When Simon and Schuster rep David Gale handed me an advanced reading copy of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe at ALA Midwinter, he told me that it was the best LGBT YA novel that S&S was publishing this year. Granted, the year is young, but he may well be right.
Set in El Paso, two Mexican American families’ lives become intertwined when their teen sons become best friends, something neither have ever had before. Aristotle’s family has a big secret that is never discussed; Dante’s family is open and academically inclined. As they come to share their lives, each young man and their families change and grow through separation, reunion, accident and love. Though the families are very different, they are loving and supportive of one another; this is not in any way another dysfunctional family YA novel. In fact, without giving too much away, it is the parent’s wishes for their sons’ happiness that drive the final actions of this story. I loved this book, laughing and crying all the way through. The writing is near perfect, the characters are real, the families healthy and strong. I lent my copy to a coworker’s high school daughter who also loved it.
Aristotle and Dante will be a crossover book for both boys and girls, as well as adult readers. The story will strongly resonate with LGBT readers and may well help straight readers to better understand their LGBT friends. In other words, this book is just right for your library collection. Buy it for your library, buy a copy for yourself, buy it for that LGBT teen in your life, and buy one to give away.
Essential for all public and school libraries, and for academic libraries collecting LGBTÂ or YA lit.
Reviewer: Dave Combe, Librarian Specialist
E.P Foster Library, Ventura (CA)
[…] our sister blog GLBT Reviews has some reviews of LGBT-related Latino literature. If you have more resources to add to this list or books to suggest, leave them in the comments […]