Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky AlbertalliMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finished on June 18, 2021
Favorite Scene/Quote: "What's a dementor?"
"Nora, you are no longer my sister."
"So it's some Harry Potter thing."
4.5/5 rounded down
4.5/5 rounded down
I’ve owned this book for a few years now and I finally got around to reading it. It was long overdue, but I’m not sure how I feel about it exactly.
Simon is gay but in the closet. He is in regular communication with Blue, another closeted gay kid from his town who he has a crush on. When someone catches sight of one of their emails to each other, Simon is suddenly being blackmailed. He has to help Martin get a girl or else Martin will reveal his sexual orientation to everyone. Simon is also worried that telling Blue will cause the other boy to back off. The ride to the ending is a beautiful mess as Simon tries to keep his secret to himself while flirting with Blue, being in the school musical, and keeping his friendships intact.
I really enjoy how Becky Albertalli wrote these characters. The characters aren’t flawless; they are authentic teenagers who make mistakes and have personal issues. They talk and act how I remember teenagers acting. Becky wrote the characters well and it’s one of the reasons that I enjoyed this read.
The characters are just what they needed to be. Simon is nice and nerdy and a relatable main character. His feelings around Blue and coming out and being forced out are so honest that it attaches you to the character. The side characters are amazing, at least the ones who are meant to be nice. Leah and Abby were two of my favorite characters and Leah is the reason that I will be reading Albertalli’s book focused on her. I even had times where I genuinely liked Martin until I had to remind myself that he was a bad person.
I love how Albertalli framed Simon’s forced coming out. It has one of my favorite lines that I’ve ever heard around coming out. Simon confronts Martin and makes it clear that coming out is Simon’s decision; all of it. Martin should never have decided that he had the right to choose how, when, or to whom Simon came out to.
My final thoughts are a bit complicated. This isn’t a bad book but for some reason when I think about it now, a few days after reading it, I just feel like “eh”. I can’t even place why I feel that way since I remember enjoying the book as I was reading it. I will likely reread this book just so I can figure out my full emotions around it.
For what it’s worth: this book is worth a read. It has solid writing and likeable characters.
Simon is gay but in the closet. He is in regular communication with Blue, another closeted gay kid from his town who he has a crush on. When someone catches sight of one of their emails to each other, Simon is suddenly being blackmailed. He has to help Martin get a girl or else Martin will reveal his sexual orientation to everyone. Simon is also worried that telling Blue will cause the other boy to back off. The ride to the ending is a beautiful mess as Simon tries to keep his secret to himself while flirting with Blue, being in the school musical, and keeping his friendships intact.
I really enjoy how Becky Albertalli wrote these characters. The characters aren’t flawless; they are authentic teenagers who make mistakes and have personal issues. They talk and act how I remember teenagers acting. Becky wrote the characters well and it’s one of the reasons that I enjoyed this read.
The characters are just what they needed to be. Simon is nice and nerdy and a relatable main character. His feelings around Blue and coming out and being forced out are so honest that it attaches you to the character. The side characters are amazing, at least the ones who are meant to be nice. Leah and Abby were two of my favorite characters and Leah is the reason that I will be reading Albertalli’s book focused on her. I even had times where I genuinely liked Martin until I had to remind myself that he was a bad person.
I love how Albertalli framed Simon’s forced coming out. It has one of my favorite lines that I’ve ever heard around coming out. Simon confronts Martin and makes it clear that coming out is Simon’s decision; all of it. Martin should never have decided that he had the right to choose how, when, or to whom Simon came out to.
My final thoughts are a bit complicated. This isn’t a bad book but for some reason when I think about it now, a few days after reading it, I just feel like “eh”. I can’t even place why I feel that way since I remember enjoying the book as I was reading it. I will likely reread this book just so I can figure out my full emotions around it.
For what it’s worth: this book is worth a read. It has solid writing and likeable characters.
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