Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - Review

Book Review:
Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Publisher: Penguin UK

There’s this pause. We’re still looking at each other. And there’s this feeling in my stomach like a coil pulled taut.
‘‘It’s you,’’ I say.

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.


I just want to start off by saying that I am ashamed and I am sorry. Why you ask? Well, for not reading this book sooner! Simon vs. came out in April 2015 and has pretty much been on my TBR since then - It is now 2017, two years later, and I have only just read and finished this phenomenal book! I really don't know why I put off reading this book for so long, because I absolutely loved it!!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is contemporary heaven! It gave me ALL the feels and by the end of it, I had the biggest smile on my face. Ahhhhhhh, it was wonderful!
I actually went into this novel knowing who the infamous Blue was, and while I thought it might take some enjoyment out of my reading experience, I found that I was completely wrong.
It was so much fun seeing Simon trying to figure out who Blue was, while I already knew. Every time he suspected it was someone I was just laughing to myself like 'think again, Simon.' 'Nope, not him.' 'Not him either.' And then when he actually interacts with Blue, not knowing it was him, I was all 'It's him, Simon!' 'Blue's right in front of you, Simon!' - such fun!
Usually with these types of books, I find it frustrating waiting for the MC to figure out who their talking to, but not with Simon vs. 

And that was probably because this book doesn't just focus on Simon's relationship with Blue and trying to figure out who he is. Though that is the main plot point, this book explores so much more. We explore Simon's relationship with his family, which I adored since family dynamics seem to be lacking a lot in YA novels; We explore friendship - looking at Simon's relationship with Leah, Abby and Nick, who are his best friends, and a few others. These characters and their friendship are by no means perfect, but I think that's why this book is so good. They are truly relatable! 

Another thing we see addressed in this story, quite maturely in my opinion is, sexuality. Simon identifies as gay (correct me if I'm wrong) but he hasn't told a single soul, apart from Blue, and now there's a chance he may be outed by someone else and before he is even ready for everyone to know. I simply cannot imagine how horrendous this must feel. Simon has to think about whether he is ready for everyone to know and what the consequences might be. This is obviously quite a difficult issue to tackle in a book, since I'm sure there are many people going through a similar issue of wanting to come out, but not knowing if it's safe or if it's the right time.
With this novel, Becky Albertalli managed to maintain the seriousness of the situation, while keeping a light-hearted tone throughout.

I don't think there was anything I didn't enjoy about this book. It was cute, adorable, funny and just an all-around delight to read!
I mean, I would have like a bit more interaction between Simon and Blue, once they finally met. They were both so freaking adorkable together, that I could have happily read another 100 pages of those two just doing regular stuff together. But that can easily be solved with a sequel. And then maybe another book following them in adulthood? You know, that might be something I'd be interested in...
I know we have companion novels such as The Upside of Unrequited and Leah's book (coming 2018,) but it's not the same!

All in all, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda was a wonderful contemporary novel, that left me with the warmest, fuzziest feeling ever. I cannot recommend it enough - It will definitely be making an appearance on my Top 10 Books of 2017 post at the end of the year!
Also, bring on the movie!!

5 Stars
Goodreads