Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Amiee Sáenz is a multi-award winning book.

It’s about Aristotle, aka Ari, and his friendship with Dante. Ari has always been a loner, but something is different about Dante. They first meet at the public pool one summer when Dante offers to teach Ari to swim.

From this point, they develop a friendship that provides balance to each other. Ari’s tough around the edges and Dante is more sensitive. Ari’s relationship with his dad is strained while Dante is super close with his parents. Ari’s older brother went to prison when he was much younger, and his parents never speak about him. This instilled anger and loneliness in Ari.

The school year progresses with the boys only corresponding through mail (Dante’s family moved during the year for his dad’s job). During this time both grow and realize more about themselves as individuals.

When Dante returns, he comes out to Ari. They attempt to rekindle their friendship, but it isn’t quite the same. This changes when Dante is beaten badly by a gang of boys who see him kissing a boy.

Spoiler- Ari comes to realize ( with help from his parents) that his feelings for Dante are much stronger than he allowed himself to admit.

There is beauty in the way this story unfolds (and more important scenes than I can mention here). It speaks of family love, friendship, romantic love, loyalty and forgiveness.