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.