Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Creekwood #1
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Publication Date: April 7th, 2015
Rating: 4.5 Stars
Source: Purchase
Format: Paperback
Pages: 303
Summary (from 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.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was probably not a book that I was ever really going to pick up. I find that contemporary books are really hit or miss for me and since the misses usually stand out more to me than the hits, I keep telling myself I just don't like contemporary. And I especially just don't tend to like fluffier contemporary books.
But since there is a movie coming out for this book that I really want to see, I figured I had better read that first. I am SO glad that I did! I adored this book so much more than I ever would have expected to! It was cute and funny and I don't think that I've ever grinned so much while reading a book!
Simon Spier is a junior in high school and he is gay and not out yet. He has been emailing another anonymous boy from his school who is also gay and not out yet. Neither of them knows who the other is and things are going well in that department until Simon forgets to sign out of his email on a school computer. A boy named Martin stumbles across Simon's emails with Blue and threatens to out him to everyone if he won't try to hook Martin up with his friend Abby.
So this book has a little bit of a mystery element in it, in the fact that you don't know who Blue is. I knew who Blue was because I have never tried to avoid spoilers for this book because I didn't think that I was ever going to read it. But I liked reading their emails and then watching the character I knew to be Blue and I feel like if you are one to read relatively closely, you could guess who Blue is. I never would have been able to guess it if I didn't already know, but I liked how all the little hints pointed right to him. Also, their emails and budding romance were SO CUTE and them together IRL was too!
I enjoyed Simon as a character so much. He was funny and a good friend. And I liked how with the threat of being outed by Martin, he was more worried about Blue being found out than himself. I liked his relationship with his family. I liked his friends and all the relationships he had with them. I felt like he handled everything he was dealing with in this book so well. The blackmail, having to hang out with said blackmailer, coming out to his friends and family.
I pretty much liked all of the characters. Becky Albertalli even made me like Martin for a little bit! Not sure how I felt about half liking him. The only character I had a little bit of a problem with might have been Leah. I don't know, I mean, I did kind of like her and I DO want to read Leah on the Offbeat, but I found her to be a little bit unpleasant at times.
I didn't like the fact that she was unpleasant toward Abby just over boy trouble. When I first read this book, I couldn't put my finger on what it was that I didn't like about her. Then I saw someone else review this book and they mentioned that they couldn't stand the girl hate coming from Leah and I kind of agree. Leah seems to have something against Abby because the boy that she likes, likes Abby. And I just feel like this book could have been better without the girl hate.
Overall, I truly did adore this book. I loved the relationships and the characters and just how incredibly CUTE this book was. I never in my life would have thought I would nearly 5 star a fluffy contemporary book, but here we are. Now, this movie needs to hurry up and come to the theater in my town! Or hurry up and come out on DVD because I REALLY want to watch it!
Have you read this one yet (probably because I'm pretty sure I'm late to the game)? What did you think of it? Are you excited for Leah on the Offbeat?
But since there is a movie coming out for this book that I really want to see, I figured I had better read that first. I am SO glad that I did! I adored this book so much more than I ever would have expected to! It was cute and funny and I don't think that I've ever grinned so much while reading a book!
Simon Spier is a junior in high school and he is gay and not out yet. He has been emailing another anonymous boy from his school who is also gay and not out yet. Neither of them knows who the other is and things are going well in that department until Simon forgets to sign out of his email on a school computer. A boy named Martin stumbles across Simon's emails with Blue and threatens to out him to everyone if he won't try to hook Martin up with his friend Abby.
So this book has a little bit of a mystery element in it, in the fact that you don't know who Blue is. I knew who Blue was because I have never tried to avoid spoilers for this book because I didn't think that I was ever going to read it. But I liked reading their emails and then watching the character I knew to be Blue and I feel like if you are one to read relatively closely, you could guess who Blue is. I never would have been able to guess it if I didn't already know, but I liked how all the little hints pointed right to him. Also, their emails and budding romance were SO CUTE and them together IRL was too!
I enjoyed Simon as a character so much. He was funny and a good friend. And I liked how with the threat of being outed by Martin, he was more worried about Blue being found out than himself. I liked his relationship with his family. I liked his friends and all the relationships he had with them. I felt like he handled everything he was dealing with in this book so well. The blackmail, having to hang out with said blackmailer, coming out to his friends and family.
I pretty much liked all of the characters. Becky Albertalli even made me like Martin for a little bit! Not sure how I felt about half liking him. The only character I had a little bit of a problem with might have been Leah. I don't know, I mean, I did kind of like her and I DO want to read Leah on the Offbeat, but I found her to be a little bit unpleasant at times.
I didn't like the fact that she was unpleasant toward Abby just over boy trouble. When I first read this book, I couldn't put my finger on what it was that I didn't like about her. Then I saw someone else review this book and they mentioned that they couldn't stand the girl hate coming from Leah and I kind of agree. Leah seems to have something against Abby because the boy that she likes, likes Abby. And I just feel like this book could have been better without the girl hate.
Overall, I truly did adore this book. I loved the relationships and the characters and just how incredibly CUTE this book was. I never in my life would have thought I would nearly 5 star a fluffy contemporary book, but here we are. Now, this movie needs to hurry up and come to the theater in my town! Or hurry up and come out on DVD because I REALLY want to watch it!
Have you read this one yet (probably because I'm pretty sure I'm late to the game)? What did you think of it? Are you excited for Leah on the Offbeat?
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