Book Equivalent # 1                                        

Words: 359 pages. I unfortunately cannot find the word count for this book.                 

Date: August 21, 2015  

Title:   Aristole and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe                     

Author: Benjamin Alire Sáenz                                    

Genre ~ Non-Fiction / Fiction Type:  Realistic Fiction                                   

Opening Sentence: One summer night I fell asleep, hoping the world would be different when I woke up.    

Favourite word / phrase / sentence: I wonder what it was like to hold someone’s hand. I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone’s hand.

Vocabulary and new terms (with part of speech) and definition:

Belligerent (adj): to be hostile or aggressive.

Disingenuous (adj): not candid or sincere, usually by pretending to know less about something than you really do. 

Reflection, Connection & Personal Response: 

I loved this book mostly for it’s main character, Ari. He thinks deeply a lot, mostly about life and existence. Why are we here? For whom are we here for? What’s it like to love and laugh and feel important?

He meets a boy named Dante, who is also a major character in this book. (though the book never gets told in his perspective.) The book mostly focuses on these two boys growing up, getting into accidents and going through life together. And yes, when I word it like that, the book sounds a bit boring. There’s no major action like gun-shooting or wild goose chases around the country. It’s a book designed to make you think about the perspectives of this universe, and what it’s like to go through life.

It’s a really nice, deep book, the words are intricate and well-written, a mix between philosophical and romantic…This book is most definitely worth a read.