Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda happened to me at a time when I was in the deeeeeepest reading slump ever. And I am so glad I picked this book up now as no other time would have been as perfect. The best book for taking you out of your reading slump. Also, I wanted to read the book before I watch the movie. This book is about a sixteen year old boy named Simon(as you can obviously guess from the title). Simon is sweet, funny, romantic teen gay guy. He has amazing friends and a wonderful family but he is yet to "come out" with his sexuality to the world. He knows that his friends and family would accept him for who he is but the change-averse Simon wants things to remain as they are and his secret to be a secret forever. “But I'm tired of coming out. All I ever do is come out. I try not to change, but I keep changing, in all these tiny ways. I get a girlfriend. I have a beer. And every freaking time, I have to reintroduce myself to the universe all over again.” Simon has this secret email friend named Blue (his pen name; Simon goes by the name Jacques) who is also gay and they find solace in each other through their emails. Their emails are hilarious, endearing, flirtatious and also very very sweet. They talk about food, festivals, families, friends, feelings, and so many other this which is absolutely heart-warming. Blue goes to the same school as Simon and that is all they know about each other. They try to keep their personal details out of their conversations and it is this anonymity that helps them to be honest with each other and eventually fall for each other. I like the fact that they constantly support each other and ecourage each other to "come out" to their families. “Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it shouldn't be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi, or whatever.” The story begins when a boy named Martin stumbles upon these emails and starts blackmailing Simon to get him hooked with his friend, Abby. Simon agrees to help Martin very reluctantly as he doesn't want to drag Blue's identity in all this mess, so he goes with the flow and the story takes its own turns which is so relatable. Everything in this book feels real, nothing being out of the world which is the beauty of this book. This book is a contemporary in its true sense. All the characters in this book are perfectly placed, aptly described and a delight to read. Leah, Nick, Abby, Nora and even Martin have their own lives and struggles and Simon seems to be perfectly present in their lives in just the right amount. These people are funny, cute, real, emotional, sometimes a little adamant and all other things 16 year olds are supposed to be. At the end, I would say that this is a must read book for everyone who is looking for a contemporary with some social message and a relatable story. This is such a light read it will take your mind off of any tensions and make you fall in love with the characters. It is an absolute page turner, so go for it Guys. I will give it a 5/5 stars.

BOOK REVIEW: SIMON VS THE HOMOSAPIEN AGENDA by BECKY ALBERTALLI Posted by THATBOOKNERDYOUKNOW on 29 JUN 2018 EDIT TITLE: SIMON VS THE HOMOSAPIEN AGENDA AUTHOR: BECKY ALBERTALLI PAGES: 300 pages PUBLISHER: Penguin ISBN: 978-0141356099 GENRE: Children and YA books IF I COULD REVIEW IT IN A SINGLE LINE: A must read THE BLURB: A feel-good, funny, poignant and perfectly written geek romance about falling in love for the first time and discovering who you are, Simon will make you forget age, gender and sexual orientation and sweep you off your feet. An irresistible and distinctive voice combined with will-they-won’t-they romance, perfect for fans of critically acclaimed YA fiction such as John Green, David Levithan and Rainbow Rowell. Straight people should have to come out too. And the more awkward it is, the better. Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is -and what he’s looking for. But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated. Because, for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal. It’s a holy freaking huge awesome deal. THE REVIEW: This book is very special to me because of a simple reason that I have friends who are in the closet or have very recently come out of one. Any book dealing with LGBTQ+ themes I feel should be given a top priority because even in my generation there are several who are not very understanding of the same. The very idea of being in a closet suffocated; with people around you who think of you as someone you are very evidently not; crying to be let out. Simon you beautiful quick witted sloppy yet believable audacity of the perfect human. I wish atleast half the boys out there get the balls of steel you do (irony intended). Without much further ado I’ll get into the book. It is written by this brilliant psychologist who intended for this book to target an audience of 12-16 years but I feel everyone who is new to this theme or has very little knowledge of what actually goes inside the mind of a LQBTQ should have a go at it. The plotline is oh so novel and yet so sweet, I personally never like YA fiction stories but fell for this one. I’d wish I could get an autographed version of the same. Please do not misunderstand me it wasn’t just the theme that held me on but the story with every turn and Simon’s search for Blue is equally interesting and worth reading about. It’s a normal love story of the average teenager but with a catch that he is gay. The book also talks of how the teenager feels, his coming out and the repercussions of the same. Everything about this book was a 10 and I can’t wait to read the sequeal. Cover: 5/5 Title: 5/5 Characters: 10/5 Language: 5/5 Story: 1000000/5 Writing and Presentation: 5/5 Overall: 5/5 I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book for @thatbooknerdyouknow; the review is entirely my own and not influenced by anyone.

It was a fun read. I always like Young Adult novels which are about family, friendship etc. I loved the friendship of Simon and his friends esp Nick, Abby and Leah. I was intrigued by the Simon's sister Nora and she came out to be just as I imagined her. I kind of liked that girl (silent and enigmatic type). Same goes with Leah. Abby was adorable and Simon was also likeable character but I was annoyed a tiny bit by him. Simon's parents were AWESOME. I would like to disagree with protagonist (Simon) here about not sharing stuff with his parents (giving the excuse that they make a big deal out of it), but they are parents and they are always keen to know about their children. Plot was also cool. Funny. Falling in love via email and message about homophobia. Most of all end was not tragic (I can't bare another tragic end because from past week I am reading tragedy only). But I must confess I guessed who Blue was and I was right( a little disappointed ). I would have liked to know more about Blue ( and not via emails between him and Simon). Don't want to spoil by revealing his identity here but I felt that author has neglected him ( other secondary character gets more attention than him). I guess I understand that author don't want it to make it obvious but still. Anyways Its again a fun Young Adult novel worth your time and recommended to all.

http://booksandtomfoolery.blogspot.in/2015/10/simon-vs-homo-sapiens-agenda-by-becky.html 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. 5 stars! Every book lover has a number of books which serve the sole purpose of helping you get over a book. This book, was just another one of those books for me. BUT, oh, I loved it! I love it to the point of tweeting about it 3 times. Thank you, Becky. I smiled throught the whole book and I could almost feel John Green and Rainbow Rowell smiling at me. This book is truly their love child. The best part is, this book, more than being a love story, is such a true account of a struggle the community faces. It feels real, amazing ad very fun to read. Simon's emotions are just so vulnerable and palpable that you just feel like hugging him. Buuut, that's not all! Simon is also super sarcatic, funny, and easy. So he's really just soooo easy to like. I mean, honestly, shut it Simon. We love you, even when we know you won't return it. And Blue. Oh freaking Blue. He's so hilarious and cute that its impossible not to love him the moment you read his perfectly framed words. Simon's family is amazing, especially his sisters. His dad is the quintessential lame dad, but they're very supportive, so no complaints here. His friends- Leah, Nick and Abby are as awesome as awesome gets, really. And they're no white chick show. They're diverse, liberal and open-minded. They give you serious squad goals. Really. I honestly don't know what you're waiting for. READ THE DAMN BOOK ALREADY.

"people really are like houses with vast rooms and tiny windows. And maybe it's a good thing, the way we never stop surprising each other." OH MY FREAKING GOD!!!! this book was so worth the hype. I just LOVED this book and that too from the beginning. I am so FREAKIN in love with all the characters. All the characters were just imperfectly perfect. I really want to befriend Simon for real, his character was so real, flawed and believable. Leah was simply adorable and relatable. Abby was straight forward and sweet. Nick was a cool guitar player. I just adored their friendship. It was raw and real everywhere. AND OMG!!! the thing between blue and Simon was just so CUTE!! the love was so positive and beautiful. This book is an important read and I must say you will love this contemporary.This book discussed various important stuff like LGBT, supportive parents and everything. the writing style of the author was remarkably beautiful, she made the book a short, quick, cute, funny and interesting read. I was really giggling in-between the book. there were so many gushy moments and I even cried happy tears at the end. this book is definitely the resemblance of a healthy & positive relationship. if you like queer romance, positive love, perfectly imperfect friendship, supporting families, happy moments and if you like contemporary, just READ THIS!!

"It is definitely annoying that straight (and white, for that matter) is the default, and that the only people who have to think about their identity are the ones who don't fit that mold. Straight people really should have to come out, and the more awkward it is, the better. Awkwardness should be a requirement."- SimonVsTheHomoSapiensAgenda by BeckyAlbertali ◆ Rating: 3.5 stars ◆ Genre: Young Adult/ LGBTQ romance. ◆ This one is my first LGBT book and I loved it so so much. ◆ You might have noticed that when people review this book, they say it's cute. They said it right. Everything about Simon and Blue is C-U-T-E. The way their relationship starts, their emails and the way they finally meet put a smile on my face and made me go, "awwww". ◆ The book has a slow start but it picks up afterwards and gets you all interested in finding out who Blue is. ◆ Simon was so adorable with his HP references, friends and his love for Blue. ◆ All the characters in the book were amazing. Abby was definitely my favourite. Her friendship with Simon was so cute. Martin was obviously the worst. ◆ Before you start the book, please don't try to know who Blue is. It will spoil your experience. ◆ I really expected more of Simon and Blue and their cuteness but I guess the author thought people would think it's too lengthy and boring. Nevertheless, I would have read it. ◆ It's the kind of a book which leaves you with a happy-good-feeling and you think everything is nice (until you read cursed child jk) ◆ would i read it again? - duh, yes.

Wow! I really didn't expect this book to be so good.And by good I mean, really,really good! This book is filled with cute and mushy romance,lots of laugh-out-loud moments,and ADORABLE characters! I still can't stop smiling over this incredibly cute book!! I didn't really want to read the book at first because,a) The cover is weird(that doesn't change the story,but still....),b) The title doesn't even make sense until you read about half of the book,and c) the blurb was kind of very simple so I thought it'd be another average contemporary romance. But I'm really glad that I decided to read this because this book gave me good and positive feels that all I want to do is read it again. This book was an easy read and also very quick because I was so involved into the story that I just couldn't stop reading it! I love Simon,his crazy family,his amazing friends,and Blue.I loved Simon and Blue's email conversations,they both are so cute!! And I was right about guessing who Blue was! There are a lot of other books which had me laughing,but this one made me happy.

One of the good books I read after a long time. Becky Albertalli brings us into the world of Simon with such beautiful writing that you are hooked from the first page itself. Personally, I can say I liked all of the characters. Okay. Scratch that. I LOVED them. Becky creates this universe of relatable characters although I would have loved to see more of some of them. Though Simon has his own flaws (who doesn't?), I fell in love with him. He's funny, obsessed about Oreos and oh-so-relatable. I would recommend this story to everyone who's looking for a light read and are ready to feel all the warmth and joy of reading a really great book. Simon vs. is a story of love and friendship and the struggle of coming to terms with your own identity. If you do decide to step into the world of Simon, I promise you won't regret it. And can I just say how impressed I was with the delivery? It was way faster than I expected. Overall, 10/10 on the delivery Amazon :)