Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for this ARC. I received an electronic copy of this book from Netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada in exchange for an honest review:

*Trigger/ content warnings: transphoibia, misogyny, biphobia, violence, death, homophobia 

**Review contains slight spoilers

I will start by saying that when I read the first book, I was shocked and uncomfortable with the way transphobia/ violence against a trans woman was used to further the plot in a completely unnecessary way. I had hoped this would be left behind in Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World.

However, the sequel picks up right where the first book left off, and I was extremely unhappy to see that the language used to discuss/describe gender in the book is very binary and disrespectful of trans identities. It was difficult and uncomfortable to read all of the ways the characters equated gender with biological sex, over and over again throughout the book. The way they discussed trans women was disrespectful, full of harmful stereotypes and misgendering.

I also did not like how the main characters interacted with women. In one chapter, a friend of Aristotle’s tells him that he is making her uncomfortable, and that she was feeling overly sexualized/ objectified by his comments. He justifies his actions/ comments by saying that because he is a gay man he can’t possibly be making her feel that way. This seems to take accountability away from the actions in question by using sexuality as a justification for sexism/ misogyny. 

The way that bisexuality was discussed in this book was also problematic. Aristotle develops a friendship with a classmate named Cassandra in this book, and Dante immediately “accuses” him of really being bisexual, not gay, and fears that Aristotle will leave him for Cassandra. Aristotle explains that there is no need for Dante to feel threatened, but he refuses to believe him. Aristotle could very well have been bisexual, but that identity is not fully considered or discussed. The way that Dante views bisexuality - as a threat -  was also problematic; it wouldn’t make Aristotle love him any less. Seeing these views (either biphobia or erasure) written out in a  popular book series was very disappointing.

Finally, on a more technical note, the dialogue in this book was stilted and so completely unrealistic. No teenager or even adult speaks like the characters in this book. It was also slow paced and I found it difficult to care about the suddenly huge cast of characters. The banter between Aristotle and Dante, which in the first book was done well and at times quite endearing, was also unrealistic - they  did not have good rapport in my opinion. At time it was even boring to read their conversations. 

In conclusion, so much of this book was disappointing and uncomfortable and so I do not recommend it.