Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Aristóteles e Dante Descobrem os Segredos do Universo by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

68 reviews

marleysclassics's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

It's really difficult to write my thoughts about a book that I found to be very confusing at times. It's also quite difficult to explain why - most of it probably is the writing style's fault. It is very minimalistic and I have to admit that this isn't necessarily my favorite thing. When authors try to express everything in a few words it can easily seem a little pathetic - at least to my mind. And yes, that's what I thought here too - sometimes. At other times these one-to-three-word sentences, these half-a-page chapters really hit the spot.
Thus, Aristotle and Dante definitely made me think and feel quite a lot. Here too, I somehow feel pathetic because I guess that's exactly what the author wanted to achieve. But I have to admit: it worked. I certainly experienced a wide range of emotions, from feeling seen to being angry to being shocked to feeling touched to being annoyed to smiling at the pages in front of me. And at all times there was a certain dullness, a thing lingering in the air.
I'm not sure if it is that thing that was resolved on the last, very last page(s), I don't know if I want it to be. Because I feel like it would make everything that is so deep and entangled and there in this book unauthentically simple. But also ... it wouldn't. And even if it kind of seems like this in the end, I think it might be exactly what the story needed. These last to pages, this last sentence - I was just happy. Okay, maybe not just. But quite a lot. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Death, Transphobia, Medical content, Murder, and Lesbophobia

emohell's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

damn y’all weren’t kidding when you were hyping this book up

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Blood, Alcohol, and War

Minor: Animal death and Transphobia

mattyb's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Grief

Moderate: Drug use, Violence, Blood, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy and War

thesecretsapphic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, and War

lost_windsock's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book was absolutely beautiful. It destroyed me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

sorcha's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Grief, and Car accident

Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

elliereadsthings's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

A really cute story about a boy falling in love with another boy, what more could you want???

For some reason I absolutely LOVE the parents in this story, they’re amazing. I may even love them more than Dante and Ari themselves. 

The start was a little slow, but I swear this book just got better and better the further in I got.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 

“Dante. I really liked him. I really, really liked him.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Hate crime, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Classism

triangular_pascal's review against another edition

lighthearted tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

jasmineslibraryy's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

ari was so incredibly relatable. i love best friends to lovers. i love slowburn. this book was perfect for me. alexa play midnight rain by taylor swift <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and War

Minor: Outing and Deportation

journey2's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This is one of the most beautifully written books. I loved the characters deeply, despite the earnestly struggling melancholy that Ari, our mc was feeling. Being 15 is hard. Being 15 with a brother in prison who no one will talk about, a father with PTSD, struggling with anger issues and discovering who he is supposed to be, all while traversing a new and exciting friendship that challenges him in every way?? That's a lot. This book is gorgeous and moving and beautiful. I loved it so much. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Transphobia, Blood, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation

Tw: homophobia, transphobia (use of an out dated t word that would have still been in use in the 80s, although this does seem to be rectified by the second book and handled with more care), violence, car accident, death, incarceration, AIDS.