Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

An amazing story about identity, love, family and “discovering the secrets of the universe”. Sweet, innocent, touching and honestly made me tear up quite a few times. I loved the characters and I believe, that this is gonna be a book I’ll definitely think back to and smile.

Set in the '80s southern USA, the book follows teenaged Aristotle Mendoza on his journey to become an adult. He befriends misfit Dante Quintana, and together they go through life's struggles, and learn the many meanings of friendship and love – which are the "secrets of the universe", after all. The novel shows what it's like to grow up as a queer individual in a less-accepting era, and does this in a way that's both terrifying and inspiring. "Aristotle and Dante" carries a very personal and heartfelt message, almost as if the author, Benjamin Alire Sáenz, has poured his own pain into the pages of the book. "Aristotle and Dante" is a favorite of mine, because it's not just another Coming-Of-Age about misfit teenagers. It is real, it is raw, and most of all: it is poetic.

Man schließt Ari und Dante sofort ins Herz. Ihre Familien könnten sich nicht mehr unterschieden. Aris Eltern sprechen wenig. Er hat einen Bruder im Gefängnis, über den er nichts weiß und einen Vater, der im Vietnamkrieg war und über den er kein Wort verliert. Ari fühlt sich fehl am Platz. Im Sommer, als er gerade 15 ist, trifft er Dante. Dantes Eltern reden über alles. In diesem Sommer ändern sich ihre Leben. Eine gute Coming-Of-Age Geschichte über Zugehörigkeit, Liebe und Freundschaft.

My favourite book of all time! It's a heartwarming queer story with very lovely characters about discovering oneselves and the connection between family members and friends. The writing style is also very beautiful and poetic, which made me want to mark the whole book.

Die Geschichte um Ari und Dante ist einer der schönsten Coming-Of-Age-Romane, die es gibt und steckt voller liebenswerter Charaktere. Vor allem, aber nicht nur, Mitglieder der LGBTQ-Community werden sich hier zu Hause fühlen. Für mich ein Buch, dass man nicht verpassen sollte!