Artistole and Dante discover the secrets to the universe – Benjamin Alire Saáenz

Some books you have in your hand so many times that one day you think. I will get it now. Once I started I couldn’t put it down. Let me tell you all about it.

The book in short
Dante can swim. Ari can’t. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari’s features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself.
But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other―and the power of their friendship―can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side.
Read more here.

My thoughts
This is one of those books that I saw in the shops over and over again. I thought it sounded so fun but I kept skipping it. I was in London on holiday and I had two minutes before we were leaving and I had it in my hand so I just got it there.

I am not sure why but it reminds me a bit of they both die at the end, they have nothing in common but the relationship between the two characters feels similar. The book has great flow so reading through it is an absolute breeze. The stories is divided into five parts and those parts were natural stopping points. The story kept me very entertained.

I was enjoying it immensely from start to finish. t’s so easy to read but it does talk about difficult topics such are Ari’s brother who is in prison and how Ari has a hard time making friends and wanting friends. the story is very linear, the target audience is I think young adult boys. I think they can get a lot out of stories like this. I enjoyed how Ari didn’t fully comprehend that he liked Dante. I think their story is very sweet and I would recommend it. There is a second book and I have it on the list so if I ever see it somewhere it will come home with me. I cannot wait to learn more about their story.