![]() ![]() This book will be of the most interest to teens of a similar age as the protagonist who can relate to him. Finally, although the book as a whole didn’t resonate with me, every chapter has something beautifully quotable.Ĭontent warnings include PTSD, swearing, illness, accident, a variety of drug usage, imprisonment, underage drinking, smoking, kissing, religious references, discussion of masturbation, extreme homophobia, animal abuse, transphobia, violence, physical fights, nudity. I also appreciated the illustration of how to slowly develop connections with others as an awkward loner with low emotional intelligence. The portrayal of a veteran father and generally the struggles of a messed up but loving family were well done. But the early section and the final portion, where Ari is agonizingly fumbling his way towards first friendship and interest in life, and later an understanding of himself were a bit too close to reality to work for me. ![]() I’ll even say that the middle third (between the accident and the funeral, for those who have read the book) is fairly readable. That’s not to say there’s anything wrong with it. Catcher in the Rye is probably the most famously discussed of those – and throughout this final rereading, Ari was definitely giving me “depressed Mexican-American modern Holden Caulfield” vibes. Many, if not most works of literature are accessible to many different ages – but there are some that hit adolescent brains differently. The short chapters and sparse dialogue tagging here nearly, but not quite, give this the impression of verse.īut out of everything, here’s the biggest reason why this doesn’t work for me – I’m not in the right stage of life for it. While this story is told in Ari’s voice, so much of it is dialogue and the focus is so tightly bound in these two boys and their families, that it felt like an unbalanced novel in two voices, even when it wasn’t.Īlso, while I’m generally not fond of novels in verse (with some notable exceptions), the one thing that annoys me more is novels that are almost novels in verse. I generally dislike novels in two voices. As there is already so much written about this novel elsewhere, I’m going to break from my usual formats somewhat and focus mainly on how this particular novel very much didn’t work for me – as perhaps that might help some people decide if it might be a good fit for them or not. Perhaps then a review could be useful even for those who adored this story. So I had to reread it with an eye for why possibly this wasn’t the book for me, even if it was so clearly beloved by many other readers. Well “later” in this case is 2022, since clearing off that shelf is one of my main goals for the year. So the poor thing went on my shelf of books that have been read but will be reread, reviewed, and generally dealt with later. Finally read it all the way through… and still didn’t love it. The majority of reviews rave about it, yet I DNF’d it over and over. It came highly recommended and has won many awards. I’ve owned this book for at least five years now. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Dante is secure, if not always happy, in who he is, and has many talents while Aristole (or Ari) is struggling with the secrets and silence in his family – including those around his brother in prison and those he’s keeping himself. Two loner Mexican-American boys meet at the local swimming pool and strike up a friendship in the late 1980s. NOTE: This book is intended for mature teens despite the reading level. Lexile: H元80L ( What does HL mean in Lexile? ) Simon & Schuster BFYR, New York, 2014 (originally published 2012). ![]()
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