I am currently reading Aristotle and Dance Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz. Just reading the title of this book I was under the impression that this story was going to be about astronomy. I was definitely fooled by the title, so far this book is about two Mexican-American boys named Aristotle and Dante. Aristotle is fifteen years old and goes by the name of Ari, this story is told from Ari point of view and he is narrating the story. Ari is going through the teenage woes, he only has one friend, no girlfriend, is extremely bored, and is on summer vacation. Air has siblings but there is a huge age gap so he doesn't hang out with them often. Air had twin sisters and a brother who is in prison, and his family acts like his brother doesn't exist, there are not pictures of him, and he is hardly mentioned in his household. Ari hates the fact his family acts like his older brother does not exist and can't figure out why his mother and father resent him so much. As the story unfolds Dante notices that Ari does not know how to swim and offers to teach him. From the point on Ari and Dante become best friends, I think Ari and Dante balance each other out. Ari is more educated about the Hispanic culture and Dante is more street smart. Where one character is lacking the other character can help fill them in. Just like in many of the books on my blog this book deals with stereotypes. Overall I think this is a good book and I would recommend it to a high schooler because I think many students could find topics that are relatable. I think once I get further into the book it's going to discuss homosexuality and figuring out your identity.
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