"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe" by Benjamin Alire Sàenz

Aristotle and Dante Discover the secrets of the Universe is a YA book. It takes place in El Paso, Texas in 1987 and depicts the relationship between two half-Mexican boys: Aristotle and Dante, who seem to be polar opposites. Ari is an angry and silent teenager while Dante is a funny, expressive boy with lots of self-confidence. During the course of the story we see their relationship turn from simply being friends to becoming lovers. We also follow Ari's relationship with his parents, how it improves little by little, thanks to Dante's influence on Ari. The main theme of the story is growing up, maturing and falling in love.

I absolutely loved this book. First of all because it doesn't solely focus on the main characters sexuality.  This gives a certain realness to the book because a person who is struggling with their sexuality does have other problems that they have to deal with, they don't only think about their sexuality. It is this realness that makes me think a lot of people could relate to the characters in the book. In addition, I appreciate the fact that the author does not represent Dante as the perfect character without any worries whose only goal is to help Ari open up. He too has challenges he needs to face and insecurities. I find that many other books  portray one of the two characters in a relationship as the perfect one and I find it refreshing that Benjamin Alire Sàenz does not do that. On top of that I loved seeing the two main characters mature: you can truly see a difference in their attitude between the beginning and the end. l liked the portrayal of the Mexican culture and how it impacted Ari and Dante. I also find that the way the story is presented is interesting because the book is divided into six parts, each dealing with a certain moment or an important period. I recommend you read this book if you like a poignant and emotional book that deals with real life.