Heartbreaking, touching, and poignant, this is a worthy sequel to the first book. Highly recommended for all libraries and for fans of the first book.

I preordered after 25 pages. The wait may have been long, but it was DEFINITELY worth it… this book is everything I hoped it would be and SO much more.

It's been a long time since I've read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. The details are fuzzy, but the prose is familiar and comforting. There are a lot of short scenes and scene breaks, and every scene ends in a profound thought or a life lesson; it reads almost like a collection of connected short stories or comic strips. Really fluffy and happy at the beginning, no real outer conflict, just inner growth.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World is the follow-up to the immensely popular Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. It was wonderful to see what happens to Dante and Ari after they find each other. Benjamin Alire Sáenz illustrates that love alone does not make all of your problems go away. However, love is essential when trying to cope with life's many tragedies. The writing is just beautiful - lyrical and poetic. Highly recommended for teens and adult fans of YA.

This book had so much to live up to. I was quickly reminded why I love this author’s writing so much and these characters. Now that Ari has admitted he loves Dante, he grapples with love in it’s many forms not just romantic. He starts to allow more people into his world. But also has to accept loss. I couldn’t love these boys or their family and friends more. I had forgotten it was set in the 1980s. I wonder how modern gay teens will read this in terms of the AIDS epidemic and Ari and Dante feeling like they can’t have a future that involves marriage or children.

Just like it's predecessor, Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Waters of the World was heart-wrenchingly beautiful in a haunting way. This book was much sadder than the first because we're familiar with Dante and Ari, and we now see them struggling to be themselves in a world that doesn't want to accept them.

This is not a new story by any means, but Alire Sáenz has a way of writing that makes the words connect with your soul. While the first book had a lighter, more hopeful note, this book was filled with the insecurity and fear that came from the beginning of the AIDS epidemic. The lyrical quality of the writing helped smooth the harsh edges of the conflict, and it made the entire book feel familiar in the same way the first book did.

This book had me in tears almost the entire time, and I would gladly reread it to feel those emotions again.

"To live and never understand the strange and beautiful mysteries of the human heart is to make a tragedy of our lives."
.
Thank you to Benjamin Alive Saenz, Simon and Schuster, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this eARC! IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY, GO PRE-ORDER THIS ASAP.
.
This sequel was such an emotional roller coaster. My husband walked in on me sobbing my eyes out and I couldn't stop 😅 Just like the first book, reading from Ari's POV and seeing the world through his eyes has been quite an adventure. I just...LOVED IT.

The lovers meet, they get to know each other, they fall in love...but what happens after that? Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World explores just that. The story picks up where the first novel ends, with two boys in love laying in the back of a pickup truck in the desert. But, unlike many explorations of the love story, this book asks “What comes next?”. Aristotle confronted and admitted his feelings for Dante in the first story, now he needs to figure out how to map out the world of their love as well as the larger world as a gay young man. Are Dante and Aristotle a forever love? How will the world see him if he admits to being gay? With men dying throughout the world from the AIDS pandemic, will he have the strength to speak up or will he stay silent? If he gives people a visa into the country of his heart, will they hurt him or help him heal? Each of these questions is considered through the plot of this sequel.

Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s return to the world of Ari & Dante is filled with a number of the same techniques that made the first novel so interesting: strong dialogue, intriguing characters and honest self-exploration. This volume adds another way into Ari’s mind with the addition of journal entries he keeps throughout the story. The entries are directed to Dante, though not always centered on their relationship. This is a technique that leads to insights not only into his story, but his thoughts around specific incidents and internal conflicts. Ari develops a relationship with language and specific words including shame, forgiveness and love while weighing which words to carry within himself. New characters enter the narrative as Susie and Gina play larger roles and Cassandra is introduced along with a number of other peers from Ari’s school.

Aristotle & Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is a truly special narrative of a boy learning to understand himself and his place in both the world and his relationships. While Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World does continue that exploration, much of the plot is driven by tropes that make the narrative feel contrived. I don’t want to share any spoilers, so although there are certainly difficulties faced by Ari and Dante both in and out of their relationship, they are often typical teenage dramas without the gravity of realistic consequences. Ari’s friendships develop on a whim after years of distancing himself from his peers, conflicts with teachers feel disconnected from the larger narrative and he is exempt from consequences, and even the love between the two boys seems to follow the expected script for a teen drama. Also, Dante’s character and experiences, which added layers to the original text are blunted by the focus on Ari’s new friendships while he takes a back seat, this minimizes the diversity of experience and feels counter intuitive to the claims that the second novel would focus more on his perspective. I was really torn in my experience with this novel since there are quite a few strong qualities and compelling techniques, but also a number of clumsy choices that pulled me out of the story as they did not feel organic. I’m sorry to say that my high hopes were overshadowed by disappointments.

Teachable Moments:
Once again, this book does have moments of interesting characterization and natural/engaging dialogue which would be useful in a classroom, but given a choice, I would lean into the first book in the series instead. An interesting exchange to use in the classroom would be an early conversation between Ari and his mother where the expected roles feel reversed. Ari’s journal entries would serve as strong models for the usefulness of journaling. Also, Ari’s examination of words to internalize or excise could inspire an interesting project for students to confront language in their own hearts, minds and lives.

"Let's map out the year, Dante. Let's write our names and chart out some paths. And go see what we have never seen. And be what we have never been."

In this sequel to a quintessential YA coming of age romance, Ari has already recognized his love for a single person. Now he has to learn to love himself--and the messed up, pain-filled world.

It is hard to write a sequel to a perfect book, and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is just about perfect. The writing in this sequel is sharp and powerful, almost Hemingway-esque. Ari has long, monologuing encounters with fairly tangential characters that give his journey in this book an allegorical, pilgrim's progress feel. This really worked for me! I cried every other chapter from the intensity of the emotions the book is able to convey. That being said, it doesn't have the directionality or sweet simplicity of the first installment--with Ari's impending adulthood comes complication and.a widening of his world. I also think some plot elements might have been set up farther in advance to improve the flow of the narrative.

Dive in, reader. Ari and Dante are charting the stars.

So here we are with Aristotle and Dante again. They are busy trying to figure out how to have a relationship in a world that doesn't like them. Aids is a big topic in this second book. They discuss why they call it an epidemic when it is really a pandemic and how silence = death. Aristotle and Dante complete their Senior year of high school and must wrestle with how their relationship will change when they leave for college.
Good coming of age story and how to deal with death and life. I enjoyed this one more than the first.

I adored the poetic prose throughout this book. It made the book easy and quick to read. I liked that both sets of parents were their own kind of supportive and it was bittersweet watching these boys learn how to love and navigate their world--is bittersweet the right word to use if tears were shed? A million words of thanks to the publisher and netgalley for letting me read this beautiful book. Public/social reviews to be posted closer to release date

The original Aristotle and Dante book was a very late discovery for me, and I just read it last month. It was hard for me to believe that the rest of the world has been waiting 9 years for a sequel! It picks up exactly where they left off in the first book, so we get to see what happens as the relationship develops.
This book has many of the same positives as the original book. Aristotle and Dante, as well as all of their family and friends, are all extremely likable characters. You instantly want to root for them. In fact, one flaw I found with this book is the people around Ari and Dante, their family and almost all of their friends are almost TOO good, too kind. Almost everyone accepts them as they are, instantly. I think the reality of 1980's Texas would not have been so kind to these characters. It was also a bit of a slow burn, with Ari and Dante just sort of meandering through their last year of high school, a lot of side plots, all building toward Ari coming into his own. There was one very sudden and unexpected event that came out of nowhere, and I'm not sure served the story that well. I would have liked to see a little more focus just on Ari and Dante.


Overall, a good sequel that gives us more of these two lovely characters.

I enjoyed this more than I did the previous entry in the Aristotle and Dante series. I thought it was a stronger story with stronger characters and relationships. It was very beautiful. I like that the author seems to have become a lot more comfortable writing about Ari's queerness just as Ari himself is becoming more comfortable with his feelings. After reading the first book I knew to brace myself for emotional punches, but it still got me. The whole book was handled very well and was very moving.

It's Benjamin Alire Saenz. Of course it's gorgeously written and heartbreaking and beautiful.

In the previous book, Ari and Dante fall in love. In this one, they learn how to be in love. And it's hard. Being in love, trying to figure out who you are, and knowing that the world in 1989 is not kind to those who are different...it's hard.

But it's worth it.

“What we had was that moment, and right then, I didn’t want or need anything else.”

The writing and dialog in Aristotle and Dante Dive Into the Universe is as beautiful as the relationships within it. Read it to understand humanity a little better. Let the words and love hold some space in your heart.

It makes me sad to think that in 2021 our society still isn’t able to just let people love who they were born to love. The characters in this book have so many sad and beautiful insights. I wish that both of Benjamin Alire Sáenz’s books were taught far and wide to high school students everywhere.

I didn't think anything would top Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe, but this beautiful and moving sequel is a classic. The nuance and layers present in their relationship, as well as the deeper characterization is among the many things that make this such a touching tale. I am so glad to have been invited into Ari's and Dante's universe again.

This is a lovely, moving sequel that really showcases the author's beautiful, lyrical style. If you enjoyed the first book, this second one builds on it in every way. Ari is growing up, and as we follow him through his school year, we encounter many testing issues and situations through his eyes. The pace overall is slow and reflective, though especially in the middle, where Dante is not as present and things get tangled up in the various side characters of Ari's expanding circle of friends.

There's a lot of crying in this book. It felt like every other chapter was filled with tears. Some scenes and side plots come to a more concrete conclusion than others. Also, at times I found it difficult to follow who was speaking during lengthy conversations where dialogue tags weren't used, as many of the side characters had similar voices. However, this didn't detract from my enjoyment of the gorgeous prose and short, melodic chapters. All in all, I thought it was an excellent sequel, both contemplative and hopeful.

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

I am writing this review thanks to receiving an Advanced Reader’s Copy from NetGalley - thank you to both NetGalley and Benjamin Alire Saenz!

“Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World” is a sequel to “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” and tells the story of Ari and Dante navigating the very choppy waters of being young, gay, and in love while living in America in the 1980s. The novel covers the AIDS epidemic, homophobia, becoming an adult, young love, reconnecting with friends, grief, loss, and much more.

I was someone who fell in love with Benjamin Alire Saenz’s “Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe” - to the point that after I finished reading it the first time, I immediately reread it, but THIS time with a highlighter so I could highlight all my favorite parts.

So, it was safe to say I was both thrilled and nervous when I saw that the sequel was coming out soon. It’s so hard to write a sequel to such a great book without having readers and fans feel as though it falls flat. It’s happened to some of my favorite novels. However, I was relieved with how well “Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World” treated me. I got so much enjoyment from seeing Ari grow into himself and become a better, more loving person. Saenz did a wonderful job of writing two young boys in love, and all the jittery, scary, exciting feelings that come with that. The very real threat of being a gay man in America during the height of the AIDS epidemic was explored so well. The fear of “I’m gay, but I want to be straight, but I don’t want to be straight, and I’m not sure how to come to terms with any of this” was so relatable that I cried on a few occasions.

My only gripe was the ending. I won’t spoil anything for anyone, of course, but Dante can be a very frustrating character at times. But he’s human, and humans are very good at being frustrating.

The writing was beautiful, and I can’t wait to get to enjoy it again once it is published.

This book is composed of short, poetical, chapters. By employing this technique, the author is able to tell numerous small, meaningful stories along the timeline of Ari's and Dante's senior year. This book is especially about Ari, and it contains many emotional passages as he discovers himself, Dante, and his parents at much deeper levels, as well as opening himself up to loving, supportive, friendships.

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World is as beautiful as it is moving. It captures a story of growing up and coming to terms with who you are and what you want. The writing style captures love, grief, and happiness that will move you to tears and smiles. Ari and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is so easy to fall in love with, and this book didn't even make me think about it. It flew past anything I expected from a sequel. Falling more in love with Ari and Dante's story is something this book accomplishes within the first few pages. This book gripped my attention and my heart and did not let go until the final page.