Finishing A&D

Aristotle and Dante went through quite the tumultuous journey in figuring out their feelings for each other. I imagine there are tons of same sex couples who go through very similar, maybe even much more difficult paths, in coming to terms with who they are attracted to and love. It was really kind of tough to see how much Ari struggled, with just about everything. He had so many barriers, so many of his own little “rules” that had to be broken down. One scene I enjoyed, was his big conversation with his dad. At last, Ari seems to finally connect with his father and have some understanding between the two. Another resolution that was finally revealed, was about Ari’s brother. Man, there was a lot that went into his brother. It included his mom having a mental breakdown, and the dilemma about his Aunt Ophelia coming out. I wonder if these two things weighed heavy on Ari when he decided to finally accept who he was. The fact that Ari’s brother murdered someone after realizing they were trans, and then hearing that his Aunt Ophelia was estranged from the family for living with another woman, I think both of these things could have made it even more difficult to accept his feelings for Dante. I think Ari must have always known his feelings for Dante. You don’t go saving someone’s life and then beating up some kids out of revenge for picking on Dante, without asking yourself why you are doing such things without even hesitation. Ari’s burden of not being able to accept his feelings even had an effect on Dante. It started to become Dante’s burden as well. Ari was bringing him down with him. It was very relieving to see Ari finally figure himself out. Overall, I didn’t know what to expect from this book, and found it interesting.

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