Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli | Book Review

I take a sip of my beer, and it’s – I mean, it’s just astonishingly disgusting. I don’t think I was expecting it to taste like ice cream, but holy fucking hell. People lie and get fake IDs and sneak into bars, and for this? I honestly think I’d rather make out with Bieber. The dog. Or Justin.

Blurb (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.

Review- I’m not going to lie, I was really scared going into this book. To list off the things I knew about it before going in, there was a lot of hype. That’s about it. However, I’m so glad I went into this blind because I loved it so very much!

This books made me unbelievably happy and it’s probably already one of my favorite books of the year. One of the best aspects is it has that writing style that is common in many contemporary novels where it’s achingly honest, but the writing feels like you’re having a conversation with the main character (through their mind?) Albertalli pulls this off wonderfully well because Simon is such a relatable and hilarious person.

Simon was another one of the best aspects of the novel. He’s the kind of character that you can’t help but fall in love with by the first chapter. I loved how Simon developed through the book and how much he realized about himself through all of his friends and (especially) Blue. His relationships with his sisters, Abby, Nick, and Leah and most of all, Blue are so real. Any kind of relationship is hard and I truly appreciate how Albertalli went to show that it’s hard to start something romantic with someone you care about, but it’s also hard to be a good friend. When Simon had his realization about his own friendships and himself, it really touched me and was a powerful scene.

Okay let’s talk about the cutest couple ever. I just want more of Blue and Simon in my life. What makes this book so great though is it strays away from the typical contemporary ending. The ending was satisfying because we got to see how Blue and Simon function as a couple instead of just leaving it off after they meet in real life. Everything about their relationship made me happy, the emails, their interactions, the level of adorableness. Every time one of their email chapters came up, I couldn’t stop smiling because they’re so darn cute. Obviously finding out who Blue is gives the novel a bit of a mystery edge that hooks you in and it’s fun trying to guess who it is! (I was wrong, by the way).

One of the main themes present throughout the entire book is self discovery and coming to terms with that. Simon shows this in so many different ways such as struggling with coming out about his sexuality and fixing the relationships he has in his life. This made the book feel so real and made the whole situation that Simon is going through much more relatable.

Overall, there are so many things I love about this novel. I can’t think of a single thing that I’d change about it! It’s an addicting read and I definitely recommend picking it up if you’ve yet to.