I really want to write a beautiful review to reflect on how amazing this book was so let me just start off by saying that it’s the best thing to be written. It follows the story of Aristotle and Dante after they both realize who they are to each other at the end of the first book. So much happened and so many different people had character arcs and we got to learn more about each and every person in the story. I feel like, in my opinion, that this book was better then the first. It was written in Ari’s pov, just like the first, but instead we got to read more about his feelings towards Dante and not just the anger and confusion that he faced in the first book, but also the love, passion and protectiveness that he has over him. Their relationship grows and blooms into something extraordinary as they both grow up to become adults throughout the story. The story took on new places that I never thought I would see in this book. We get to meet new people or go in depth of the people we already know, learning more about them. We get to see new relationships forming in Ari’s life and how people care for him in a way that wasn’t shown in the first book. Even Ari goes through a lot and most of the times, I just want to give him a hug for how strong and brave he was through it all. One of the things I love about this book is how much it speaks to someone like me. I feel like I can connect to Ari as he is confused with loving himself and struggling to accept who he is, especially during the 80s with the AIDs pandemic going on. This whole story was beautiful, from the quotes to the characters. It made me cry, laugh and just smile over something that’s just ink on a page. But the quotes where the best thing about the story and they really tied everything beautifully, sort of like a bow on a present.

I'd like to thank Simon and Schuster for providing me this electronic advance reader copy! I was so happy about it!

The sequel to Aristotle and Dante discover the secrets of the universe, picking up nearly right where the first book left off nearly 10 years ago! This book continues Ari and Dante's story as they, quite literally, dive into the waters of the world. Ari and Dante discover what it means to be in a relationship and deal with their separate issues.

Alright, first off the negative. The only thing I have to say is that the ending felt a bit rushed. Other than this, I think this is one of my favourite reads of the year so far!

This book is definitely one of the most beautifully written books I've read in my life! The sentences and quotes there are in there!! Genius!

For a story with "no plot", as in, "coming of age" story, as in, not ya fantasy like I usually read, i found this book to still be fast-paced. Much like the first one, the chapters are short with loads of dialogue to fasten the pace of the overall book. This did NOT feel like 528 pages!

The way the author writes down in words certain feelings and situations is so incredible and unique! I love that we get a "deeper" view of the characters from the first book.

Overall, this book felt more "grown-up" which fits the characters quite well and I fully believe that everyone should read the Aristotle and Dante duology in their life!

I felt so many emotions reading this book. It was so wonderful all around. I loved that it picked up right where the previous book left off.

The book explores Dante and Aristotle’s relationship and going through senior year while figuring out who you truly are and learning how to navigate the world as a gay teen in the 1980’s amid the AIDS epidemic. The author discussed homophobia and racism in a way I felt was good and important discussion.

It has been my favourite book I’ve read this year and I can’t wait to hold a physical copy! Thank you so much for an arc!

I am eternally grateful for receiving a copy of this novel early -- it is SUCH a beautiful story and companion to the first Ari & Dante novel. Given that its predecessor was so widely loved, I was concerned Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World wouldn't live up to it. Those concerns disappeared as soon as I started reading and recognizing all I love about Benjamin Alire Sáenz's writing: beautiful language and metaphor, intricate characters (and hidden depths in some), the run-on sentences in Ari Mendoza's narration.
Even though it's a new story, it feels familiar. This is Ari & Dante being Ari & Dante, almost finished with one stage of their lives and barrelling into another, written with just as much care and heart as the first novel.

ARC REVIEW

A sequel to the first, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World held the spark and magic of the first book while continuing the sweet relationship between Ari and Dante as they continue to get to discover themselves and each other. This was a very enjoyable read and for those who loved the first book, this one feels like coming home.

I had high expectations for this sequel, and I am happy to report that they were met or SURPASSED. The writing style is gorgeous and full of lyricism, and the world the author created in the first novel is expanded on beautifully while addressing incredibly important issues affecting LGBTQ+ youth and BIPOC.

My heart…. I cannot put into words how lovely this sequel was.. Ari will forever hold such a special place in my heart. I adored all the side characters that were introduced in this one and my heart ached for while reading this.

I had the most fortunate pleasure to be able to review and read this sequel almost immediately after I had finished the original novel and I have to say I am glad for it, because it made the whole reading experience of the two books much more emotional and beautiful as the first novel was still very fresh in my mind.

I was excited to dive into this story and read more of the experiences of these two boys and find out what other secrets they were going to discover with another and I was not disappointed at all. Ari is such an interesting character and makes for a wonderful narrator of this very tender and heart wrenching story. This book is set in 1988 during the height of the AIDS pandemic and the author does a wonderful job incorporating Ari and Dante into the narrative of being young gay men discovering their sexuality and their love for another in a time when the world was abandoning these men going through this struggle.

The author explores many important and poignant themes that I think almost any LGBT+ person could relate to, especially young gay men, when you are branching out and discovering your sexuality and your place in the world after you've accepted this truth about yourself. Ari struggles with depression, his definition of what it is to be a man, his self worth, and his place in the world as he nears the end of his high school years. Sáenz does such a beautiful job at writing Ari, Dante and his friends and showing each of their individual struggles they each face within the world they live in such as homophobia, racism, sexism, and the underlying sense of just wanting to belong to something or someone in the universe. I do think my favourite part of the book as a whole is the character journey Ari goes through - coming from the first book as a closed off and very angry young man to someone completely different but still very much true to who he is and loving and accepting who he is.

Ari and Dante's relationship is wonderful and definitely a highlight of the story and is beautiful in its execution. It never felt exploitative and it always felt realistic and loving. They aren't adults quite yet and are very new to being in a relationship, but the author takes you on the journey with them as they discover challenges and most importantly, love.

I have to give props to the author and they way he chooses to write his characters. He writes with empathy and care that tells you that he cares about these characters and wants their message to be read and understood because what they stand for is important. The prose within this book is beautiful because in one chapter I'm marveling at the beautiful of his words and in the next it breaks your heart into a thousand pieces. There were many instances where I was constantly smiling reading about Ari bonding with his parents and friends and then tearing up at tragedies that befall.

I didn't think I would like the formatting of the chapters, but I found it actually worked quite well for the story. The story is very dialogue heavy so this style of format made it feel very much like a journal that was being written by Ari as time went on and he learned more about the world and had more to say. I enjoyed thoroughly having the role of the reader and being an observer on this journey with Ari and Dante by reading about their life together as an afterward and knowing things would be okay. An interesting choice of formatting that really works for this kind of story.

If I had one criticism to point out it would be about the ending. I will admit that I am generally disappointed by endings of books and thus this might just be a 'Me' problem, but I found ending to be a tad rushed. The pace for the book was fantastic for the most part, but I felt like the ending crept on me much too quick and left me feeling a little underwhelmed by how quickly the story wrapped up. It was a good ending, but I think I wanted something more, something different. Maybe I was just reluctant to saying good bye to Ari, Dante and their loved ones and wanted more time with them.

Overall, I am glad I decided to read about Aristotle and Dante's journey this year and dive into the Waters of the World with them as they discovered all the secrets of the world they live in and where they belong within it. This book is well written and has a beautiful cast of characters that will warm your heart and leave you yearning to join them on more of their journeys as they move through the years.

Highly recommended!

Special Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for allowing me the opportunity to read this title early in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

While I did enjoy this book, my opinion on some of the content and the author himself have taken a turn in the past few days. Hearing about the authors transphobia and the transphobic elements that I missed in both novels was quite upsetting. I hadn't noticed these elements before hand because I was invested in the story but looking back, these elements definitely made me a bit uncomfortable. I will be keeping the 4 star rating because I did enjoy the story, however this is definitely some important information to keep in mind before picking up the books.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World is a story of love, friendship, family and grief. But mostly, it is a story of finding your place in the world and growing as a person.

As far as sequels go, this one was was quite good. One of my favourite elements was seeing Ari's development as a character throughout the story. Being able to read about him building and strengthening his relationship with his friends, his parents, and Dante was something that I think was very important. I loved being able to see more of the other characters throughout the story as well as being able to see Ari start to focus on people other than himself.

I'm a sucker for established relationships which I think is why I preferred this to the first book. When it comes to romance novels or stories with a focus on relationships, I always love to know what the characters get up to after having gotten together, so it was really nice to see how Ari and Dante spent their summer together and their school yer afterwards. I will also say that I love books that make me cry and this made me sob at 3am, so its safe to say I enjoyed it. Plus, the writing style was still as beautiful as ever.

The ending felt a bit abrupt but I think that it still worked well in context of the characters. I won't go into anymore details to avoid spoilers, but for such a long book, I feel like the ending could've used a couple more pages to be fully fleshed out.

I did enjoy this, and I know a lot of people have been anticipating this for a long time, so I can't say don't read it, however please be aware of the issues surrounding these books and the author before going in.

How do I even form words? This book was amazing. I am literally writing this while sobbing, I swear this book had me feeling every emotion. I recently read the first book and instantly fell in love with it and this sequel did not disappoint. One of the things I absolutely loved about it was the writing style, which is the same as the first book, but I find it so enjoyable to read and I find it makes the story so much better. I didn’t think I could love these characters any more than I already did and yet, I was proven wrong. The character development in this novel was phenomenal and then all the new characters introduced were amazing as well. I could not put this book down. This series has definitely got to be one of my favourite series of all time. I seriously cannot wait for this book to be released in October and I will be purchasing a copy ASAP. A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc.

I cannot explain how utterly beautiful the writing style and wording of this book is. It is completely unique and I loved every second of it. This book had me emotionally invested and I fell in love with all of the characters. This book had high expectations and lived up and surpassed every single one

I have been waiting to read the sequel to one of my all-time favourite books, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe for way too long, and this book was far from a disappointment. I laughed, I cried, and yet again, I related to Aristotle Mendoza more than perhaps any other character ever.

Author Benjamin Alire Sáenz sets up the novel perfectly, beginning just following Ari and Dante's first kiss and getting together. Taking place in the '80s, the book focuses on many themes, including the AIDS epidemic and the related homophobia, the Vietnam war, racism, grief and transphobia. All of these are explored through the eyes of Aristotle Mendoza, a young, gay Mexican American teen who is struggling with his identity as a gay man in a world that seems to believe it would be better off without him.

In this novel we get to see Ari truly get to know and respect his parents, and more than that grow to both like and admire them. We see him make friends who truly care about him and also learn to be vulnerable and how to care for them back. Ari learns to let go of his pain and hold onto the beauty, even if he can't do that all the time. Perhaps best of all, throughout the whole novel, one thing Ari never struggles with is his love for his partner, Dante. Ari and Dante's love is pure, even if the world, and the America, that they live in doesn't see it.

Oh my God! This book just made me fell all the feels all over again! I wasn’t sure how it was going to be especially after the first book being superb. Wow! Hit a home run!!!!

5 stars
This book was undoubtedly worth the wait. Sáenz's writing is absolutely gorgeous, and perhaps even more lyrical than in the first book. This book does a great job navigating serious topics such as familial relationships, homophobia, and the aids epidemic, as well as balancing these discussion out with more lighthearted moments. Like in the first book, Ari and Dante are complex and relatable characters, and their love is honestly beautiful to read about. Despite all that they go through, their love for each other remains pure and unfiltered. Overall, I loved this book and the statements it made regarding love and equality. I am continually impressed by the quality of Sáenz's writing.

This book, along with Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, are what I would consider to be perfect coming-of-age stories. Ari's struggles with coming into adulthood - dealing with grief, discovering the power of love and friendship, seeing the ongoing AIDS crisis as a young queer man, and realising that your childhood beliefs may not be accurate views of the world - are all so moving, honest, and deeply emotional. I found this book to be a fitting continuation of book one, while still managing to be more 'grown up', and deal with topics I think the people who read book one as a young teen can relate to now.

There were SO MANY amazing quotes throughout this book - I literally have almost 40 pages bookmarked with insightful, beautifully written, relatable, and impactful quotes and passages.

What I really loved about this book is how there is always someone or something to relate to. No matter who you are or where you come from, you'll be able to relate to Ari, or Dante, or any number of the other characters. Each character holds so much personality and so much grounding in reality - the many perspectives of common human struggles can be found wherever you look. I read this book at a time when I could relate to a lot of the family-related issues discussed, and I found a lot of comfort in reading Ari's perspective on family and friendship. This book was very emotional for me, and I spent about 2 hours sobbing over it (I cried at work, people). I think those of us who feel deep emotional connections with Ari and the other characters will find this book to be very emotionally impactful.

I do have to say that the ending felt a little 'thrown together' - the plot points near the end had very little leading up to them and seemed a bit rushed.

Beautiful writing, rich and relatable characters, and a story full of heart and soul.

Easy 5 stars

Let me just say, this book was incredible. Everything from the story, to the writing and the characters was beautifully written. When I began this book I was hesitant and was not sure how it would ever live up to the first book in this series. However, I was mistaken very quickly. This book not only was able to live up to the first one but in my opinion was much better. I liked so many things about it, but I particularly loved Ari's character growth and how much we were able to see that as he narrated the story.

You can tell the author put so much time into writing this beautiful story, and the writing was incredible. I felt so many emotions, and I felt as though he captured perfectly the journey of growing up and told it in such a perfect way. Honestly I know I have said it a million times but all I can say is how perfect and beautiful this book was.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early edition of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Overall: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

Also read this review on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4103733797

Thank you NetGalley for sharing an ARC with me! Below is my spoiler-free review.

I have so much to say and yet nothing at all that I can say that would truly capture how this book made me feel as I read it, as it came to a close. I think I'm very lucky to have read it to close to them discovering the secrets of the universe, because I got to pick up right where it ended, and continue on a journey with Ari of self-discovery. I loved so much that I was a part of it. I loved watching Ari grow and discover more secrets of the universe - like friendship, loss and being lost, and that loving is a beautiful thing that you suffer for sometimes. I love so much that he discovered he had words in him he didn't know existed, some new ones with unknown definitions and some old, familiar ones. Ari, to me, is such an enchanting character, who is surrounded by the most amazing characters - he really is very lucky. Being in his head and following his story made every moment he experienced so real and raw and sad and wonderful, and I am so so glad I got to meet Aristotle and Dante again, even when they're both being every bit the disasters they thought they were - especially Dante. God. Dante. GOD!

When I read the first book, I didn't want it to end. But with this second book, while I still didn't want it to end, I was okay with it ending. And maybe that's one of the things Ari taught me, somehow, or maybe the author is just very good at what he does. Maybe it's both.

I have loved the first book with every fibre of my being. I remember reading it for the first time as a student and seeing the parallels of my life in Ari. I was beyond excited and ecstatic to receive permission to read an Advanced Reader's Copy of the book.

Reading "Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World" feels a lot like coming home. It feels like a warm hug. You find comfort in the words written on the pages of this book. In turn, you will also find hurt that cuts so deep, not that it is intentional but because it is relatable.

This book is as beautiful as these boys are.

YES! YES! YES! I LOVED Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe and didn't know how the second one would ever pass how much I loved the first one but OH BOY was I proved wrong.
Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World was INCREDIBLE. I started tabbing all the quotes that I liked from this book and the book is PACKED with tabs now. Benjamin Alire Sáenz has such a beautiful writing style and he makes me feel like I'm reading about love for the first time.
I loved seeing the personal development that Ari went through and seeing the difference between him in the first book compared to the second one was amazing! This book had me feeling all the feels and im definitely going to be recommending this to everyone as much as I recommend Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe!

I absolutely loved the first book, and I love this one just as much. The writing is beautiful and despite the fact that books hardly make me cry, this one did. It is beautiful and heart breaking and heart mending. Grief and love mixed together into something beautiful and something I don't want to let go of.