Mini Reviews #2: The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Aristotle and Dante

Welcome back to the second installment of Mini Reviews! Here I’ll be covering my thoughts on The Autobiography of Malcolm Xby Malcolm X and Alex Haley, and Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universeby Benjamin Alire Saenz.

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X and Alex Haley — ★★★★★

This book documents the life of Malcolm X. I decided to read this after realizing that I didn’t actually know much—anything, really—about him. I’m not typically drawn to nonfiction, but this book drew me in from the start! While reading, you could almost hear and envision Malcolm X speaking. Putting this book down was always difficult, and I was devastated to be done with it. I began tabbing and marking pages that contained insights I found really fascinating. My favorite chapters are Saved, Mecca, and the Epilogue by Alex Haley, which was especially interesting to read. This book has definitely made it to my favorites, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Malcolm X’s life and beliefs.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universeby Benjamin Alire Saenz (#1) — ★★★★☆

This is a coming of age story about family, culture, and love. Wow. I really enjoyed this book. So much that I read the majority of it in one night. It was extremely easy to read and had an overall melancholy feeling to it. At times it felt empty (though maybe that’s what the author was going for during certain parts of Ari’s journey), but other times it became pretty emotional. Although there wasn’t really a concrete plot, it still felt like a roller coaster ride, in a good way. I really enjoyed that family was such a big aspect of this story and that it was explored, and I appreciated and related to Dante’s struggle with his culture. I think everything was wrapped up in a really satisfying way, so I’m curious to know what the sequel will be about!

What did you think about these books? Let me know!