Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is a young adult romance novel published in 2021 by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers. The book is a New York Times best seller, and its accompanying audiobook performed by musician and playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda received a Grammy nomination in the category of Best Audio Book, Narration & Storytelling Recording. This is the second installment in the Aristotle and Dante series. The first book in the series, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, was published and met with critical acclaim in 2012. The film adaptation of the first novel was written and directed by Aitch Alberto and released in the fall of 2022.

Plot Summary

Set in El Paso, Texas in the late 1980s, the novel follows Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana; they are both Latino, 17 years old, and in their final year of high school. Though they have been close friends for over a year, Ari and Dante embark on a journey as a romantic couple at the outset of the novel. Thus begins a period in which Ari spends much of his free time thinking about Dante, deeply captivated by the boy and experiencing feelings of sexual desire for the first time in his life.