Reviews with content warning for Blood - Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Benjamin Alire Sáenz put so much heart into this book. I wish I read this when I was a kid - I think I would’ve enjoyed it more when I was younger. The way he writes dialogue is fun. The way he writes emotional availability (and unavailability) feels so textured you can almost touch it. The character dynamics - especially Aristotle’s and Dante’s - have a whimsy that makes you feel young while you’re reading.

This is a quick read if you’re in the mood for a pick-me-up coming-of-age with substance!

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daringreader13's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing 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

4.75

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redheadorganist's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

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marlenereads's review

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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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