Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Published by Balzer + Bray
Pages: 303
Genre/s: Young Adult, Romance, LGBTQ
Buy on Amazon, Waterstones, Barnes and Noble
Goodreads
'Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier
prefers to save his drama for the school musical.
But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret
is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon
is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman
for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become
everyone’s business.Worse, the privacy of Blue,
the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing,
will be compromised.
With some messy dynamics emerging in his once
tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence
with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has
suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon
has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before
he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends,
compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness
with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.'
A little while back, whilst I was in a book binge buy mode, I asked my friends for book recommendations. One of those pals piped up the YA novel Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and I instantly had to add it to my list. Firstly, the title stood out to me; 'what is the Homo Sapiens Agenda?' I wondered. Additionally, my pal pretty much cried via texts and emoji's over how much this book means to her, and I am always in awe of books that have this capability. Fast forward a few books which I had on my to-read list longer than this one, and some lazy reading habits later, I popped into Waterstones on World Book Day and treated myself to the tale of Simon Spier.
The book itself tells the story of Simon. He is like most kids his age- he loves to hang out with his friends, has a geek element to him and has anxieties towards how a romantic interest may be interested in him. However, Simon has a secret; he is gay and nobody knows. Nobody except for Blue, the lover boy he has been emailing about life and school and the dreaded notion of coming out. Or so Simon thinks. The book begins with Simon's secret at jeopardy when Martin (a character I would describe as the biggest pain in the ass) tells Simon he has read his emails with Blue, and thus, knows his most personal trait.
I have to say that this is my favourite YA book I've read in a LONG TIME. Though I am older than Simon and his friends I still felt as though I could resonate with them. They are caffeine addicts and love to spend time together. Furthermore, I took enjoyment in the fact Simon has a good home life. A lot of YA is spent on parents not understanding their kids and conflict within the family. Simon has a positive home life which is quite refreshing in a YA book. I think what I truly loved about the narrative is how so brilliantly sarcastic Simon is portrayed as. His humour and character is so lovable, so much so that I have made it a bucket list task to read any and all books Becky Albertalli produces. I found myself snorting and giggling on public transport way more than I would like to admit for someone who travels alone. But it is so wonderful when a character is so vivid that you want to be friends with them. Adding to the characterisation in the book, it is such a great narrative in that there is SO MUCH representation. Of course there is an LBGT theme as it is about Simon's sexuality, but on top of that, there are characters of various ethnic backgrounds and shapes. I love that Becky Albertalli is displaying a diverse and realistic friendship group.
I don't think I have any nagging negatives about this book. The only one is the guessing who Blue is part, because at one stage I thought it was someone I REALLY DID NOT WANT IT TO BE, but it turned out Blue wasn't this person, which is a positive point really.
I seriously recommend reading this book if you love YA. You don't need to be a part of the LBGTQ community to appreciate how wonderful of a read it is. I am so excited to see Love, Simon in the next few weeks. I am a huge fan of Nick Robinson and Jennifer Garner so I have no doubt it will live up to the book. But, I guess I will keep you posted on that one!
Rating: 5/5
