Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Simonverse, #1)

by Becky Albertalli

[paperbackjedi]

Simon just wants to continue living in his safe social bubble with his small circle of friends and flirt textually with the mysterious boy he met on tumblr. Unfortunately, life has other things in store for him. After a classmate discovers his secret email correspondence with his crush, code name Blue, he has no choice but to go along with what they want. Even if it means betraying his friends. Because Simon doesn’t want to lose what he has with Blue, even if he’s not sure yet what exactly it is.

Honestly, I don’t even know how to start this review because every time I think of this book, my brain is flooded with happiness and the warm, fuzzy feeling that usually accompanies things like Christmas or the beginning of Summer, new crushes, and your favorite, most comfortable t-shirt. It’s just a lot of good feelings wrapped up in one good book. So I guess you can probably tell that I really loved it.

Let’s talk writing. The best thing about Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is the tone of voice. Simon is humorous and relatable and incredibly easy to connect to. His internal monologue is honestly such a joy to listen to and be a part of. It’s so easy to put yourself in his shoes and walk around in his life and the experience feels truly authentic. Even as a straight girl, I could definitely remember my first love and flirting through email and experiencing the rush that comes with getting to know someone and developing feelings for them. I never had to conduct my romances in secret, but it definitely struck a chord with me that Simon, for the most part, felt more comfortable connecting almost anonymously via email than in person as that’s very much a character trait of mine. All the while, he remains this incredibly human and wonderful person navigating a very complicated social hierarchy with both his friends and his family.

Simon is the main character and the story is very much his. However, there are a lot of secondary characters and tertiary characters that come into play. You have Simon’s family- his parents and sisters and while none of them were explored hugely in depth, they did have a bit of their own stories showcased throughout the novel. And then you have Simon’s complicated group of friends. It was great to see a realistic depiction of how friend groups can shift and acclimate (and how sometimes they don’t). Simon has a very supportive core group and he has a hugely different relationship with each person in the group which makes things awkward and complicated at times, but also very true to life. I appreciated the nuance Albertarri put into these dynamics and how she illustrated the connections between the people both positively and negatively. Simon also isn’t a perfect character and she holds him accountable for his missteps which was also nice to see.

Obviously, the main relationship is the one between Simon and the mysterious Blue and it was adorable. The emails back and forth, the slow exploration of romance, and the hesitant nature of both boys for different reasons as they come to terms with it. This isn’t exactly a coming out story the way I expected it to be because Simon already knows who he is. His sexuality isn’t something he struggles with and he’s really not afraid to come out, he just doesn’t like attention. The situation is different for Blue and both boys really surprise you in the end with how they handle everything. I was constantly guessing Blue’s identity for most of the novel and even though I sort of knew who it would be, I also kind of wasn’t totally sure so it was fun to think about while reading. And I found myself traveling back through my own high school memories and wondering if anyone secretly had a crush on me. Although, I was a huge nerd, so probably not. :P

Guys, this book made me feel good. It made me feel everything. And I recommend it to everyone. End of sentence.