Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Pub. Date: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Balzer & Bray/HarperCollins

Pages: 320

Format: Hardcover, Paperback, eBook, Audiobook

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A brief synopsis:

Dear Blue,

I’m Simon Spier and I’m a junior at Creekwood. I saw your post on the Tumblr and I felt I needed to meet you. I’ve got a secret that I haven’t told anyone before, but I’m about to tell you. It’s kind of daunting, but it helps that I don’t know who you are. I’ll just say it. I’m gay. Now that I’ve told you that, tell me some facts about you. Nothing school-related, then I might figure out your identity. Hope to hear from you soon.

Love,

Simon

“It’s a weirdly subtle conversation. I almost don’t notice I’m being blackmailed.”

Simon Spier just accidentally revealed his secret to a person he barely knows, Martin, a classmate who has a crush on his good friend, Abby. Martin uses the secret to his advantage and Simon has no choice but to try to set him up with her. Simon has been emailing someone by the moniker of “Blue”, whom he found on his high school’s Tumblr, creeksecrets. During his junior year, Simon grows closer to Blue and feels like his friends are more distant than they used to be. As he learns more about Blue he struggles with wanting to learn his identity and not wanting to be busted by Martin. He’s scared that people might not like him anymore once he comes out, and he just wants to continue being the Simon he’s always been. A heartwarming story told in part by emails, Simon vs. is sure to garner fans and praise from all over thanks to its clever, intriguing plot and characters you feel like you’re friends with after you finish the book.

My thoughts:

I’ve been meaning to read this book for a long time, I mean, a LONG time. In April 2015 when it was published, I got to meet Becky Albertalli in Austin for TLA. She was the sweetest person ever! My mom read this book and kept telling me to read it, and I finally got around to picking it up. I was incredibly busy when I was reading this book, but that did not deter me from reading. I am convinced this book will cure any reading slump, and keep everyone reading because I could not put this book down. Any free moment I had I read this book, and though I should do that for every book, I usually don’t. Simon is the real deal; Becky Albertalli’s witty writing and three-dimensional high school characters come together in a story that makes you feel like you’re in high school (or maybe just me because I actually am) and helps you get to know the characters on a deep level. They felt like real people, because they were painted and portrayed not as stereotypes or cliches, they just were who they were. Simon is a fantastic, endearing main character who lets you into his life The first two sentences had me hooked and the added mystery made me turn the pages as fast as I could and had me constantly guessing. I felt the need to know who Simon was writing to, just as he progressively did. The email component of the story drove the plot and helped develop the characters because you got to know them through their emails. This book is my favorite read of the year and it’s a must-read. It’s a coming out-of-age story full of love, friendship, and intrigue that stays in your head long after you’ve finished reading it.