I once again loved this book even more than I can say. I'm shocked I read it so quickly this time. I loved this reread so much more than the first time and I didn't think that was possible.

Star Rating: —> 5 [glorious, life changing, incredible] Stars

*exhales sharply*

Whew! Well, I erm, think I may have gotten something in my eye?

Deciding to read was the best thing thing I have decided to do all damn week. Or like, ever.
Can Simon be my bff? Thank you.

And, subsequently, now I can’t stop smiling or unabashedly dancing around my room to bleachers (re: Love, Simon soundtrack & my earlier update about how much I love bleachers & jack antonoff’s musical genius), so if you’ll excuse me, RTC, I have some dancing to do.

PS: I can’t think of the last time I was this freakin’ happy. Does this book affect everyone this way? Or am I weird? Well I KNOW i’m weird-proudly-tyvm... but you get what I mean.

kiracanread

Written on Feb 6, 2020

oh my gggggggg, such a good book, I absolutely adored all of the characters in this book, each with their own redeeming qualities. I think Becky Albertalli is doing an incredible job time and time again.

vagasker

Written on Nov 17, 2019

I really liked this book and its narrator. Michael Crouch has the perfect voice to narrate a book set in high school. I did feel at times that the ending of the chapters were very abrupt. I don't know if it is or that it just felt like that because I was listening to it, but it was just something that I noticed.

thepunktheory

Written on Mar 13, 2019

Full review on my blog!

Oh, all the feels with this one!
I think I read the book within one afternoon. Becky Albertelli created a heartfelt novel that's nothing short of adorable. It's all there, the sad, the happy, the funny and the heartbreaking. I want to give Simon a hug and be his best friend.
Although it's a film focused on a high school situation it doesn't feel like your stereotypical drama situation. There is plenty of drama but it feels realistic instead of those plastic images we so often get with other books or movies.
There's honestly nothing I didn't enjoy about this book.

maggiefan

Written on Dec 21, 2018

This book is everything! I don't know how to express my feelings right now, because it made me so emotional. I LOVED THIS STORY WITH ALL MY HEART.

nannah

Written on Aug 6, 2018

(3.5)

This may one of the few times I'm actually looking forward to the movie version. Not to say the book was bad, but there were parts that I enjoyed so little that I'm hoping the movie got rid of them altogether or at least ... just really put as little emphasis on them as possible.

Book content warnings:
homophobia
bullying
gay fetishizing

Using the email account hourtohour.notetonote@gmal.com, 16yo Simon Spier can come out of the closet to someone named Blue and express himself honestly in a way he can't to anyone "irl". Unfortunately, a kid named Martin from drama class sees his email when Simon forgets to log off in the library and blackmails him: help Martin get close to Simon's friend Abby or everyone will know Simon's gay (and worse, because screenshots will be released, Blue is involved in it too).

Basically, it's a messy soup of a high school coming-of-age story mixed with a coming-out story mixed with one hell of an adorable romance. What's not to love?? I honestly stayed up many nights to read a bit longer.

So why the 3.5?

Sometimes the text got to be a tad cringy; I mean, I get it takes a book a few years to get from finished mss to published text, so already you have some outdated slang (e.g. "I can't even"), but some dialogue exchanges could be a bit awkward. I just couldn't imagine kids talking like this, or even the adult characters either. Things just ran a bit stilted.

But the real villain of this book was Leah. An anime-obsessed yaoi-loving gay-fetishizing friend of Simon who was supposed to be an ally??? I don't think so. But this book never changed its stance on her. Simon keeps his opinion that she's like ... the most understanding out of all his friends because she introduced him to "slash fanfiction".

So let me make this clear, as a wlw: people who love yaoi (especially women and especially women who call themselves "fujoshi") basically fetishize gay people, and fetishizers are not allies.

Just like Simon, on page 21, says he thinks gay women have it easier (LOL), because dudes find them hot. Again, fetishizing gay people isn't the same thing as being allies. GOD, this part made me so furious. Almost to the point of quitting the book right there on page 21.

Anyway, despite this (which made me despise every single time Leah showed up in the book), I still loved the book as an easy romantic read. But since it looks like the next book is all about Leah ?? I definitely won't read on. There are enough stuff about gay fetishization out there being seen in a positive light. Yuck.

Pigpen.Reads

Written on May 26, 2018

There was nothing I didn't like about this book!

Leigha

Written on May 25, 2018

A young man discovers love on social media in this cute young adult contemporary romance.

It breaks my heart to admit I did not love this book. I went into this novel expecting a slam dunk, but instead walked away feeling pretty meh about it. And I honestly do not fault the novel - my reading tastes are changing, meaning books I would have found previously enjoyable are not as entertaining to me anymore.

Listen, this book is cute. Simon is a lovable complex character and a great representation for the LGBTQ+ community. It's refreshing to read about the development of a healthy relationship where the love interests are not each others end all and be all. He and Blue are not defined by their romance. Simon has important, key relationships with friends and family members outside of his romance with Blue and vice versa. Their relationship is definitely the backbone of the novel (and super sweet), but it exists in cohesion with other elements.

I do have one particular quibble. While Simon has three best friends (as well as multiple acquaintances) in this novel, I just didn't feel the friendship between him and Leah. I was expecting her and Simon to be BrOTP goals, and yet she always seemed like such an afterthought - not just to Simon, but to Nick and Abby too. The moments where Simon and her connect felt forced and not authentic.

tl;dr A cute RomCom with complex characters and a fun mystery.

writehollydavis

Written on Mar 24, 2018

This was such a cute, enjoyable read! I don't know how Becky was able to perfectly craft a story about a closet gay teenage boy's struggles to come out, the reactions of his friends and family when he does, and all the feelings and emotions that come along with it, but she did it. I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie, and I'm so glad I did!