Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

[First posted on Goodreads on 1/23/18]

Post updated with this graphic on 6/14/18 🙂

Five stars! 😍

Honestly, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is such an adorable, emotional, and beautiful book. This is forever going to be one of my favorite books!

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

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.

My Thoughts

I love Simon and Blue so much (as individuals, and as a couple <3)!! They’re so adorable and so perfect together. I was living for their witty banter and conversations, through emails and eventually in real life. SO CUTE. ❤ I only wish we could have had more time reading about Simon and Blue as a couple, instead of just at the end, because I absolutely loved the way they complemented each other.

*SPOILER BEGINS*

I honestly guessed that Bram was Blue near the middle of the book, but when I got to the part where Simon thought Martin was Blue, I LITERALLY DIED. Lmao. I almost believed that it was Martin too, because of Simon. Hahaha thank goodness that wasn’t true; I don’t know what I would’ve done otherwise. .-.

*END SPOILER*

Overall, I loved this book so much!! I smiled, laughed, and (almost) cried at various parts throughout the book. It is such an adorable, fluffy, and heartwarming read (with a few emotional moments). :’)

Oh, and don’t even get me started on the movie adaptation, Love, Simon! It was such a wonderful movie (although I did enjoy the book more). I watched it three times in theaters and I loved it every single time. (There may be movie spoilers below!)

Nick Robinson played the role of Simon so well; I could really feel his emotion in so many scenes. My favorite scene in the movie is the scene where Simon is writing his Creeksecrets post to the whole school:

“I am… gay. For a long time, I was killing myself to hide that fact. I had all these reasons, it was unfair that only gay people had to come out, I was sick of change, but the truth is, I was just scared. First, I thought it was just a gay thing but then I realized that no matter what, announcing who you are to the world is pretty terrifying cause what if the world doesn’t like you.”

It was such a beautiful and touching moment, because Simon was finally revealing his true self to the world and confessing his love to Blue, the love of his life. This message really resonated with me and made me feel understood because I always hide my true self from others since I’m scared of showing who I really am.

Of course, I loved the scene where Emily Spier told her son, “You get to exhale now, Simon.” That was also such an emotional and beautiful moment; I truly felt that in my heart.

And the ferris wheel scene! How could anyone not love that scene? When Blue was revealed, although I already knew who he was (because of the book), I still laughed and cried and cheered along with the audience in the theater. It was such an amazing and groundbreaking moment to witness, seeing a gay couple kiss on screen and having the audience break out into cheers and applause.

Thank you for reading this review of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Love, Simon!

What did you guys think of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Love, Simon? Did you love them as much as I did? Did you prefer the book or movie? What are your other favorite LGBTQ+ books? I’d love to hear your thoughts down below, if you’re willing to share! 🙂

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