It’s time for my second book vs. movie adaptation comparison. This edition features another LGBTQIA+ book/movie combination, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. The book was written by Benjamin Alire Saenz.

This is another book that I loved. The prose is beautiful and imminently quotable. There is a sequel to the book that came out recently that is also quite good (though I still prefer the original), Aristotle and Dante Dive into the Waters of the World. I don’t know if there will be a sequel to the movie or not down the road.

I liked the movie, and it was fairly true to the book, though it didn’t contain the same magic, missing that lyrical prose.

Let’s take a look at the differences:

**Spoilers below**

POV

Both the book and the movie are told from Ari’s point of view. No change here and I don’t know that it would have worked if done differently.

Characters

All of the essential characters are present with only a few minor changes.

A few of Ari’s school friends are missing, but I think that is more due to the condensed timeframe for the movie, and Ileana’s name is changed to Elena.

We do lose a lot of Ari’s inner character growth that isn’t communicated well on screen. We also lose the character arc with his father’s growth.

Timeline

Both the book and the movie follow the same timeline, starting in the late 80s when Ari and Dante are both 15. The story covers two summers and a school year.

Plotlines

All of the major plot points from the book are covered in the movie. There are only a few slight variations.

1. Dante keeps losing his shoes in the book, he doesn’t seem to lose them in the movie, just take them off all the time.
2. The end of Ari’s flirtation with Ileana/Elena is different.
3. There are more scenes between Ari and his dad where his dad slowly opens up to him in the book.
4. The book version has Ari’s and Dante’s dads become good friends and hang out a lot.
5. Ari’s mom is a teacher, I don’t think this is mentioned in the movie.
6. Dante’s mom is pregnant at the end of the book.
7. Ari hangs out with Gina and her cousin in the book, in the movie he just sees her around school mostly.

One critical plot that remains the same: both Dante’s & Ari’s parents are 100% supportive of them.

Overall

I enjoyed the movie and felt that it was very true to the book, though it didn’t provide the same magic as the book. I don’t think that the lyrical prose could really be translated into the movie though, so it I think this was probably the best representation of the book we could get.

Casting was interesting, as there were not many known actors, with Eva Longoria (who plays Dante’s mom) being the only person I recognized.