Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Now a major motion picture: Love, Simon, starring Nick Robinson and Katherine Langford!
William C. Morris Award Winner: Best Young Adult Debut of the Year * National Book Award Longlist
"A remarkable gift of a novel."--Andrew Smith, author of Grasshopper Jungle
"I am so in love with this book."--Nina LaCour, author of Hold Still
"Feels timelessly, effortlessly now."--Tim Federle, author of Better Nate Than Ever
"The best kind of love story."--Alex Sanchez, Lambda Award-winning author of Rainbow Boys and Boyfriends with Girlfriends
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 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.
Incredibly funny and poignant, this twenty-first-century coming-of-age, coming out story--wrapped in a geek romance--is a knockout of a debut novel by Becky Albertalli.
Plus don't miss Yes No Maybe So, Becky Albertalli's and Aisha Saeed's heartwarming and hilarious new novel, coming in 2020!
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Community Reviews
I don't know, man, something about this book just hooked me and kept it going. I read it all in one day...ON AUDIOBOOK. So something that could have taken me three hours took me over six but I don't even care because I loved it.
I think my husband is really tired of me taking my audiobook reading so seriously.
On the plus side, this book shows up on practically every YA list, so it's nice to have crossed it off. Can I also say how much I appreciated that nothing went hideously wrong? Yeah, sure, stuff went south and there were a few moments where I was pretty concerned about the emotional fate of the protagonist, but there was no violence, there was no sexual harassment or violence, there were hardly any anti-gay slurs or incidents and the ones there were were limited... It was just so nice to see a teen drama that was genuinely about teen drama: it feels so big and important right then, but in the scheme of things isn't that bad. I still felt moved emotionally by the material without a fustercluck at the end or some horrible death. Thank you! (Not that I don't also enjoy books like that, it's just that it gets old sometimes.)
All in all, I definitely would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good fluffy teen romp, with love, sarcasm, and a little angst.
I think my husband is really tired of me taking my audiobook reading so seriously.
On the plus side, this book shows up on practically every YA list, so it's nice to have crossed it off. Can I also say how much I appreciated that nothing went hideously wrong? Yeah, sure, stuff went south and there were a few moments where I was pretty concerned about the emotional fate of the protagonist, but there was no violence, there was no sexual harassment or violence, there were hardly any anti-gay slurs or incidents and the ones there were were limited... It was just so nice to see a teen drama that was genuinely about teen drama: it feels so big and important right then, but in the scheme of things isn't that bad. I still felt moved emotionally by the material without a fustercluck at the end or some horrible death. Thank you! (Not that I don't also enjoy books like that, it's just that it gets old sometimes.)
All in all, I definitely would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good fluffy teen romp, with love, sarcasm, and a little angst.
I loved this book! Simon’s voice was really strong and relatable, I loved the mix of positive and cynic perspective in his mind. I strongly recommend!!!
Yeah, so, when I finished this I was basically a crying mess because I cry at cute things and this was BEYOND cute. 🤧
Firstly- SIMON. I don't think I've ever loved a main character & narrator more, or if I have it's very rarely. From the Harry Potter glasses to how he can't hold his alcohol at All and how he can fall in love with someone online after just a few months of exchanging their deepest thoughts via email?? And how he's a bit of a hypocrite for not wanting his family to notice/care when he changes, but when Nora starts going out in the evenings he feels off-balance because of this change; and how he's kind of "ridiculously hot" when he has on eyeliner; and how he jumps to the most preposterous conclusions ("oh yeah, he has blue-green eyes, so he MUST be bluegreen118!") or thinks he's so clever for the dumbest things ("let me use Jacques as my fake name because no one else in the world knows French and thus no one will see that Jacques dit is Simon Says in French"); and how he's so incredibly kind-hearted and can't hold a grudge for his life that he actually unconsciously still stays friends with the person who literally threatens to out him if he doesn't help them.
Yes, Simon has his flaws. Read: the hypocrite thing, and a few incidents with his friends (especially Leah). But he's so adorably dorky and such a good human being that I can't help loving him & actually wanting to fight the people that hurt him. Like I took karate when I was 10, okay, I will THROW these hands, I'm not even joking
I really respected how this book depicted homophobia (in various forms- very outright, crass bullying and more subtle "joking" that still classifies as homophobic) in a very honest way. Simon is one of those narrators whose feelings you can't always pick up on when something momentous is happening, so there was no side commentary- we just got to see both the good and the bad happen, which I thought was a good way to realize for ourselves how difficult it is for LGBT teens to be out.
While this book didn't exactly deal with issues of race, the main characters are really diverse and that was GREAT because this is !! going to be a movie !! and the casting is actually accurate to race for once !!! 2018 can't come fast enough
Oh, I HAVE to mention the badass female characters. Simon's best friends, Leah and Abby- one's fat and the other's black, and both will absolutely kick your ass "if you even look at Simon funny". I kind of like Leah better because she's super realistically written, & even though people may dislike her for being unfair to Abby or just moody in general when people don't spend time with her, it's really really hard to validate yourself around other people as a person who struggles with their weight. And the thing with Nick is going to hurt her so much because she'll feel like he can't see her as anything other than a friend just because she's overweight. I feel like she's not completely justified, but definitely needs to be cut a lot of slack (especially by Simon, who she's Always been there for).
So YEAH this is a really heckin cute book and since the movie's coming out soon (!!!) now would be a great time for people to read it!! 100% recommend to anyone. :)
Firstly- SIMON. I don't think I've ever loved a main character & narrator more, or if I have it's very rarely. From the Harry Potter glasses to how he can't hold his alcohol at All and how he can fall in love with someone online after just a few months of exchanging their deepest thoughts via email?? And how he's a bit of a hypocrite for not wanting his family to notice/care when he changes, but when Nora starts going out in the evenings he feels off-balance because of this change; and how he's kind of "ridiculously hot" when he has on eyeliner; and how he jumps to the most preposterous conclusions ("oh yeah, he has blue-green eyes, so he MUST be bluegreen118!") or thinks he's so clever for the dumbest things ("let me use Jacques as my fake name because no one else in the world knows French and thus no one will see that Jacques dit is Simon Says in French"); and how he's so incredibly kind-hearted and can't hold a grudge for his life that he actually unconsciously still stays friends with the person who literally threatens to out him if he doesn't help them.
Yes, Simon has his flaws. Read: the hypocrite thing, and a few incidents with his friends (especially Leah). But he's so adorably dorky and such a good human being that I can't help loving him & actually wanting to fight the people that hurt him. Like I took karate when I was 10, okay, I will THROW these hands, I'm not even joking
I really respected how this book depicted homophobia (in various forms- very outright, crass bullying and more subtle "joking" that still classifies as homophobic) in a very honest way. Simon is one of those narrators whose feelings you can't always pick up on when something momentous is happening, so there was no side commentary- we just got to see both the good and the bad happen, which I thought was a good way to realize for ourselves how difficult it is for LGBT teens to be out.
While this book didn't exactly deal with issues of race, the main characters are really diverse and that was GREAT because this is !! going to be a movie !! and the casting is actually accurate to race for once !!! 2018 can't come fast enough
Oh, I HAVE to mention the badass female characters. Simon's best friends, Leah and Abby- one's fat and the other's black, and both will absolutely kick your ass "if you even look at Simon funny". I kind of like Leah better because she's super realistically written, & even though people may dislike her for being unfair to Abby or just moody in general when people don't spend time with her, it's really really hard to validate yourself around other people as a person who struggles with their weight. And the thing with Nick is going to hurt her so much because she'll feel like he can't see her as anything other than a friend just because she's overweight. I feel like she's not completely justified, but definitely needs to be cut a lot of slack (especially by Simon, who she's Always been there for).
So YEAH this is a really heckin cute book and since the movie's coming out soon (!!!) now would be a great time for people to read it!! 100% recommend to anyone. :)
Honestly a pretty valid book. I understand why people like it and why it would be turned into a movie. It just didn’t totally do it for me. I don’t think coming out trauma is my cup of tea in reading. I guess I read gay books to be happy not to relive trauma LOL. I don’t think I like to read about coming out tbh. Anyways, pretty decent book :)
Warning: Please read full content and side effects before heading into this book
Side Effects include but are not limited to:
Facial pain (from smiling)
Epic (book) Hangover
Heart palpitations
Abdominal Pain (from laughing)
Syncope, infrequent, starting at about page 1 (from all the swoons)
If symptoms persist, please contact the author and/or re-read immediately.
Simon vs has received some (well-deserved) love from the community and many readers since it's publication. It's been on my radar for quite some time - but I can't really give you a reason why I haven't read it until now. However, I'm glad I didn't because I truly believe I read this at the right time.
Simon of course, made this book for me. He is honest, adorable, hilarious and just so... awesome. He has such a big heart and is one of the sweetest characters I have read about in a while. My heart broke for him and the situation he was thrust into regarding Martin, but all in all I think he handled it pretty well.
His email interactions with Blue was one of my favorite parts. Simon is such an honest character, but seeing him be 100% himself was a blessing. It's not like he hides who he is per se, but is able to just SHOW MORE of himself to Blue.
I also loved the family dynamic. The family is hilarious and all up in everything, and it made for some comical scenes. I do, however, think Simon is lucky to have such a strong support system, especially in his location. Not many get such support (anywhere) and I loved it.
Now, as for Blue. Dude, I had NO IDEA who he was until RIGHT BEFORE we found out. I actually went back to reread a few scenes because I wanted to see if there was something I missed, or if Ms. Albertalli was just that good at being subtle.
And well, it was both.
Seeing those two together just made me smile. It's adorable and sweet and ugh. Too cute for (more) words. This is definitely a couple I would LOVE to revisit and check in on.
All that being said, I loved the message(s) throughout the book. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is empowering and brilliant and a MUST READ. I highly recommend it!!
(BIG THANKS for Gail for gifting me a copy!)
Side Effects include but are not limited to:
If symptoms persist, please contact the author and/or re-read immediately.
Simon vs has received some (well-deserved) love from the community and many readers since it's publication. It's been on my radar for quite some time - but I can't really give you a reason why I haven't read it until now. However, I'm glad I didn't because I truly believe I read this at the right time.
Simon of course, made this book for me. He is honest, adorable, hilarious and just so... awesome. He has such a big heart and is one of the sweetest characters I have read about in a while. My heart broke for him and the situation he was thrust into regarding Martin, but all in all I think he handled it pretty well.
His email interactions with Blue was one of my favorite parts. Simon is such an honest character, but seeing him be 100% himself was a blessing. It's not like he hides who he is per se, but is able to just SHOW MORE of himself to Blue.
I also loved the family dynamic. The family is hilarious and all up in everything, and it made for some comical scenes. I do, however, think Simon is lucky to have such a strong support system, especially in his location. Not many get such support (anywhere) and I loved it.
Now, as for Blue. Dude, I had NO IDEA who he was until RIGHT BEFORE we found out. I actually went back to reread a few scenes because I wanted to see if there was something I missed, or if Ms. Albertalli was just that good at being subtle.
And well, it was both.
Seeing those two together just made me smile. It's adorable and sweet and ugh. Too cute for (more) words. This is definitely a couple I would LOVE to revisit and check in on.
All that being said, I loved the message(s) throughout the book. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is empowering and brilliant and a MUST READ. I highly recommend it!!
(BIG THANKS for Gail for gifting me a copy!)
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