Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

I really enjoyed this book as a coming of age story. I think Ari touches on so many points which not only were relevant when I was fifteen, but are still relevant at twenty one. I think that once we mature and become teenagers we never stop questioning things. As children we more or less accept what we're told and don't really wonder about our parents, our teachers, our friends, and so on. There is definitely a turning point in each person's life when we start to see everything around us differently. Ari was fifteen when this happened for him, but I think for me it was when I was about twelve or thirteen. When I was reading this I wondered if it was too mature for 12 and up aged people but I realized when looking back that I was exactly in Ari's place at that age. I was swearing and starting to really like boys and starting to really hate my parents. If anything I'm happy this book is recommended for that age because there's no use hiding reality from young people.

There was so much that really spoke to me and so I highlighted certain areas and wrote on post-it notes as I went through. I think what touched me the most was the relationship between Ari and his parents and the mystery of what happened to his brother. When you're at that age, you want control of your life, but you know you don't really have any. No matter how great or horrible your parents are, this is going to cause problems between you. Ari even felt hate towards his mom and dad. I remember going through the same thing. Suddenly you realize your parents are real people who had real lives before you were born. You realize they're just as imperfect as you are. This becomes more and more of a realization as you get older and it brought me closer to my family, but when I was living with them I felt the same as Ari, like I was being held down or held back or kept in the dark. One thing he explores is the expectations from other people of what kind of person he should become. This is something all teenagers have to deal with. Everyone around them is wanting something out of them. It's important to others what kind of adult we turn out to be. Then when you go against their expectations, the disappointment is very damaging. Ari is a good kid, but when he makes a mistake he feels like he's failed his family.

Ari also dealt with the moodiness all teenagers seem to struggle with. I know I certainly had a lot of depression when I was a teenager and although my case was probably more severe in a sense, it was essentially the same as Ari felt. It's this suffocating feeling of not knowing who you are or if you'll ever be good enough. You feel like you're trapped by your own misery and won't ever be happy. Yet you're still able to laugh and have good times with your friends. I think that when you have to start the transition from child to adult it's just so heartbreaking that the world is kind of hard and dark sometimes and it takes a while to cope with all of it.

Lastly, Ari dealt with intimacy, vulnerability, and insecurity for the first time. He was experimenting with becoming close with someone and all the ups and downs that comes with it. He let a lot of people into his heart throughout the book, not just Dante, but his parents and a few friends from school. I think this is something that never goes away. When you're dating or trying to make new friends, it's a very complicated time, no matter how old you are. You're always going to feel vulnerable and insecure, at least just a little, especially at first. Yet, it's important to keep trying and let people in and not to shut down which is what Ari learned by the end.

Although I loved all the questions that Ari explored throughout the book and watching him transition from a boy to a man, I didn't personally get the sense that he was exploring his sexuality in the book or questioning his feelings for Dante. It was obvious that he loved him and was very close with him, but with the amount he was openly (to the reader) questioning so much about life, I was surprised by the ending when it seemed like everyone else just told him he was gay and to be with Dante. Perhaps I wasn't picking up on as much subtext as I should have been. It seemed like Dante very suddenly began exploring his sexuality and questioning it. I thought Ari would too because Dante's questions might spark his own question. I understand why Ari would push them away and how denial could be a sign, but it still seemed a little forced at the end. I'd like to hear what everyone else thought.

White is for Magic

The books pacing is really quick which I like and seems to be a common element of Young Adult literature. Each chapter is only about 6-10 pages long though the book itself is a little over 300 pages. The narrator's voice is easy to read, but her friends have an unrealistic way of speaking. Their voices are almost a little too forcefully teen-y. They use way too much quirky language and innuendos. Though seniors in high school may be cocky and think they sound cool, they certainly aren't that perky or creative. It's entertaining to read, but not realistic and takes away from my immersion. I also find that some of the spells Stacey is practicing are a little hokey. She uses rhymes when she speaks aloud. At one point she used a lemon to heal a wound and all I could think was OW but she never says that it stings her. I've had lemon juice in a cut before. It does not feel good and the pain would certainly be worth mentioning. These little things stand out to me.
There's also a lot of boy drama and friend drama which, although totally appropriate for the age, is out of MY age range. I understand completely and have been there myself when I was seventeen. Now I'm twenty one and I don't really want to read about that kind of thing. However, I can't act like I'm totally above it. Even in my twenties I have drama with friends and boyfriends. I'm sure when I'm an adult I'll still have petty drama. It's like it's totally relatable and yet not at the same time.
Overall, I'm picturing everything in my head very clearly. The smells, the sounds, the sights are all described in a way that allows me to put myself right there with the narrator. Stacey is a likable character, and despite their distracting language, her friends are too. I know where the story is going because this series has a formula: dreams start, threats come in, Stacey has to rush to solve the mystery, it gets solved at the last possible moment, despite a few downfalls everything is okay in the end. Yet I don't know who the threats are coming from or what danger lies ahead and that's what keeps me reading. Plus, like I said before, the characters are likable and I really find myself rooting for Stacey.
So far, it's a fast read with an enjoyable plot, likable characters, and detailed descriptions.

Final consensus:
Reading this book again kind of ruined it for me. The references are dated and the language is forced. Sometimes the writing is good, but it's very fast paced and doesn't really exercise your brain at all. It is similar to watching a cheesy teen drama on television. You know it's bad, but you still love it and you keep going. When I was doing the math I realized that I was about 11-12 when I first started reading this series. It makes sense now that it being a little too old for me, without being a difficult read was right up my alley. I was a pretty mature kid who knew way too much about the adult world at a young age, so none of the "adult content" (not that there was a lot) bothered me. Though every once in a while I came across words or references I know I wouldn't have known at the time. It's clearly a book written by an adult, trying to sound like a teenager. It's sad because I was so in love with this series and thought the author was a genius. Now I realize that it's nothing special.

White is for Magic - Thoughts before reading

Since I don't have the first book and Barnes and Noble no longer carries the series, I was left to read the second book of the series: White is for Magic.

It takes place one year after the first book. The main character is seventeen years old, her name is Stacey Brown, and she's having nightmares again about people being murdered.

That's the premise of this book which is described in greater detail on the back cover. All I remember about this book is that she's dating one of the guys who used to date her best friend. Then a new guy shows up and she cheats on her current boyfriend with him. There's some mystery behind the new guy, but he ends up being just like Stacey and they're basically soulmates.

I can't actually remember what the mystery is, who is in trouble, how exactly everything unfolds. I only remember one key scene in which Stacey and Jacob paint each others bodies as they practice a spell together and it gets pretty steamy. I was a young girl, so of course that part stood out to me and stuck with me.

I'm excited to begin reading this book. I have a feeling that I'll still love it because of nostalgia, but I probably will be less impressed with the skill of the writing. Hopefully it lives up to how much I've held it in my heart all these years.

Blue is for Nightmares

Right around the start of junior high I discovered the Young Adult section at Barnes and Noble. A book titled Blue is for Nightmares caught my eye and I quickly fell in love with it.
It's a series written by Laura Faria Stolarz about a young woman that practices wicca and has dreams which give hints to disasters that are to come. In each book, her dreams start again out of the blue and she has to struggle to figure out what they mean before whatever horrible event is supposed to take place. She uses her witchcraft and her friends to help her solve the mystery of her dreams in the nick of time to save whomever or whatever from disaster. There's a mix of love and friendship as well as evil and supernatural.
I read the first book several times and loaned it to a friend who never ended up returning it. I don't have the first book any more but I still have all the others in the series. I'm interested to see if I would still have such high praise for it, if the relationships still seem authentic, and if the story is still able to keep me on the edge of my seat. It's been so long that I don't even remember what happens in each book any more which I guess just makes it even better.