Aristotle and Dante (359 Pages)

Benjamin Alire Saenz has written a truly wonderful book for boys, about boys, that boys will enjoy reading- and should read. Girls will enjoy it, and they should read it too. Here are two high school guys who are so different in so many ways and so alike at the same time. Aristotle is a Latino loner. Dante is the Caucasian son of an English professor, but also of Mexican heritage. Ari is the youngest child in his family which consists of twin sisters that are much older and a brother in prison who is a little younger than his sisters. He considers himself an only child. Dante has a wonderful sense of humor. One day while "force cleaning" his room, he gives Ari a book of poems by William Carlos Williams and insists that Ari read it. Against his better judgement, Ari does read it, and he then makes a mental comment to the reader, comparing people and poems. "Some people you got right off the bat. Some people you just didn't get- and never would get."(page 29) Two boys, both learning about themselves and each other. Both boys on the journey to becoming men.This is a story about young guys discovering their sexual identities. Although they come to realize that they are gay, there is no sex in the book. It is incredibly well written!