I went into this book not really knowing much about it other than the fact that it has really good reviews and that it has one a
594301
I'll be honest, I went into this book not really knowing much about it other than the fact that it has really good reviews and that it has one a crap ton of awards.

I really wasn't quite sure how I felt at the beginning of the story. The writing felt a little elementary and I found myself thinking "...this book won how many awards?" a few times. And I got real sick of reading the sentence "I laughed." over and over again.

But this book is mostly dialogue and is an incredibly quick read. Once I got into the story, I found myself not wanting to put the book down. I lost track of the amount of times this book made me cry. My husband looked at me like I was a crazy person a few times, but there is something to be said for a book that can cause tears to roll down your cheeks not just once, but on several occasions.

One of the things I loved about this book was the presence of strong parental figures. In a lot of young adult books, parents seem to be fairly absent. These parents weren't perfect, but they loved their children and were strong role models for them throughout the story. Some of the parts that made me cry the most had to do with dads crying. Because that makes me think of my dad crying, and well, darn it if that doesn't turn me into a blubbering mess.

I just felt like this book was trying too hard. Set in 1987, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe (even the title is trying too hard) tries to conquer topics such as:

Depression
Anger
Coming to terms with your sexuality
Struggling with your race
Family drama (the main character's brother is in prison)
PTSD (the main character's father was in Vietnam)
And I'm sure there's more. I felt like a bit of a cynic at one point for saying "Ohhh that's why it has so many awards. The author shoved almost every tough topic he could think of into one book."

Also, two female characters were introduced and given a fairly heavy amount of importance for a while, and then they just *poof* disappear. I started to feel like they were just there to fluff up the middle.

I toyed with giving this book 3.5 stars instead of 4 because of the slow start in the beginning and the reasons listed above, but it really was a beautiful book. I bumped up the rating a bit just for the sheer amount of times that it made me cry and because I was just so darn happy for Dante and Ari at the end.

I would highly recommend this book - but I would stick to reading it at home due to the fact that it may cause you to ugly cry a few times.
1025306
I don't remember reading this book it may be one that i havd not read as yet but as soon as i do read it i will let you know
4203948
I only heard one song that had me interested in purchasing this, but when I heard the rest of it I have to say that it's really good.
4405793
I was a bit worried when I first started reading this book because it didn't seem to have everything I like in it, but I really liked it once it got going. It was funny and sad and happy all along through and I just think it's a very interesting book.
1279888
I was not sure what to expect when I started to read it. It turned out to be very interesting.
3211309
Haven't read it completely, but what I have read seemed helpful.
1833545
I read a lot of books and to be honest I could hardly remember what this was about when it popped up in my already read list!
2329738
haven't had a chance to really look at it but appears to have some great ideas
2657671
I'm not great with words and reviews, but this was a really fun book that I enjoyed a great deal!
1556418
I haven't finished reading the whole book, but I kind of like it. It provides a lot of details for the review.
1354445
I did not know what it was about but found it to be entertaining.
4440064
I read it with interest. This is not a great book but not really bad also.
1782828
When I received this from the publisher I was kinda iffy about reading it. I was thinking it would be filled with cliches or over done troupes, (I mean hello, its about someone's "dream guy") but it actually turned out to be so much better than what I thought it would.
  In this book Max and Alice have known each other their entire lives. Without even meeting. Then one day, she walks into a new school and sees the boy from her dreams sitting there. But he's nothing like she knows him to be. Does she convince him that she knows him or does she just leave him alone and pray she keeps her sanity?
  I thought this was going to be filled with cliches and troupes, but it wasn't really that bad. It had its moments, but it wasn't over the top. I liked that Keating was able to balance it out as a debut author. It really showed her talent as an author that she could make something so cliche her own.
  I also really liked the characters. Although they weren't all fleshed out, that's what I liked about them. They always seemed to have a mystery surrounding them, but for a book like this it worked for it. I also really liked Alice. She was really weird, but after living her entire life like she had, I wrote it off. I felt like she had every right to be as weird as she was.
  As for the plot, I don't really feel like there was one. But the thing is, it didn't make it bad. I was more worried about the rest of the cutesy stuff that was going on versus what the end game was. The swoons are there and that made all the difference for me. This contemp is really light and fluffy and it was just what I was in the mood for at the time.
  This wasn't what I was expecting, but it wasn't in a bad way. It actually taught me alot about dreams and other random things and that's what I liked most about it. This may not have been what I expected it to be, but it was certainly what I needed it to be.

Real rating 3.5 so I rounded up.
229049
I never got around to actually READING IT so I can't really say much for this book.
3471940
Don't remember much about it, except I did get through it easily; and I was happy to have read it.
4114155
I was not aware of certain events and found this to be a very intriguing book more than I expected.
308935
I have not read much about it, so can not have a good and a good review yet. Even so, I can tell it is a very good book