Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World

*Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World* is a LGBTQ+ book written by author Benjamin Alire Sáenz. It is the second book in his *Aristotle and Dante* series.

## Synopsis

**The highly anticipated sequel to the critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning novel *Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe* is an achingly romantic, tender tale sure to captivate fans of Adam Silvera and Mary H.K. Choi.**

In *Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe*, two boys in a border town fell in love. Now, they must discover what it means to stay in love and build a relationship in a world that seems to challenge their very existence.

Ari has spent all of high school burying who he really is, staying silent and invisible. He expected his senior year to be the same. But something in him cracked open when he fell in love with Dante, and he can’t go back. Suddenly he finds himself reaching out to new friends, standing up to bullies of all kinds, and making his voice heard. And, always, there is Dante, dreamy, witty Dante, who can get on Ari’s nerves and fill him with desire all at once.

The boys are determined to forge a path for themselves in a world that doesn’t understand them. But when Ari is faced with a shocking loss, he’ll have to fight like never before to create a life that is truthfully, joyfully his own.

## Summary

Immediately following the events of *Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe*, Aristotle and Dante begin navigating their newfound relationship. They go on a camping trip, where they have sex for the first time. They meet a woman on their trip, who gives them a painting by her late son with a poem on the back that discusses his struggle with being a gay man.

Ari and his mom, Lilliana, find out from a church lady that a friend of hers had a son who died of AIDS and that many members of the church wanted the way he died to be mentioned at the funeral. Lilliana tells her to get out and takes Ari to the funeral. There, he runs into Cassandra Ortega, his sworn enemy from high school, the dead boy's sister. She insists that Ari can't know what her brother went through because she assumes he is straight. He comes out to her, and they make up and become friends.

Ari witnesses a boy named Rico being beat up by homophobic bullies and befriends another boy named Danny who defends him. Ari begins to open up to his past friends, Gina Navarro and Susie Byrd, and tells them Dante is his boyfriend. He also comes out to his sisters.

Ari and his father, Jaime, visit his brother, Bernardo, in prison. While there, he and Bernardo discuss the transgender woman Bernardo murdered. Bernardo repeatedly misgenders her and insults Ari. Bernardo makes homophobic remarks after Ari comes out to him, and Ari no longer feels reverence for the memory of his brother. After leaving the prison, Ari visits the grave of the woman Bernardo killed and gives her a feminine name because she wasn't respected in her life.

Ari's family goes to Dante's house for Thanksgiving, and Dante's mother, Soledad, is pregnant. After she has serious contractions, Jaime drives her and both families to the hospital, where she has a son, whom she names Sophocles.

Shortly after the birth of Sophocles, Jaime has a heart attack and passes away in Ari's arms. Ari enters a mourning period, including a moment when he breaks down in the desert in front of Gina, Susie, and Dante, as well as a scene where Dante washes him in the shower. Ari delivers the eulogy at the funeral. He bonds with his mom afterwards, and she gifts him his father's old journal from when he was in the military.

Ari, Susie, and a boy in their class named Chuy fight back against a racist teacher, and they are suspected of releasing a box of crickets into her room, then befriend the perpetrator and nickname him Cricket.

Ari and Dante discuss college plans. Ari plans to attend the University of Texas at El Paso, and Dante reveals he was accepted into an art program in Paris but is undecided on attending because he doesn’t want to leave Ari. They have an argument where Ari tells him to follow his dreams and attend, but Dante interprets that sentiment as wanting to push him away and break up. Dante ends up leaving for Paris to attend the university. On a whim, Ari buys a plane ticket to visit Dante in Paris. Dante's father, Sam, corresponds with him and tells Dante where and when to meet him. They reconcile at the Louvre in front of Dante's favorite painting, *The Raft of the Medusa* by Géricault.

(add more detail)

## Sources

* Goodreads
* Wikipedia