"The problem with my life was that it was someone else’s idea."
Imagine a book with no clear plot. Imagine a book with little to no exposition. Imagine a book where the story wasn't about politics or sexual revolutions. Imagine a book about two boys raised in El Paso in the late 80's where they spend their summers saving birds, and each other.
I absolutely loved 'Aristotle and Dante...". The story is told from the point of Aristotle, or Ari, for short. Ari has a very straight forward point of view. He doesn't waste words on long explanations or descriptions of things. I think the majority of Ari's description goes into the description of his old Cherry Red Ford truck with Chrome. Anyway, Dante is described as a "lighter skinned Mexican" than Ari who considers himself a "Mexican", meaning that he's far more part of the culture than Dante, whose parent are a therapist and English professor. Dante even confesses to Ari that he doesn't like the fact that he's Mexican and seems to want to keep himself as far as he can from his culture.
A lot of issues are squeezed into 'Aristotle and Dante...' such as accepting race, social barriers, sexuality, gender, politics but for the most part they're not as big as they would seem. This story is told like a free form poem, but in verse. There's no major plot other than Aristotle just trying to get through the summer unscathed, which really doesn't happen. He meets Dante, who teaches him how to swim and over the course of the summer becomes his best friend, which is something neither kid has ever had.
I loved the way 'Aristotle and Dante...' treated sexuality and love. Nothing ever seemed to be forced. For the most part Ari was a angry kid with an older brother in prison, with no real understanding as to why he was there, fighting with the fact that he didn't know what to do with his life and living in self-doubt. He kept his emotions locked away which made him a stark comparison to Dante who was passionate about almost everything. He cried and read and drew and ran after kids who shot birds with BB guns. Through their many oppositions they peel away at one another's emotional layers until both are bare and exposed to the elements.
Ari's love story with Dante is a very powerful one driven by friendship and the love of their parents. Both Dante and Ari are blessed by devoted parents, though both sets are just as different as the boys. Dante's parents are loving and expressive, taking Ari under their wings immediately. Ari's parents are a little less 'together' in the sense that Ari's father is a returned Vietnam Vet, emotionally scarred and quiet, and his mother is sincere and insanely loyal to her husband and son. But they represent the deep bond that parents can share with their children and how far love can go.
For the most part a major theme in this book is that of loyalty. Loyalty in love and friendship and how far love and loyalty can go. Ari feels a deep sense of loyalty to Dante and, though he has trouble expressing it verbally, he expressed it with how far he goes to take care of and protect Dante from kids that hurt birds, careening cars, and homophobic boys.
Overall, I loved this book. The prose is beautiful, the characters complex, and the message meaningful. To me it was more about accepting love than accepting sexuality. To Dante it didn't seem strange at all for him to love a boy, to want to kiss a boy, and while it took Ari a while to get there (along with some prodding from his awesome parents) he figured out how much he loved Dante. Because, after all how could Ari be ashamed of loving Dante Quintana?
I wish there was a way to really fully express my love for this book. I feel that this is a perfect love story and a great step for writers of LGBT YA literature, because it shows a love story. It's not a political statement or a carrier of a heavy handed message. Instead it just tells a story about two stupid boys trying to figure out what the hell they're doing. My rating? 5 out of 5. I'd give it a 6, but that feels a little like overkill.
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