ARC kindly provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

When I first read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe it took me a while to love it. I actually put it aside after 100 or so pages and read it again a few months later. I'm glad I gave that book a second chance because I loved the story, the philosophical discussions and the raw, tender love between Ari and Dante. When it came to book two, I expected all the elements of the first book but only continued and heightened in Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World.

Now reviewing this book, I must admit I'm a little on the fence. When I finished reading, I was satisfied with the book as it really elevated Ari's character and touched a lot on elements of growing up and going from boyhood to manhood. It also discussed grief, death and love especially familial love as shown with Ari's parents and Dante's family. The book touched on these themes very well and I enjoyed reading about them.

While I loved the glimpses into Ari's character and the aforementioned, I felt like the book was lacking the depth of raw connection between Ari and Dante we've seen in the previous novel. I wanted more of the love between the two boys because it was what made Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe such a beautiful read. I felt like there was limited page time given to the two discovering more about each other and strengthening their relationship. It's the one thing I would've loved more of.

I also enjoyed reading about the platonic relationships Ari developed in the novel. It was another one of my highlights and I liked getting to know our new characters. They added another layer to the novel and I don't think I would've enjoyed the book as much if they weren't there.

All in all, I enjoyed this story. There were many good things and a few things that I wish were strengthened more. I liked the characterisation and platonic and familial relationships portrayed in this book and liked how the author portrayed significant topics such as homophobia and AIDS in the 80's when the book is set. I just wish there was more connection shown between Dante and Ari because unlike book one, I wasn't entirely sold on their relationship. I also felt like the ending was slightly rushed and a bit unnecessary. That being said, overall, I liked this book and wouldn't mind a book three.

ACTUAL RATING: 3.45 STARS

3.5/5 - ARC courtesy of Simon and Schuster Australia and Netgalley

This wasn't a bad book. It just didn't live up to the amazing moments the first book gave us. It also seemed like an unnecessary sequel that didn't add enough to the plot for it to be worthwhile. The characters kept walking in circles and didn't quite break strides in this sequel.

Disappointing but worth the read if you are a die-hard fan of the first.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe was one of my all time favourite books, it was one you could just dive into and get lost within the pages, saddened when you realised you'd finish it. For this reason, I was so nervous going in to the sequel, what if it didn't have the same charm and addictiveness of the original book? I wasn't let down however, I loved this book almost as much as the original -- marked down only by what I can assume is nostalgia for the time when I first discovered his writing.

📖Series Review: Aristotle and Dante📖
By: Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Genre: YA historical
Rating: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/ 5
Provided by: NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia
[TW: homophobia, internalised homophobia, PTSD, transphobic hate crime, car accident, hospitalisation, alcohol, drug use, violence, death of a loved one (aunt, parent, child), AIDS crisis, death by AIDS]

🟢 What I liked:
↪️ Writing: Sáenz seriously has the most beautiful writing style; there are so many amazing quotes, the conversations are so deep and funny and it’s literally impossible to put the book down. The short sentences are so powerful and create a poetic feel to the book, which is so magical
↪️ Characters: Aristotle and Dante have my entire heart (and I’m not just saying that because I named my cats after them). They are both so layered with such unique, adorable personalities and (spoilers for the end of this point) they are one of the cutest couples ever
↪️ Everything else: I want to include all the specifics but no spoilers and also there’s an Instagram caption limit (very rude, clearly, I need to express my deep love for Ari and Dante). This is one of my favourite series ever!

🟡 I recommend for:
↪️ Absolutely everybody ... seriously, go read it

This book was beautifully written. I think the author has a wonderful prose and has a way of compiling such quote-able sentences without them sounding clunky or forced. I read the first book a long time ago so I'm not sure whether my tastes have changed or whether there was just too long of a disconnect between the books, but it didn't draw me in as much as the first.

While I loved where the story was heading, towards the end (perhaps two-thirds into the book) it started to lose it's way. Or at least, I started to feel less obliged to pick it up. That being said, I did love the subject matter that was touched in this book and I valued getting a chance to see Ari's character development (because there was a lot and I was here for it). However, it just didn't grip me as much as the first book. This could definitely be a me, not you sort of issue though. I would still recommend this book because it's beautifully written and is such an important read for younger people.

I was very fortunate to receive an advanced readers' copy of this book from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review, and also very fortunate to have had the time to read it before its paperback release in Australia on 4 November 2021.

I read the first Aristotle and Dante book last year. I'd mostly forgotten the specifics of the plot, but I remembered how much I loved the characters. The first book had been so beautiful and poignant, and I'd become so attached to the characters, that I was simultaneously excited and worried - worried that this second book wouldn't live up to the first.

But instead, the sequel took all the best themes of the first book and expounded upon them in a mature, insightful way. Aristotle and Dante start 'growing up' and facing the difficulties of finishing school, and the author highlights those universally-true coming-of-age beats with a thoughtful and wise writing style. It captivated me, and it made me just want to lose myself in the story. It's wonderful just being inside Ari's head. I didn't want the book to end.

It touched on themes of queer love, platonic love, family, and complicated relationships. It was very grown-up for a YA book, and many of the reflective sentiments rung true with me as a 24-year-old. Even better, it was a YA book which managed to humanise the adults extremely well - something which is altogether too rare in the genre. The adults don't get sidelined, and that's worth a lot of respect. Moreover, it's a love letter to the great teachers of this world.

Just like the first novel, this one has the ring of truth and authenticity. It's set in a historical time period (the AIDS pandemic in the US), and it has characters I immediately fell back in love with, within the first 50 pages. They're surrounded by a cast of insightful adult characters who are framed with respect and admiration. The circumstances are endlessly poetic.

This is a book about first love, true love, growing up and changing. It's about the challenges of queerness and the challenges of race. The writing is so beautiful, and the characters so alive, that I found myself in tears multiple times near the end of the book. My heart was broken, and made whole again. This book, just like the first, was magical.

(Please note, this is an honest NetGalley review of the book itself - independently of any views or perspectives of the author.)

P.S. As an added bonus, Lin Manuel Miranda also reads the audiobook for the sequel! The advanced copy came in eBook form so I haven't listened to it, but I listened to the first book on audio and absolutely loved it.

“Maybe all we were meant to do on this earth was to keep on telling stories. Our stories and those of the people we loved”
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Like many others, I fell in love with Aristotle and Dante in book one as they discovered the secrets of the universe, a book that was so tender and moving it left me in tears.

Book two, Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World, picks up exactly where book one finished with Ari and Dante in the back of Ari's pick-up truck in the desert. I enjoyed the first third of the book, becoming reacquainted with the Quintanas and Mendozas and watching Ari and Dante become “cartographers," writing their own roadmap and trying navigate the terms of their new relationship in a prejudiced world. Reading as Ari struggles with his self-worth and sexuality was made even more poignant by the book being set against the developing AIDS epidemic

As the book went on, however, it felt a little as if the story lost its way. There were multiple story arcs, some of which felt as they were superfluous or never resolved. For example, I would have loved to have seen a little more of the woman who owned the gallery in the desert and gifted Aristotle and Dante a painting by her son. There were beautiful moments, but the dialogue felt a stilted in a way that it hadn’t in book one

This is still a worthy read for people who want to spend some more time with Ari and Dante, but it just didn’t quite live up to book one for me even though I know that that’s a huge ask

~~~~~~~Given an e-copy of this book by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~~~~~~~


"We will always live between exile and belonging" - this quote from the book irrevocably summarises the whole amazing story in one sentence.




As I had stated earlier with the first book's review, I had received a copy of this e-arc even before having read the foundation that was Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. The reason I had requested for a copy, is largely due to amazing word of mouth via social media and, my goodness did it not disappoint. So, I immediately ordered a copy of the first book, smashed the book in almost a single sitting and cried near the end. I immediately started reading the second one (this) in August.



Suffice to say that I had finished this book just today on the 8th of October 2021, just a few minutes before time had ran out from my NetGalley shelf. Don't ask me why it took me that long, I could give you both answers- answer 1; I was still high from the first book and possibly did not think that its sequel would be able to measure up , or it could also be that it was too good of a story to just smash read within a single seating and figured reading it in two months (under pressure) was a much better option.

This book was an anticipated sequel of Aristotle and Dante's red string of fate; what happens once you have confessed to wanting, yearning, loving a person from the same gender, But, this book is more than a YA book, more than a lgbtq+ book, more than a romance book, it encompasses and explores what it is to be a human being in its entirety- its perfection, vulnerability, flaws and growth.

Ari and Dante have officially started dating and have come out to both of their family - they are met with respect and unquestionable love (Mendozas and the Quintana family are what every family should aspire to be). Ari is slowly coming to terms with his sexuality, his relationship with his parents, his hang ups with his older brother and his self identity.

The book is a love story, not just the romantic kind, but a story about love of family, love of pets, love of new found friends and love of oneself. It is written in such simple terms that it cannot be misunderstood, but so profound that it hits you right in the feels. There is racism, but there is also acceptance; There is loss, but there is also new beginnings and much more room for growth. The book is balanced in its delivery, as is life if we look at it closely.

Did this book fare better or worse that its predecessor? Only the reader can tell, but I felt like it was a fantastic sequel that made me appreciate Ari more as a human being and the world view of someone not so different from myself, it is relatable and unflinchingly real in its deliver. It is not a happily ever after, life is not a fairytale, but live in the moment and that moment can be' Happy for now'. You make the choice, just like Ari did in the end.

I leave you with some of my favourite quotes from the book-

"A lot of people don't know how to think at all- they just know how to feel".

"A man who loves another man does not matter because he is not a man- and his paintings poems and whatever he thinks or says or feels do not matter. That is what people believe, those are lies, and I do not believe any of those lies. So I became an artist and a poet so I could paint and write the things that mattered- even if they only mattered to me. And that is the only thing that matters".

"If we're very lucky. If we're very lucky, the universe will send us the people we need to survive".

"He's my son, Susie. Jaime and I have always believed that a parent holds a sacred office. And we will never abdicate or resign from that office just because things get difficult".


"No one asks to be born. And no one wants to die. We don't bring ourselves into the world, and when its time for us to leave, the decision will not be ours to make. But what we do with the time in between the day we are born and the day we die, this is what constitutes a human life. You will have to make choices- and those choices will map out the shape and course of your life. We are all cartographers- all of us. We all want to write our names on the map of the world".

This book was both a heart warming and a heartbreaking read at the same time. While I haven’t read the first novel I throughly enjoyed this book and enjoyed following Ari and Dante’s story. I found the writing to be absolutely beautiful. A great coming of age novel that both young adults and adults alike can enjoy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this ARC.

I really enjoyed Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I wasn't sure the beautiful story in the first story could be improved on. I was so wrong. I enjoyed Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World even more than the first book.

If you haven't read the first, I highly recommend it, but believe this book is strong enough to stand on its own without the foundation of the first book. I have fallen in love with Ari and Dante and their love all over again. Benjamin Alire Sáenz has a gift for writing teen characters that feel like actual teenagers while addressing some important topics.

I really enjoyed the introduction of the character Cassandra and enjoyed seeing how her interactions with Ari helped him to grow. It was really good to spend more time with Ari and Dante's parents and see their influence on the teens. This book deals with homophobia, the AIDS pandemic, death and grief in such an impactful way.

Ari has grown so much as a person over the two books and I would absolutely dive back into this world again if a third installment was ever released.

Highly recommend for the teens and young adults in your life.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the opportunity to review this book.

This book was incredible. It took everything that was great about the first novel and expanded on it.
I don’t think I’ve never read something more beautifully written than this. Benjamin Alire Sáenz never fails to catch me right in my feels. Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World is full of quotable lines - my copy is packed full of highlights.
Important issues are discussed in such poetic and beautiful ways - Sáenz deals with loss, trauma, societal pressures and social issues in what I thought was a really great way.
One thing I adored was the emphasis on friendship and the impacts of isolating yourself from others. Ari is a really relatable character for me, so a lot of his thoughts and internal struggles hit hard.
I cried to so profoundly; this book is just so honest, it’s heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. I wish I could live inside this story forever - it’s such a comfort read.

I was beyond excited to read the second novel to the Aristotle and Dante series as I enjoyed reading the first novel a few years ago. This novel did bring up different social issues that were occurring in the late 1980s such as the AIDS epidemic/pandemic and the continual social issues of racism and prejudice that is still felt in today’s society. However, one note of concern is that the author has had some controversy regarding misgendering reviewer identities. Thus, I am surprised and confused that an author that delves into LGBTQIA+ topics also cannot correctly gender another individual in real life. This surprise and confusion continues when it’s noted that the author includes the mention of trans identity in this novel.
Therefore, after reading the novel and finding out about about said controversy, I will say that this novel wrapped up the duology of Aristotle and Dante, however, I can’t give this a lot of praise on account of the author’s actions.

It's possible that my reading taste has changed since I so much loved Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe in 2015. That said, I also wasn't too much a fan of The Inexplicable Logic of My Life in 2017, so perhaps it's more that there is one really amazing read that I loved from this author.

In any case, this novel too is set in the late 80s and basically picks up where the last one left off. Thankfully, given the delay in release schedule, there is enough in the first chapters to remind readers of where we left off in the case that no reread was sought immediately before diving back into this world.

The point of view is Aristotle's again, and we get to see him now in his budding relationship with Dante, learning how to speak up a bit more and also really relaxing into a closer relationship with both of his parents than he had the last time around.

For all of that, this book was much more about letting go than I would have expected. In this novel, we finally had Aristotle seeing his older brother, the one who went to jail for killing a trans woman. After that meeting across the glass, Aristotle is able to put aside the love he once felt for his brother when they were both children. Similar trajectory happen with both Aristotle's dad and with Dante through the course of the novel, in different and heartbreaking ways.

And, of course, given the time period, AIDS is a part of the background landscape. I really did actually like this, and thought it could have been a bit more present, though its level of involvement did make sense given the ages of our main characters.

Just like the first book, this was a very family focused story. Both Aristotle and Dante are loved and accepted by not just their own parents but also each others'. And Aristotle finally learns how to make friends outside of just the bubble he and Dante have created.

The sequel I didn't know I needed.

“I love the rain more than anything.”
“I know. I want to be the rain.”
“You are the rain, Dante.”

God damn Benjamin! You made me cry... again.

I was expecting big things from this book, and like always he delivers.
I loved watching Ari struggle with his mind and grow into th beautiful human being. He deserves to be happy! And sweet Dante. How you showed your more dramatic side and I loved it. (Bare feet is were it's at).

More friendships are made along the way and it's beautiful to see.

I don't even know what else to say about this. I just can't find the words.

Thank you Netgalley for blessing me with this arc for an honest review

I would like to thank for giving me a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

How can you meet Ari and Dante and not fall in love with them; slowly, simply and soulfully. It was an honour and a pleasure to continue travelling with Ari and Dante on their new adventures in this book. Benjamin’s writing feels like poetry and you forget space and time as you are drawn into a romance that is equal parts adorable and curious. I applaud the author for weaving in themes of racism, homophobia, loss, grief and coming of age in such an emotional and thought provoking manner. Ari as the narrator is perfect in all the messiness, challenges and fears that he faces and his growth is mesmerising. I adored the side characters and their own stories, opening Ari’s eyes to new perspectives. Personally, this book exceeded all expectations I had and felt like a gift that keeps giving. Every line penned is a quote worth etching into your memory. It’s very hard to say more without spoiling the story, but I will say that this is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read and I want to thank Benjamin for giving me a chance to go on this journey. To me, Ari and Dante are cartographers who have made their mark on the map of my heart 💜.

I have waited many years to finally have a sequel to Ari and Dante's story and now its here. This review will not have spoilers, but Waters of the World is a wonderful well constructed finish to this fantastic story. I cried and my heart was broken but like most great stories it was mended by wonderful writing. Before this is published I suggest you go back and re read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe in preparation for the November release.

Thank you to NetGalley for an Advanced Reader Copy of this book.

‘You saw me and I wasn’t invisible anymore.’

Two boys in a border town fell in love. With the weight of the world pressing down on their shoulders and the AIDS pandemic creating panic across nations, they discover what it means to love one another in a world that’s not ready to accept them.

I am pleased to report that 5 years on and Aristotle Mendoza remains my favourite literary character to date. I have waited years for this book, anxiously waiting to see what would become of Aristotle and Dante and it was a pleasure to continue their journey. Written beautifully, it was both heartbreaking and heartwarming and for lovers of the first book - I could not recommend this one more.

The first Aristotle and Dante book is one of my absolute all time fave reads, so when I heard about the sequel i was both excited to read more but also apprehensive that it wouldn't live up to what I expected. I'm happy to say that this even exceeded my expectations; it had me laughing, crying and often both at the same time, with lots of issues tackled with sensitivity while staying true to the characters and era.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I heard a lot of good things about the first book, but I didn't enjoy it. I hoped the sequel would be better but it just didn't do it for me.

What I liked most was the exploration of what it means to come from two different cultures. The struggle of not feeling a sense of belonging because you're (in this case) too Mexican to be American, and too American to be Mexican.

Regardless, the story felt crowded. It was confusing. The side characters had a lot of depth which I initially liked but the number of different storylines to keep up with felt tiring and honestly a bit boring. Dante's name may be on the cover but he's not really present throughout the actual story.

The ending also felt a little rushed. Too much is happening at once.