--- title: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe: 100 Best YA Books of All Time description: Find out why 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time. canonical: https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084500/aristotle-and-dante-discover-the-secrets-of-the-universe/ article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2021-08-11T11:36:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-02T23:52:32.931Z og:title: 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books og:description: Here’s why it made the list og:url: https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084500/aristotle-and-dante-discover-the-secrets-of-the-universe/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae2f282755f623e1/698a1bb44ee262a6a8319355/aristotle-and-dante-discover-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' Is on TIME’s List of the 100 Best YA Books twitter:description: Here’s why it made the list twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae2f282755f623e1/698a1bb44ee262a6a8319355/aristotle-and-dante-discover-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Aug 11, 2021 # Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff  “Some boys just know they’re gay. I don’t know how that happens. And I think other boys don’t know, and then they start discovering that.” [According to Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://www.npr.org/2013/02/20/172495550/discovering-sexuality-through-teen-lit "undefined"), this is the dichotomy at the heart of his critically acclaimed 2012 novel, a Michael L. Printz Honor book and winner of the Stonewall Book, Lambda Literary and Pura Belpré awards. Lauded for its honest exploration of identity and sexuality, _Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe_ centers on the friendship between Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana, two Mexican American boys on the cusp of manhood who form a life-changing bond after a chance meeting at an El Paso pool in the summer of 1987\. The lyrical six-part story is told from the perspective of Ari, a lonely and often angry 15-year-old who struggles with his Vietnam War vet father’s inability to communicate and his mother’s refusal to discuss the reason his older brother is in prison. But as his tender and fateful relationship with sensitive and outgoing Dante grows deeper, Ari begins to come to terms with not only his family, but also himself. **Buy Now**: _Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe_ on [Bookshop](https://bookshop.org/a/4973/9781442408937 "undefined") | [Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1442408936/ref=as%5Fli%5Fqf%5Fasin%5Fil%5Ftl?ie=UTF8&tag=time-books-20&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1442408936&linkId=26d3070aca044c068c03e3f33ed8db50 "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084500/aristotle-and-dante-discover-the-secrets-of-the-universe/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084500/aristotle-and-dante-discover-the-secrets-of-the-universe/"},"headline":"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe","datePublished":"2021-08-11T11:36:46.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:52:32.931Z","description":"Find out why 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe' by Benjamin Alire Sáenz is on TIME's list of best YA books of all time.","url":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084500/aristotle-and-dante-discover-the-secrets-of-the-universe/","keywords":["Books","list","best YA books"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae2f282755f623e1/698a1bb44ee262a6a8319355/aristotle-and-dante-discover-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltae2f282755f623e1/698a1bb44ee262a6a8319355/aristotle-and-dante-discover-best-YA-book.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/100-best-ya-books/6084500/aristotle-and-dante-discover-the-secrets-of-the-universe/","name":"Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe"}}]}] ```