This book is obviously highly anticipated, and it fully lived up to all the expectations. As Ari is going into his senior year of high school and settling into his relationship with Dante, he is beginning to reckon with what it means to be a gay man in the '90s, coming into himself during a time when the AIDS epidemic was constantly in the news. There's so much change happening in his life, and it perfectly captures that strange time in life that is finishing high school and expecting to just be an adult. Ari is one of my most favorite characters ever and seeing him work through his emotions, do things that he's uncomfortable with, and grow into a man was so, so beautiful and lovely.

Super excited to read this but isn't in a format I can open. I love the first book! It is one of my favorites and I am certain this won't disappoint!

Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh. my. god.

Sometimes a book is so eloquent the review cannot be. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe was such a book. When I heard there was a sequel in the works, I was worried. Can you really catch lightening in a bottle twice? Then the sequel was delayed, not ready, the author wasn't happy with it. Then I was really worried.

To those out there who loved the first Ari and Dante, the answer is yes. Benjamin Alire-Saenz really can catch lightening in a bottle twice. Oh, I could nitpick. There are a few disjointed moments in the narrative, maybe some ham-handed ones as well. But you know what's also there? Ari is still Ari, Dante is still Dante, and the author is still wondrously gifted at expressing hard truths with simple, beautiful lyricism. The narrative picks up pretty much right where the first book left off, and it continues to weave parallels with the first book. While the book's target audience is young/new adult, it resonates with older readers as well. Ari and Dante are convincingly drawn as young men trying to navigate the right path to adulthood, and older readers will remember what that was like. But older readers also remember that time period of the late 80s-early 90s and just how scary things really were. Saenz makes sure his young readers learn the obstacles like the AIDS epidemic and corresponding fallout that the Aris and Dantes faced to pave the way for now- when an LGBTQ love story can be told mainstream, where Pride month is celebrated like a national holiday, where Ari and Dante can marry legally- and when older readers like me can marvel at the progress, even though there is still work to be done.

Thank you, Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for allowing me to review this book early. I've never wanted an advanced copy of anything more. I was just going to read the first page, and then it was a few hours later. Thank you, Benjamin Alire- Saenz, for taking the care to make sure you got Ari and Dante's story just right again.
*review will be posted to Goodreads & Twitter in Sept. as per email