The journey continues for Aristotle and Dante in ways that are authentic, well-written, and only serve to expand these characters. I enjoyed the beauty of the prose in the first book and was not disappointed with what I found in this eagerly-anticipated sequel.

So many possibilities for young readers to see themselves and explore this literary world.

A beautiful continuation of Aristotle & Dante’s
story, as well as an expanding of their social world. The characters continue to develop and grow, which is sometimes painful but that’s part of what I love about A&D. Their growth feels real, and sometimes raw…it is imperfect and honest. I did feel like this book was much more Ari than Ari & Dante; I wanted more of them together. I also felt a little inundated by social justice themes and situations that seemed to speak more to today’ than to the late 80’s but that might simply reflect my privilege and age. I would have been in 8th grade, so probably not aware of many racial problems at that time? Obviously they’re longstanding problems. Also was a white girl in New England, a nearly all white town so, definitely not comparable to living in a city close to the border. Having read this makes me want to look back at that time to see what I missed due to my age and where I lived. I’m also interested in what others thought about this part of the story and looking forward to reading other reviews. I definitely appreciated the way AIDS was treated throughout. I certainly remember that time and the fear, confusion, bias, and lack of empathy and research that was happening then. It took way too long for anything to happen to help. Overall, I did enjoy this book; I love the writing style itself, and I am rooting for the universe to grant a beautiful life for Ari & Dante.

I was ably to read this through Netgalley, and I love it! When I first read Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe I couldn’t really get into it but then I saw that Benjamin Alire Saenz was coming out with a second one and I figured I’d give it another try and I’m so glad I did! There is something about Ari as a narrator that I just connect with. We haven’t shared the same experience’s but I think Benjamin knows how to capture that feeling of being lost and unsure so perfectly! It felt like the first was was an exploration of Ari discovering who he was and the second book goes deeper in to discovering what it means to be who you are and how to be that in the world. Especially during the time that the characters live! I can’t imagine what it would have been like to be Gay during that time, that feeling that you might never get to be happy or express it if you do. And then having to hear about the deaths from AIDS and how people were responding to that. Benjamin gives a really amazing perspective! Of course I love Dante as well and his optimism! The supporting characters are all fantastic! Ari and his dad in the first book didn’t understand each other or open up to each other and it was so nice to be able to see them breaking those barriers and building a different relationship in the second book! I loved both of these books and I’m so glad I didn’t just give up on them! Can’t wait to get this book when it comes out!

One of the most anticipated book of the 2010's, I can confidently say that waiting for this book was worth it. Written in its familiar style, the book that has been so long in the making takes its memorable protagonists, Aristotle and Dante, on a whole new journey as they navigate the blooming relationships between them, deal with the implications of the AIDS crisis, suffer grave losses, form new friendships and, most importantly, they have to answer the question: What kind of future do I want to make for myself?

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

Before we begin, can I just say how much I would love to live in the head of Saenz. My goodness, what a soft and beautiful place that must be.

I wasn't expecting to have a follow up to these two lovely men all these years later, but it was still very welcome. It pretty much picks up where it left off. Since it's written in Ari's voice, we get a lot more of his perspective. He still struggles with coming to terms with his sexuality. He is still up for a fight, and he's still confused about how he can have a brother in prison for such a heinous crime. Add to that a blissful, yet overwhelming love for his new boyfriend Dante, and navigating all that a new relationship entails.

Saenz writes with just waves of love. Even through the difficulty, you feel so taken care of. The characters are so beautifully emotive, you can't help but wonder if he was trying to model to the world what we needed more of, from our friends, parents, partners...

Great story, it does not move quickly, and it's intense, and heavy. But it's also so gentle. Quite the juxtaposition, an impressive feat by the author.

A beautiful and heartbreaking follow up to the A&DDTSOTU. Equal parts poetic and real, this book will stay with readers their whole lives. I cried as consumed this, and I will cry when I reread it.

If the first book was about Aristotle discovering who he really is, this next book is about his discovering how to be who he really is. He's not just floating through life hoping that everyone will ignore him anymore, which means he's much less of an asshole to everyone around him, so that was nice. And he even makes friends! Plural! Amazing.

I am not joking when I say I cried for ten minutes just reading the first line of this book. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is my favorite book in the entire world. It's a book I've re-read dozens of times. It's my go to book when I am sad or in a reading slump. It's magical and poetic and I love these boys of summer and rain.

The sequel did not let me down either. I knew it would be good, but I was afraid it just wouldn't hold up to the high standard I have for the first book. But, I did. And it blew me away.

Ari is out now and he and Dante are dating. It's delicate and confusing and mixed with all kinds of feelings of love and lust and happiness. The poetry of the story still remains strong in this sequel. And I cried so many times while reading this. From happiness as well as just overwhelming sadness. Ari's journey is spectacular, and seeing him grow from the first book is amazing.

The tone of the book is also a bit different. It's less "summer boys being carefree" and more "entering adulthood and growing into yourself". There's so much emotion captured in these pages that it's hard to decide which words will best capture them all.

I love this book. I love this story. And, even though the wait was long, I am so happy Ari and Dante's story is going to be continued in this spectacular sequel.

As beautiful as the first and maybe even more special. I never like itty bitty chapters. I never like sparse prose. And I never finish reading books that just say something happened without explaining it. This book was/had all of those things and I freaking loved it with all of me. Something about Aristotle and Dante and Benjamin Alire Saenz just brings me so much joy and an ache in my heart. I love them and I want a future for them and I don’t usually see endings in my head for books. It’s a perfect book and I can’t wait to get it for my library and start recommending it and its predecessor. 💜💜💜💜📚

WE'RE GETTING AN ARI AND DANTE MOVIE OMG OMG OMG!!! I think you can tell by my excitement that I've been waiting for a very long time for this sequel. OMG - IT'S HERE!!! Perfect for fans of taylor swift's song "peace" but in book form. I had so many emotions while reading this book and I'm so honored that the publisher offered to give me a copy in exchange for a review.... coming on release date on pop-culturalist.com but just know that this is a book you won't be disappointed by this fall!!

Review will be published on Goodreads by 06/28/2021

In this sequel we follow the new budding love between Ari and Dante. The difference between their families gives a wide perspective of the possible ways families can be supportive of their LGBTQAI+ children. The prospect of facing a world that does not accept him is daunting for Ari and just like any relationship, the two need to feel out this new thing between them. They do this with the love and support of their families, but it's not easy. They both navigate the waters through racism, death, and new found friendships.

This book is very well written and easy to read, but has a depth and emotion to it that I am happy to say travelled from the first book and into the second. We get to see the layers of love between Ari and Dante through the events that affect their lives. This ranges from reeling from the death of a parent to defending other queer class members.

The relationships within this book have highs and lows and we see wonderful growth from Ari and Dante from many of these. They are both very relatable characters and are really well written. The introspective view we see through Ari’s journal is absolutely spot on. They are both portrayed as very mature teens, but with the mischievousness and impulsiveness that comes with youth. However, never in the entire story am I dismayed with the ‘teenness’ that afflicts many YA novels, but neither do they seem overly ‘adult’ and out of character.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book. It does not succumb to the slump that many sequels are afflicted by and the writing kept me engaged for the entire book. The writing is fantastic and enthralling and I highly recommend this book even for adults!

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC!

Every way that I found the first book underwhelming, this one was overwhelming in the best of ways. It’s hard to imagine the story truly being complete without both books, and I was amazed at the level of growth the characters experience when we first meet them. I enjoyed how the author expanded the world around Aristotle to include more friends, more family, and more love. I highly recommend the book to explore love, being Mexican-American, or understand the struggles of being a boy in the late 80s in Texas.

Benjamin Alire Saenz brings the reader back to the world of Ari and Dante with Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. The story picks up where Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe left off. The story takes Ari and Dante through their senior year of high school where they experience grief, joy, and everything emotion in between. Saenz does a wonderful job capturing the boys’ journey through discovery, personal acceptance, and adulthood. The additional ensemble of characters— the friends, the parents, and the teachers — are a wonderful representation of love and acceptance. The teenage banter made me laugh, the self doubt and shame made me cry, and the realization that as a race we still need to do and be better humans made me glad that I am seeing more realistic and honest representation in YA literature.

10 years later and finally I am reconnecting with Ari and Dante. We use the first book in our 9th grade classroom and I am very excited that next year I’ll be able to share their continued story about love and pain with the world. I love this idea of writing our names on the map of the world.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is one of the most special books to me; it was one of the first to make me feel truly seen, and I will always hold it close to my heart. Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World is the perfect sequel to such a beautiful story. Visiting Ari and Dante again felt like the warmest, most comforting hug. I adored this book more than I could ever describe.

Ever since I read the first book following Ari and Dante, I wanted more, more, more. And thanks to Netgally, I got the ARC for this sequel. Saenz's writing style is as captivating as his characters.

This is a beautiful sequel, so heartwarming and enchanting., It´s set in 1988, but the story feels timeless, it's an emotional coming-of-age story.

I love the written style, is raw, evocative, emotional, and poetic. Sáenz creates realistic characters, you can relate with Ari & Dante.

The story begins just after the first book ended. The summer started, the last one before graduation. Aristotle and Dante still are defining their relationship, they love each other but fear that society will not accept them, they live in a small town and the news is full of information about the AIDS epidemic.

Both have doubts and struggles, but they are more strong together, their relationship is sweet, both are in their senior year, they are experimenting, trying new things, and gain confidence.

This book is about love, but not only about Ari & Dante and their romantic relationship, it's also about family, friendship, and self-acceptance. how to belong and feel that you fit and are enough.

Wow. This book was worth the wait. The author speaks so simply and so plainly, but his words never fail to cut deep. Aristotle's journey in finding himself and growing from a boy to a man was absolutely astounding. It was heartbreaking and beautiful. I will never stop talking about these books.

My original plan was to reread the first book leading up to the release of the second since I haven't read it since release, but to my surprise I received an ARC from netgalley and S&S! Thank you to both for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. This is a condensed review and I will put a more detailed one up on my blog (lelliereads on wordpress) when I have time to process exactly what I think. Review will contain spoilers.

The first 25% of this book was really promising. The book picks up a bit after the first. Dante and Ari are slightly older and it's the summer before their final year of high school. Over the summer they spend a lot of time together, lost in thoughts, boys becoming men, learning about what it will mean for them to be gay adults in the 80s soon, and learning to see their parents in a new light. The summer leading up to the school year was really nice and I was flying through the pages.

What works about Aristotle and Dante is , well, Aristotle and Dante, so when the book diverges from that in the middle, the book starts to fall really flat. Ari and Dante don't go to the same school, so after the school year starts , Dante is barely mentioned at all for over 50% of the book and instead there are a PLETHORA of new characters thrown in (especially Cassandra, Gina, and Susie who don't offer nearly as much to the story as Dante does). So after over 100 pages of Dante and Ari being soft and having important conversations and pining over one another, suddenly Dante is barely mentioned and there are so many random things happening at school that he doesn't even think much about him (like fist fights, an OD, a racist teacher, etc).

There are a lot of sudden happenings that seem like the author is trying to make social commentary but the characters come out of nowhere and the situations are just bizarre. For example, even though a certain teacher at the school has never been mentioned before, there's a scene where this teacher is super racist and the kids accuse her from being from Alabama and supporting of the KKK. There's not a problem with having a teacher being racist and having the kids tell her that her views are wrong (because it is), but it was out of NOWHERE. There's also a scene where a random "alternative girl" who Ari doesn't even know comes to school with IUD earrings and a teacher goes off about teens and sexuality and she gets in trouble. Which in theory is okay, but again it came out of nowhere, no one even knows who the girl is, and nothing ever comes out of the scene. There were several instances of this and felt really out of place. The middle 50% with Ari at school was really boring and uninspired and I found myself wishing that the whole book took place the summer after their final year of school instead of before, because the beginning 25% and ending 25% after school is over is really nice.

What Works:
-Dante and Ari together as they navigate what it means to be gay teens in love
-Two boys coming of age
-What it means to be a Mexican American/not feeling Mexican enough or American enough
-The relationship both boys have with their families
-Ari's sense of anguish over his brother and Dante's new role as an older brother
-Living in the moment vs worrying about what the future holds for them as a couple

What doesn't work:
-Long periods of time without Dante and Ari together
-The random social commentary attempts during the school year that didn't go anywhere or feel genuine to the story
-Several times it's brought up that Ari wishes he could be a girl to marry Dante but he likes his penis too much to be one--and that feels like a weird jab at trans people (especially since it's brought up a few times)
-A weird comment Ari makes to Cassandra saying that even though he wolf-whistled at her as a joke, he can't objectify women because he's gay (of course gay men can objectify people what are you even talking about?)
-Another weird comment where Cassandra is talking about male privilege and Ari tells her to stop because the conversation is "making his balls shrink" (another random off-hand comment that goes nowhere and serves no purpose)
-People crying and being emotional is 100% great, but there is an awful lot of crying in this book. Every single character cries the second something somewhat sad or happy happens (Dante, Ari, all 4 parents, Cassandra, Gina, Susie, Rico, and both of Ari's sisters have cried before the 50% mark at least once)
-There are three funerals in this book before the 70% mark but only one of them is emotionally important. It's okay when there is death, especially when a looming topic is the AIDS pandemic. But that's a lot of funerals to actually attend as a reader. And I feel like the first two could have been scrapped to work on the build up to the third funeral, which is the important one.

Just as wonderful as the first. Aristotle and Dante, a little older and wiser and we are witnesses to their growing relationship. One of Saenz' many strengths is the depth of his characters and we see this - parents, friends, siblings as well as Ari and Dante all of them leap of the page not only in their joys and sorrows but in their everyday interactions.
I highly recommend this book to everyone - young teens through adults. Although you will gain a deeper perspective of Ari and Dante's relationship by knowing how they first met and became friends this book stands on its own. Read it.