Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a new tale about finding yourself in the modern era.
Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a young adult novel by Becky Albertalli. Published April 2015, it has led to much acclaim and rave reviews, award nominations and wins including the William C. Morris Award Winner: Best Young Adult Debut of the Year and Lincoln Award Nominee.
This novel is the debut for the author, and the first book I have read by her. Albertalli has written two other books of a similar genre since Simon.
Our story follows Simon Spier who is 16 and a junior in high school. What we, the reader, know about Simon is that he is gay, but he is not out of the closet to anyone, not even his family. A post on the fictional school’s Tumblr account, creeksecrets, was made by a mysterious person. This lead to Simon and the post’s creator, “Blue,” having an email exchange. Throughout the book, we see Simon, writing as “Jacques,” and the unknown “Blue” continue their exchanges. The reader can see the relationship start to blossom between the two of them.
I loved the family dynamic; they were all so supportive and so accepting of Simon coming out. You could say that this was a normal family dynamic, but as a reader, it was such a joy to see how loving this family was. I also enjoyed the way that the close group of friends was portrayed. As a matter of fact, it reminded me a lot of how I interact with my friends. This close-knit group of friends was like an extension of each other’s families.
Simon doesn’t know who “Blue” is right away, although he does have his guesses, which takes you on a journey with these two. To find out the identity of “Blue,” you really should read the book or go see the film Love, Simon.
I loved the email style format; it was such a great way to tell their story. Some of the chapters were just the emails. The longer chapters were the story going on outside of the emails.
Being taken into Simon’s world and finding out who he is as a person was one of my favorite journeys. The writing and the pacing of this book only enhance the great storyline.
If you have already read the book, are you going to see the movie, in theaters March 16?
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