As many of the other reviewers have said, this is a beautifully written story of two boys in Texas who develop a friendship and struggle to figure out life and, as the title says, the secrets of the universe. I remember having my own struggles with this sort of thing at 16 so it was very familiar (not the events but the feelings and emotions). There isn't so much a plot but the story reads like a diary, documenting the day to day interactions and struggles, which I really enjoyed. This was very well written and flowed nicely, I spent an afternoon reading the last 250 pages in one sitting. My only complaint (and the reason for 4 stars rather than 5) was the ending felt rushed and sloppy. I felt like Aristotle's parents told him what he was feeling rather than him figuring it out himself, so it didn't feel as good to have the resolution. It felt like they were forcing an answer on him almost. So that kind of bummed me out but the rest of the story was so lovely that I really liked the story as a whole.