Book Review: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz

The section was the LGBTQ genre and this was the book I selected to read. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is probably the longest title ever, but it's totally worth it in the end. Be warned: there are some spoilers ahead.

Copy checked out from my local library

It took me forever to read this book. I got about halfway through the first section, before the car accident, and was just so bored that I put it down and couldn't get motivated to pick it back up. However, once I did (but only because I had to for class), I quickly finished the rest of it and ended up loving the story.

I really related to Ari and his need for introspection and alone time. I loved how he explained his thoughts and how the author wrote them. I really felt like a lot of what was written was how a teenager would write or think. A lot of teens can relate to how Ari felt trying to find himself, even if they aren't trying to find their sexual orientation. I loved the quote from page 189 from Ari: "I was strange to feel like the Ari I used to be. Except that wasn't totally true. The Ari I used to be didn't exist anymore. And the Ari I was becoming? He didn't exist yet". That period of transition and unknowing is universal to almost all teens (and some 20-somethings still) and I think a lot of people could relate to his introspection and ideas.


I also think it's important that Ari was also attracted to women, such as Ileana, because to me that made him more of a bisexual character on the sexuality spectrum. I think many times in LBGTW lit, characters are completely one way or another. The representation of all aspects of sexuality is important, so I loved that his attraction to Ileana was included.

I really appreciated that the families went to counseling, or that counseling was even recommended. Even today, going to therapy can be seen as a weakness, when really it is so important to so many people. My younger brother has a therapist who specializes in helping teens understand and accept their sexuality, which has really helped his transition a lot. It can also be really helpful for families that have members that are exploring their sexuality. It's a safe place to talk about things, and I really commend the author for including that in a teen book to make it seem more acceptable to teens.

I also think it is so, so important that the book dealt with how, even with supportive family and friends, coming out is still hard. It can be hard to give up on those expectations of hetersexuality that so many people impose on you, and it's basically saying that because of your sexuality, your life is going to be harder from now on. Even though Dante's parents clearly loved and adored him, he still had a hard time telling them because he knows that every parent thinks about their child's future, and he's taking that future away from them and completely changing it.

I appreciated that the book had so many normal details about school and work, because I think it helped emphasize that even teenagers who have a different sexuality still have the same friends and school problems that regular teens do, as well as struggling with trying to figure out such a key part of their life. 

If I hadn't known that this books was about LBGTQ (or as I like to call it, the alphabet genre), then I never would have suspected. Even after Dante came out to Ari, I still didn't expect them to end up together. I thought it would have still been a great story even if they hadn't. I almost think it may have been a better story (sorry to those of you who loved it!). I thought it would have been so realistic and special to just be a friend story where one of those friends happen to be gay and has a crush on the other, and their method of accepting and dealing with that.

I did find it incredibly odd that Ari's parents told him that he loved Dante. It made me so uncomfortable, and my family is pretty open about things like that. Coming out and sexuality is such a personal, hard thing to deal with that it really took away from the story for me to have his parents tell him that.


I think this book will be great to recommend to really anyone. Great for teens struggling with their sexuality, teens who have friends who are comign out, parents of gay or bisexual teens, or really just anyone who wants a good story.