Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
I snagged this book through Scribd and was initially attracted to the assortment of awards plastered across the cover and the props it had received from the BookRiot crowd. I vaguely knew it had an LGBTQ theme, which would qualify for my ReadHarder challenge, but that was just a bonus.
Title: Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
Author: Benjamin Alire Saenz
Year: 2012
Genre: Young Adult, Bildungsroman, Fiction, LGBTQ
Setting: El Paso, TX, 1987-1988
Characters: Aristotle (aka, Ari; lead character, introvert), Dante (Aristotle's best friend), Mr. & Mrs. Mendoza (Ari's parents: Vietnam veteran and high school teacher, respectively), Bernardo (Aristotle's brother in prison), Mr. & Mrs Quintana (Dante's parents: college English professor and psychologist, respectively)
Plot: Ari is a fifteen-year-old Mexican-American teenager living in El Paso who just can't seem to find any authentic friends until he meets Dante, who offers to teach him how to swim at the pool. Ari is surprised by Dante's views of the world and his ways of moving through it. Dante pushes Ari to look at the world differently, shoving poetry, paintings, and stars into his hands. The book follows Ari's inner conflicts of what it is to be a boy versus a man and why his new friend Dante sees the world the way he does.
Verdict: This is a beautiful coming-of-age story; introverts (like me) will identify with Ari's constant analysis of people's motivations and his habit of turning inward to deal with his problems and emotions. Saenz weaves a story of second-generation immigrant experiences and struggles with cultural identity with the thoughts and feelings of teenage boys who are discovering their identities on a variety of levels. This book isn't just about being a Mexican-American or being gay or figuring out how to grow up; it's a snapshot of common experiences that almost any reader can identify with, regardless of ethnicity, orientation, or age. I hope it will be taught in classrooms alongside or instead of Catcher in the Rye or The Heart is a Lonely Hunter as a means of creating conversation about the confusion, pain, curiosity, and joy in feelings and experiences that we all ultimately share. 9/10