I loved this beautifully written book of two young men grappling with their love, their lives, their life choices, loss, and heartache in the time of AIDS. Dante and Aristotle face hardships, loss, and great growth as they navigate first love.

I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

We finally are welcomed back to the world of Aristotle and Dante in this sequel to the much beloved Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. While the first book told the story of how they fell in love, this book follow the two boys as they figure out how to be in a relationship and how to be in love. We also get an even closer look at Ari and his relationship with his family.

This has been a book I've been so very hyped for, as a huge fan of the first book. My reaction is a bit mixed.

The writing is, of course, gorgeous and quite lyrical. Saenz has such talent when it comes to invoking emotion and a certain energy with his words.

That being said, the book felt a bit slow and like it dragged on. By the end, I was happy to be finished. It took a pretty long time for me to finish this book, considering how hyped I was for it. It just was a lot of Ari thinking to himself and capturing precious moments with Dante, which on one hand I love, but I also think it could've used a little condensing.

What I loved so much about the book is that we got to see past that initial falling in love and the beginnings of a relationship. A lot of romance focuses on that and it's great but it's also nice to get to see what happens next. And this relationship was portrayed in such a realistic way. We get to see doubt and fear and longing and all of the ups and downs that come with being in love. I just truly loved how this was portrayed in this book. There were also two specifically heartbreaking scenes that just devastated me, in the best way possible.

I'd also like to note that this book really makes you feel that it takes place in the 80s without overdoing references. There's a fine line when it comes to "historical" books, but Aristotle and Dante does it very well.

Overall, a good read for fans of the first book. Even though I am a bit disappointed, I still enjoyed the story and was happy to revisit my old friends. <3

4/5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free copy of this book!
First of all, the cover is absolutely beautiful. That is one great thing I can say about this book. I also do like that this book begins to draw in more influences from the time that it was set in. I feel like the first book did not talk about the AIDS epidemic at all, but this book remarks on what it is like to be gay in the 80's, not know what causes AIDS, and what it is like to know others who have died from it. There was also more introspection into family dynamics and I liked seeing how Ari's relationship with his parents evolves.
Other than that, I did not like this book. The writing was somewhere between prose and poetry and at times it seemed lyrical and beautiful, but too often it felt airy and vapid. No one in real life talks like these characters, even if it was forty years ago. Additionally, the author tried to romanticize Ari's friend group, but overall they were very possessive and kinda rude to everyone. I was ready for it to be over not too long into the narrative.
There is also a lot of comments that Ari makes that can be interpreted as internalized biphobia, but he is very adamantly against being bi. I know there was some speculation over whether this book was transphobic as well, which I'm still on the fence about as well, especially with the one final scene where he goes to the cemetery.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Waters of the World starts slow-- for about the first 30% of the novel nothing really happens. What saves the book is beautiful writing and voice that Saenz has created for Ari. Saenz made me love these characters in the first book and that is what kept me reading. Once I reached that 30% point, however, the book became unputdownable and all of its attributes could be appreciated without being dragged down by the pacing. Here’s what I loved about this book: I mentioned this already, but Ari’s voice carries these books. He is insightful, kind, confused and wise and a character anyone who has ever questioned themselves, their identities, felt like they didn’t belong, couldn’t accept or even recognize their own self-worth or the love they have in their lives can relate to. This book is also one of the best emotional renderings of first love (the only comparable title I could think of was Judy Blume’s Forever) that I have read and does a particularly good job showing the felt experience of a gay young man (though as Ari would say he isn’t a man yet), particularly during a time when the AIDS epidemic raged and even minimal societal acceptance was years away. Finally, considering the setting, this so easily could have been a tragic book. But though it did make me cry at one point, at its heart this is a hopeful novel with a satisfying ending that provides for enough maneuverability to feel real.

What a spectacular follow up to the first novel! I have loved this series from the start and am thrilled to have had more after The Secrets of the Universe! I will definitely be sharing this with friends, and purchasing a copy.

I reread the first book before reading this sequel and I’m so glad I did. It melds together so well, but Aristotle and Dante’s characters and relationship have grown so much since the first novel. The author also does an amazing job at tackling some pretty heavy subjects without losing the charm of the story. This is a beautiful follow up to the first book and they are both perfect coming of age stories. I highly recommend!

I loved his first book and this story was sweet (what I read of it) but I just couldn't finish it. It felt like nothing was happening and that there wasn't as much of a story to be told. I would be willing to give it another shot as an audiobook down the road, but at the moment I just couldn't finish

I really did not know what to expect with this sequel given how much time has passed since the first was released so long ago. The incorporation of the AIDS epidemic into the storyline was heartbreaking but so important. This is not really something I have seen discussed in a YA book before. This novel will make you feel all of the feelings and love Aristotle & Dante just as much as you did in the first. Aristotle & Dante’s stories just have a way of sticking with you even after you turn the last page. Thank you for the arc!

Benjamin Saenz does not disappoint with this companion novel to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It picks up where the first novel leaves off and immediately rewards fans of Ari and Dante's budding relationship. From there, it grapples with the AIDS crisis of the 1980's and the difficult task of finding and knowing oneself. A recommended read.

Dante and Aristotle Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz is a sequel I've been (impatiently) waiting for because I'm just so darn captivated by the story of Dante and Aristotle. This picks up where the first book left off in that Dante and Aristotle have realized what an incredible connection they have. They've navigated life and adventures as friends and now they're taking on a new adventure of navigating the world in love. Above all else, you should know this book is beautifully written. Dante and Aristotle are characters that the author brings to life in such a wonderful and amazing way. I could tell you the plot, but really what makes me love this series so very much is the humans in the story. This was such an outstanding way to continue this powerful tale. Thanks to NetGalley and S&S Book Club Favorites for the early look at this October 2021 release.

This is a beautiful book with lovely characters, just as the first was. But there has been a lot of time that's passed between the sequels and that is this book's downfall.

I will never object to more LGBTQ YA love stories, but if my students ask I'll be directing them to some more current titles.

There was almost no way that I was not going to like this book, because the first one was so good. It definitely did not disappoint. Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a masterful writer, with beautiful prose and flushed out characters. Anyone that even semi-liked the first book should absolutely read the sequel. It is the Must Read book of the year. I am so excited to get this at my library so that I can tell every teen about it.
My single negative comment about it is that I wish I had know that Aristotle's father died near the end of the book. It completely took me by surprise, and as someone whose father died very similarly only three years ago, it hit a little harder than I would have liked. I almost had to put the book away for a little while. However, I understand the purpose and that since the book is not published yet, there are no spoilers with triggers like that yet.

Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is his sequel to the first book about the teenagers. He writes wire a natural flow the draws you into the world of Aristotle and Dante. This book has the same flow, but the author interrupts that by being preachy about AIDS . I think it appropriate to talk about the issue, but it is introduced when there is a funeral for the brother of a friend and then it is hardly broached again. At one point I was expecting that probably Dante would be exposed to it at the end of the book; however, instead it becomes overly sentimental with an ending I have read before in many novels . I don’t know how Sáenz could have otherwise ended the story. It seems to end their story instead of looking forward to another book about their navigation through life as a gay couple.
Overall, I mostly enjoyed the book. I felt it was better than the first one because there was more drama to the plot. Would I recommend it? I would to anyone who has read the first novel about Aristotle and Dante.

It's been a while since I read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets to the Universe, but I recall it as one of the best books I read that year. I read it in almost one sitting and loved the characters and the story. I was so excited to preview the sequel . . . and a bit disappointed. I really had to push through to the end of this one. For me, it was a little too angsty and lacking action. The story became more interesting for me when Ari opened up to Gina, Susie, and Cassandra. The interaction between the characters in the larger group added a layer of friendship that I found compelling. To be fair, I tried to put myself in the shoes of YA readers looking to see how a relationship develops after that first bloom. In Any Way the Wind Blows, Simon Snow asks, "Is this what people do?" And the answer is, yes. I think that readers who are just discovering Ari and Dante will really like to dive into the sequel to see how the story progresses even without much "action." Overall, I am glad I spent a bit more time with Ari and Dante.

I'm assuming this book is great from context. I didn't actually get a chance to read it before it was archived. You live and learn, I guess.

It’s been nearly a decade since Secrets of the Universe came out, but Waters of the World picks up exactly where the last one left off, in a pickup truck in the desert.

People who loved the first book will probably love this one as well. As someone who could appreciate the first book but did not necessarily enjoy it, I observed a lot of similarities here: the words are quiet and lyrical, the hormones and 1980s references are abundant, and the dialogue vacillates between surprising you with the depth of its insight and drowning you in a sea of self-indulgent rumination. Even by the standards of young adult literature, there can be a lot of feelings to slog through sometimes.

Despite my inability to suspend my disbelief and enjoy the wish fulfillment (4 supportive parents in the 1980s in Texas? Really?), I found myself liking this book much more than the first. The highs made me smile and the lows genuinely moved me. Once the relationship between the two main characters becomes a given, we’re able to spend more time getting to know them and watching them grow up, and the confusing environment of the AIDS pandemic makes a compelling backdrop.

I absolutely love Ari and Dante and was wondering if a sequel would do them justice.

This book ripped my heart out and made me face emotions I often try to stifle. While it is not what I had envisioned to happen after they discovered the universe, I'm not sure any other story would have fit so well. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World is a depiction of what real life is like, and not just a fairy tale happily ever after. I often can't help but think about authors leaving their characters well enough alone, but I appreciate know the real and raw story of Ari and Dante as they become cartographers of their world.

10/10 would sob again. I can't wait for the audiobook to hear Lin Manuel Miranda's beautiful voice tell their story.

The long-awaited and much-anticipated sequel to Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

Ari and Dante are in love. Despite the homophobia pervasive in 80's America, they find support amongst their closest family and friends. No matter how in love the two are, they fight like every other teen couple and experience the devastatingly high highs and low lows of young love. As well as coming to terms with his relationship with his brother Bernardo, repairing his relationship with his father and learning to stand on his own with friends and family to support him.

Ari narrates with the same earnest truth he did in the first book. In other books, this earnestness would be heavy-handed. Through Ari's eyes and words, it is an authentic experience. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World follow the emotional journey of finally opening himself to other people. With that openness, he also bears his soul to grief and hurt that might send him back to his solitary and lonely ways.

You can find the secrets of the universe in someone’s hand, but you can’t always find yourself in a book.

In his first novel, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, Benjamin Alire Sáenz introduced us to two incredible boys who fought and loved hard in order to pave their way toward joy and self-acceptance. This long anticipated sequel continued Ari and Dante’s journey right where it left off. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World is a poetic triumph of what it takes to persevere and choose happiness, to choose love. Their story was never going to be an easy one. But holding each others’ hand made all the difference. Each victory and tragedy was conquerable because they were never truly alone. I feel privileged to have experienced the lives of those two young men. Every hurdle and heartache hurt me too. Yet, I shared every smile and laugh that spilled from the pages of this book. In some ways it felt like a long journey, but really it didn’t feel long enough. I’m overjoyed for the opportunity to step back into this harsh, beautiful world of theirs. And I’m going to miss it.

This book did something that I don’t read often in books. It made the moments worth telling, the moments worth reading, the moments that make up our life times, it made them the story. There wasn’t a grand quest. There wasn’t one moment that mattered more than anything else, expect maybe Ari and Dante’s fateful beginning at a swimming pool one summer. Sáenz wrote a masterpiece that we might call the life of Aristotle Mendoza, a life that just like ours is a mosaic of moments. All the small things: the smiles, the tears, the touch of a hand, the kind words, the selfless acts, the loss, the confusion, the guilt, the hope, and the people. I’m reminded to cherish those moments in my own life.

People will always gravitate toward the universe these two boys discovered. They will see and hear themselves in their thoughts and feelings. I know I did. So thank you Aristotle. Thank you Dante. Thank you Benjamin Alire Sáenz for giving us this world. I can’t wait for everyone else to dive into this book that is so full of life. And you know what? Diving, just like life, doesn’t have to be scary when we do it together.

No words can describe what I felt after I finished reading this gem of a book!
I will try not to say much about the plotline as I want you guys to dive into the waters of Ari and Dante's world and cherish the feeling.

The story picks up exactly from where it left in the first book. The last two years of their school life and then college. How do this two beautiful boys come in terms with what they are feeling for each other not just emotionally but also physically. They try to map out their own world where no one would say that what they are doing is wrong. Because how could something that feels so pure and right could possibly be wrong?

The story goes on smoothly for a while and when you think what could go wrong? Something does. And by the time Ari recovers from that, the big College issue ,staying away from Dante and how much longer will their relationship stay are some questions neither one of them want to but have to face them.

You will laugh, you will blush, you will feel utterly heart broken but ultimately sigh with containment by the time you finish this book❤

Thank you @netgalley and @simonteen for the e-ARC