Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (Aristotle and Dante)

by Benjamin Alire Saenz

I really wanted to love this book, but the writing... I don't understand how people could love this writing style, I couldn't handle it at all. It was a really big problem for this book. There was no plot, the writing was bad, and no character had any originality compared to the other characters in this book. Everyone was acting exactly the same.
It also really frustrated me that Aristotle's parents told him that they know he was gay / in love with Dante because he saved him from a car crash and because he was so angry at the people who attacked him. I am pretty sure that this is not something that is only related to romantic feelings. I would save my best friend if I had the chance. I would be really angry if someone attacked her. The conclusion made me angry because it is not something that is specifically romantic. I think the parents would have been able to give a better reason to Aristotle as to why they knew he was in love with Dante. The writer made it seem as if they did not know their son at all, and I think they did know him, but he only didn't know himself.

Something that also really frustrated me was the lack of communication between every single character in this book and the lack of communication towards the reader about Aristotle clearly having depressive thoughts throughout the whole story. Are we supposed to believe that know he has found peace with himself, that these will be simply gone? That's not how it works.