Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

This book was surprising. Not just content-wise, but I was surprised at how I felt about it while reading it. To be honest, this was the first LGBT book I had ever read. I'm more of a commercial fiction type of reader, and the books I've read hardly ever have LGBT characters. I didn't know how I would feel while reading about it, but I found myself liking it.

Aristotle is a fascinating character. He's also incredibly easy to relate to. I remember being fifteen or sixteen and trying to figure out the universe, my parents, the secrets in my family's lives. I remember wanting to know everything but, at the same time, being afraid of what I would be told. Aristotle's struggle with the secrets of the universe felt real because I had been there. I think most of us have.

I totally see how this book got all those awards.

We were supposed to read the first half of the book, but I ended up reading the whole thing. Admittedly, part of it was that I wanted to get it over with so I could work on other homework this next week, but a large part of it was because I wanted to keep reading. The growth throughout the story was believable, which I think can be pretty hard to do. I wanted to see what would happen next to force Aristotle to face his fears or confusion or anger and how he would deal with it, and then how it affected and him and the people he cares about.

I really liked the family moments in this book, and not just with his parents. There was the moments with Dante's parents, the moments when he thought about his brother, the revelation of Aunt Ophelia (I would have liked more on her). They were emotionally complex, not full of angst like A LOT of young adult novels these days. I appreciate that and applaud Mr. Saenz.

So, that's that.

Happy Saturday!

A Re-reading of Pretties

Unfortunately, my Uglies book has mysteriously disappeared, but I was able to re-read Pretties, the second book in the trilogy.
       

                                                       (from Wikipedia)

Before the re-read, I remembered loving the book. I remembered rooting for Zane, the central love interest. But after reading it six or seven years later, I didn't love the book as much. I wish I could have read Uglies since it is my favorite of the three novels. Pretties just did not live up to my expectations while re-reading.

I mean, I still liked the book. I still found it interesting because Scott Westerfeld really brings out this new, futuristic culture with the slang (bubbly, pretty-making, etc.) and the technology available. By this aspect I was pleasantly surprised, because I had forgotten. The general plot line I knew from the many reads I did as a tween, but I loved re-experiencing the small stuff.

Places in the book I had originally tween girl squealed at now made me sigh in frustration. (I'm looking at you, Zane and Tally). But that might be because of growing annoyance with romances I used to read like Twilight or pretty much any other paranormal romance novel I read as a tween.

There were a lot of aha! moments as well. My mind hadn't made the connections when I was younger when the novel referenced people or places or different aspects of the world we live in now, probably because, from six or seven years ago, I went through high school and college and hadn't yet learned about those things. I actually smiled at certain places because I knew what the book was talking about.

The re-read was kind of bittersweet. In one way I lost a lot of love for the book that helped me get into reading; in another way, I discovered parts or aspects of the novel and trilogy that I hadn't known before.

I really, really need to find my Uglies book.

A Book That Impacted Me As a Young Reader

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld was probably the book that most impacted me in that it was the first book that I obsessed over. Before, I liked to read occasionally but I never made a conscious decision to read. The books I read Before were school related. My class I was in required us to read a book a month or something like that. Unlike most of my peers, I was cool with that. But outside of class, I didn't read.

And then I read Uglies.

For those of you who don't know, Uglies is about a girl in a society that makes people perfect. At the age of 16, Tally is ready to have her surgery to come a "Pretty" but then meets Shay, a girl who wants to escape to a place called The Smoke. Adventure and danger ensues.

It wasn't my first time reading Uglies or the sequels. I read them a year or so before then, but I guess my little brain hadn't made enough connections to fully grasp the storyline. It was the seventh or eighth grade when I re-read the entire trilogy. Once. Twice. Three times.

I became obsessed.

For two weeks straight I stayed in my bed and just read this trilogy. Over and over and over again. I was fascinated by the world and the characters and the transitions that occurred over the course of the trilogy. I loved the escape from my reality.

Eventually I stopped reading Uglies and read other books. As embarrassing as it is to admit, I did the same thing with the Twilight Saga right before the first movie came out on DVD. After those two series, I loved reading. I wanted to read. I needed to read.

It's now 7 or 8 years after I read Uglies, and I'm still reading young adult literature. I don't know if I'll ever stop.