Books: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz (2012)

 

"Dante can swim. Ari can't. Dante is articulate and self-assured. Ari has a hard time with words and suffers from self-doubt. Dante gets lost in poetry and art. Ari gets lost in thoughts of his older brother who is in prison. Dante is fair skinned. Ari's features are much darker. It seems that a boy like Dante, with his open and unique perspective on life, would be the last person to break down the walls that Ari has built around himself. But against all odds, when Ari and Dante meet, they develop a special bond that will teach them the most important truths of their lives, and help define the people they want to be. But there are big hurdles in their way, and only by believing in each other―and the power of their friendship―can Ari and Dante emerge stronger on the other side." 

There is so much to love in novel for the YA (and adult) crowd. A lyrical tale of two teens who meet at the time the universe needs them most, one a light skinned Mexican and the other, a darker skinned one. Light and dark, one who has open and supportive parents, one who is also supportive ones, but both Ari’s parents have dark secrets that have been –unintentionally- transferred to their youngest son. I can understand Ari a lot –a teenager who has no friends (and doesn’t want them) - who is angry at the world. And he has no understanding exactly why this is, why he feels this way. But Ari understands that the world has written his story, knows its ending, and easily accepts he’ll travel down the road his older brother Bernardo went –who is in prison, but Ari’s parent refuse to talk about it.

Dante is the light that Ari has been searching for and it’s very clear early on that he’s in love with Ari of -course the Ari does not catch on right away. Their friendship is portrayed very honestly here, with realistic dialogue and writer Benjamin Alire Sáenz gorgeous prose filled with poetry and visual trickery. Set in El Pasco in 1987, Alire Sáenz captures the era with fine detail and almost dream-like feelings. It will remind many older readers of time when things were complicated, but still simple. When friendship meant everything and where you can –if you try- learn to reject what the outside universe expects of you

Books: The Goblin Emperor By Katherine Addison (2014)

"The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment. Surrounded by sycophants eager to curry favor with the naïve new emperor, and overwhelmed by the burdens of his new life, he can trust nobody. Amid the swirl of plots to depose him, offers of arranged marriages, and the specter of the unknown conspirators who lurk in the shadows, he must quickly adjust to life as the Goblin Emperor. All the while, he is alone, and trying to find even a single friend...and hoping for the possibility of romance, yet also vigilant against the unseen enemies that threaten him, lest he lose his throne – or his life.

While this standalone fantasy novel is way different than anything I’ve read before in this genre, I found the book extremely well-written, even if I found it dull most of the time. It’s like two separate stories unfolding here, the day-to-day activity of running a kingdom, and a story about the tragedy that brought Maia to power. And to be honest, the “accident” that did do this seemed more interesting and wished a more parallel story than what unfolded here.

Still, I did appreciate Katherine Addison’s extraordinary world-building, the internal politics that Maia is forced to deal with, but has no idea how to do because he was brought up in such a terrible abusive way. Maia is gentle-hearted and despite some of the unbalancing issues that follow him into court, he is able to quickly pick some politicking very well. The prose and cadence is a bit off-putting for me –I never grew to appreciate of like it, but The Goblin Emperor is certainly a good enough fantasy novel that has a beginning, a middle, and an end. And that’s something very rare in this genre.