To be honest it wasn’t a book I would normally read, it’s an easy read, but I was left unsatisfied with the ending. I know their is a sequel I probably won’t invest my time in, I just believe that I enjoy plot driven books more, so a book that didn’t have plot as a main point left me  a feeling bored. Didn’t hate it, but didn’t love it either, the slow pace definitely brought it down a bit as it was hard to get into for a first read- most likely will not reread, not that there’s anything wrong with it but I also detested some of the comments about women that there was in the book: when Dante was talking to his mom about the name of her baby that she will give birth to, and when she asked if she had an opinion on this Dante said no and that the only thing she should do is clean. Overall, the comment felt weird coming from a man and the fact that it wasn’t address and explored more was a missed lesson.

"How could I have ever been ashamed of loving Dante Quintana?" 

What the fuck... That's all... Just what the fuck... Its 3 am and I just finished this... And I- it was so bittersweet, and it made me happy, and jealous, because why am I so alone... But like my god...

2017 review:
Those five stars relate to plot. It really got to me. Just a story of two teenagers, best friends, and life in 1987. It's heartbreaking because it's easy to relate to (no matter your gender, race or sexual preference). I really loved this book.

2023 review:
I decided to re-read this book on a whim. I honestly don't know why. I mean, I already had a pile of books I'm currently reading. Simultaneously, I had forgotten how much I love this book. Not because it's eventful, or fast-paced and action packed (like most books I read these days), but because it's so incredibly human. I don't know if I appreciated how beautifully it depicts the teenage condition last time I read this novel, or how it demonstrates how complicated unconditional love can be. But man. I ugly cried a couple times near the end, which caught me off guard. Because I honestly did not remember how much I love this book, just that I loved it.

It's really difficult to write my thoughts about a book that I found to be very confusing at times. It's also quite difficult to explain why - most of it probably is the writing style's fault. It is very minimalistic and I have to admit that this isn't necessarily my favorite thing. When authors try to express everything in a few words it can easily seem a little pathetic - at least to my mind. And yes, that's what I thought here too - sometimes. At other times these one-to-three-word sentences, these half-a-page chapters really hit the spot.
Thus, Aristotle and Dante definitely made me think and feel quite a lot. Here too, I somehow feel pathetic because I guess that's exactly what the author wanted to achieve. But I have to admit: it worked. I certainly experienced a wide range of emotions, from feeling seen to being angry to being shocked to feeling touched to being annoyed to smiling at the pages in front of me. And at all times there was a certain dullness, a thing lingering in the air.
I'm not sure if it is that thing that was resolved on the last, very last page(s), I don't know if I want it to be. Because I feel like it would make everything that is so deep and entangled and there in this book unauthentically simple. But also ... it wouldn't. And even if it kind of seems like this in the end, I think it might be exactly what the story needed. These last to pages, this last sentence - I was just happy. Okay, maybe not just. But quite a lot. 

damn y’all weren’t kidding when you were hyping this book up

Honestly, the one reason why this book wasn't five stars is because I've kind of gotten outgrown the whole "ya-coming-of-age" storylines. I've just seen them done many times so I recognize many of the themes the author was trying to portray, however, that doesn't mean the book's message and storyline didn't land. On the contrary, I teared up multiple times, and the last hundred pages completely destroyed me. I was sobbing beyond belief. Like I could feel the pain inside me (it left both a good and bad feeling in me, to be honest).  I really identify with the main character, Ari (Aristotle). His struggles of finding himself, the pain he faces, the questions he has no answers to, the conflicts he faces with loneliness and anger really resonated with me. And I absolutely adored Dante through and through. And I loved their parents and the friendship that sprouted between them too.  I didn't really expect this book to hit as hard as it did, but it definitely delivered on my expectations and I'm so happy to read the second book. However, I wasn't really sold on the romance part of this book. I feel like their friendship reigned true for me more.