Play Book Tag discussion

I just re-read my review of the first book, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. I had rated it 4.5 but rounded down, thinking it lacked a final punch that made it worth 5 stars. Well, this sequel has that punch. I admit it does so only in the final third of the book, but I have to give 5 stars to a book that made me cry may way through that final third.

This book picks up where the first leaves off, with Ari and Dante finally acknowledging their love for each other. Now in this book they have to navigate their lives with the reality of what that means for them. The story is only told from Ari's point of view, and we get to swim in the mind and heart of an adolescent gay boy growing up to be a man in the height of the AIDS crisis in the late 1980s. But what really makes this book for me is not so much the story of Ari and Dante, but the people around them - their family and friends and the relationships that change and bloom as they grow up. Saenz is a very lyrical writer, and parts of this book are almost ethereal. Ari is a deep contemplative soul, but there is also a lot of humor here. All in all it's a wonderful mix that earns the highest rating from me.

I read the first book of it. I'm going to look at this book at the library:)