. Ari’s father was a former soldier who fought in Vietnam and came back with internal battles no one can understand. The first few chapters pretty much narrated how Ari wants his father to communicate with him. They do talk but communicate? Not so. Ari’s hatred towards his family grew because they don’t want to talk about his brother, Bernardo, who is in prison. Not a single photograph of his brother can be seen around the house and no one ever talk about Bernardo as if he’s dead. Because Ari felt like his life is someone else’s idea, he decided to go to the local community pool to be alone and there he met Dante. Two young loners with characters that are polar opposites spent that summer together and discover the secrets of the universe.
Towards the Ending…
I didn’t know that I was halfway through the book until I’m there. It is a very slow book that I can say that there’s really nothing exciting happening. I was still annoyed with Ari because though it is his point of view, I don’t know why he was thinking the way he was thinking even with all those words he’s saying. The book being focused on his mind doesn’t help because he himself is confused so what more am I, right, I’m just a naïve reader.
Anyways, all the feelings in this book were right towards the end. When he started talking about his feelings and his dad and mom started to talk about their feelings. I thought then that if they only just communicated what they’re really feeling, there’s no story (like this book) to tell. As much as I was annoyed with Ari, I kinda tear-up during those intense conversation with his family. See, Ari, this is the life lesson in this story: you’re not the only person who’s struggling. Your father doesn’t talk about Vietnam War for a reason; your family didn’t talk about your brother for a reason. Ari, you’re just a fifteen year old boy who’s busy whining and complaining about life. Sometimes people don’t talk not just because they don’t want to but because there in the silence is comfort.
What didn’t work for me…
It was just so much hatred and confusion here. The first minute Ari is happy then the next he’s mad and I need to back read just to confirm why he suddenly became angry at certain situations. The emotions of the characters in this book is so confusing, absurd and all over the place. There was this one scene where Ari and Dante’s family went to play bowling. Their parents go first and then Ari and Dante met them there and I think they were okay then because Ari picked up Dante at their house and they were okay, they were even laughing. So they played bowling and everything was okay, again, they were laughing and talking. And then when they go home Dante was suddenly angry with no reason at all (or did I just missed it?). I don’t know, maybe Dante was not okay even before that bowling trip but being Dante, he wouldn’t act as if everything is okay when it’s not. I like him more than Ari but I think their roles here are super cringey and cheesy and scripted. This whole book is just so cringey and kinda unbelievable at all. Also, also, it never occurred to Ari that he was gay until his parents told him? I mean, with all that thinking and making up things in his head, he didn’t realized that? Okay, so maybe his life is really someone else’s idea then.
My Verdict
It was a decent read and I thought it was okay although I would say that there are events here that are just too illogical to be believable.
MY RATING
★★☆☆☆
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