Sometimes it seems like everyone knows who I am except me
Even though Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is full of funny and caring quotes, I didn’t care for it all too much and it didn’t move me at all.
Book Review: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Rating:
Title & Author: Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Series: Creekwood
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Synopsis
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 give Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli three out of five hearts because I didn’t care for it all that much and it didn’t move me.
Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is a cute story about a gay boy, but he couldn’t get me to feel for him and get into his head. I couldn’t care for his struggles. I did like Leah on the other hand and so I am looking forward to the spin-off novel Leah On The Off Beat.
Blue sounded like an interesting person in his emails, but several days after I finished reading the book I have already forgotten who it was exactly. There are several boys Simon thinks it could be, which keeps you guess together with him, but since all the suspects are only described through Simon’s eyes you will always only see what he thinks is true. I get that it is one of the down sides of the way Simon vs. is written, but I made it harder for me to care.
Overall I think the story is okay, but it could be much better.
The Movie
On March 16th Love, Simon will be released into cinemas around the world. Nick Robinson plays Simon and Katherine Langford (from 13 Reasons Why?) plays Leah. I have not seen it yet, but do want to go and see it.
I am not sure if this movie will be a good movie, but I am willing to give it a chance, since in my eyes it won’t be hard to get a better rating than I gave the novel.
Let me know what you thought of this book and/or movie!
If you have any requests for which book I should talk about next, please let me know in the comments down below.
For now, let books enrich your life!