First things first.
Oh.
My.
Goodness.
I love this book. I love it love it love it love it. I love it to death.
Aristotle and Dante is a very different story about two very different boys. Aristotle (nicknamed Ari) is quiet, lonely, and has never had a friend. Dante, on the other hand, is friendly, outgoing, and loves poetry.
They meet and they bond. However, their friendship is shattered by Dante's temporary move to Chicago, Ari saving Dante in an accident and breaking his legs in the process, and Dante revealing he is gay and sharing his feelings for Ari.
The book's main event is near the end, where Dante is severely injured and nearly dies in a beating. There is, however, a happy ending.
Aristotle and Dante is a breathtaking book. It has a slow pace, but a wonderful one.
The boys, Dante in particular, feel like living, breathing 3D characters.
Their struggles and their triumphs are real and true.
'I wrote my name on his back. He wrote his name on mine.'
This book made me happy. It made me cry. It made me glad that such a book exists. It earned a place on my Golden Shelf of Pure Wonderful (a prestigious award that so far has only been gifted to The Fault in Our Stars, every Harry Potter book except the second one, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings.)
Benjamin Alire Saenz is probably my new favorite writer, and Aristotle and Dante will probably be one of my favorite books forever and ever and ever.
"Ashamed? Of loving Dante?".....
I took Dante's hand and held it.
How could I have ever been ashamed of loving Dante Quintana."
