Reviews

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

eesh25's review against another edition

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5.0

Reread review!

I love this book. And if you somehow haven't heard of it, it's about Simon Spier. He's gay and closeted. And he has a secret email pen pal. He doesn't know the guy's name, but does know that he goes to the same highschool as Simon. Everything is going good for them until Martin (the assface) sees some of the emails that the two shared. Martin is another student and has a crush on one of Simon's friend. So he decides it would be a great idea to blackmail Simon.

You know, I remember this book as very lighthearted, but when Martin was blackmailing Simon (which was in the very first chapter), I wondered if I was remembering wrong because I was so pissed off, I wanted to strangle Martin. But I was not remembering wrong. This is a lighthearted book because even though I hated Martin, he wasn't the most important part.

This book was about Simon. It was about his friends and his family and about Blue, the guy he's falling for through those emails. It was also about finding yourself and being happy with who you are. There was very little angst or drama. Even with Martin; I hated him but he wasn't this horribly malicious person one might expect. He was a selfish fucking douche but not hateful. And somehow, that brought more authenticity to the story.

I'm not saying that there aren't awful people in the world who like to hurt others. It's more that the author did something a little different. By making Martin a normal guy who made terrible decisions, she showed that the line between good and evil isn't as clear as it seems.

Also, I loved how adorable this book is. Even through the moments that were distressing, it didn't lose its tone. And honestly, I was smiling for like 90% of the book. I also connected so much to the characters. They weren't anything like me, but they were human and believable, and that pulled me in. I cared about them and I rooted for them. Especially Simon... I would kill for that kid, he was that great of a protagonist. I loved him to pieces and I can't wait to see him again in Leah's book. Leah is his best friend and the author has said we see him a lot in Leah on the OffbeatI'm gonna be reading it pretty soon.

Overall, I loved everything about this novel. As mushy as it sounds, it made my heart happy. And when it ended, a part of me wanted to flip back to the first page and start again.

One last thing, I watched the movie adaptation (Love, Simon) right after (even though I usually avoid adaptations) and I liked it. There were changes and some of them bothered me more than others, but it gave us some really good scenes and it was a good movie in itself. The cast did a great job, and it managed to capture the essence of the novel. So after you finish the book, you should give the movie a shot too.


First review:
Oh my god, this was so preciously, beautifully, awesomely amazing and I loved it so so much... that I sound like a 12 year old gushing over One Direction. Though that's not etirely bad since we all need to get in touch with our fangirly side every once in a while.

Okay so the beginning line may have been a bit of an exaggeration but I really did love this book. Not just because I enjoyed it but also because my nitpick-y, critic side also very much approved. So this is gonna be one of those rare moments when I list all the things I loved and nothing else (I swear those moments almost never happen).

1. I loved Simon and how adorable, funny, sweet, ignorant, silly, stupid, cute, loving, forgetful and basically just how human he was. He was such a likable main character and was the perfect choice for this book. Honestly, Becky Albertally couldn't have come up with protagonist for this story.

2. I loved all of Simon's friends and their complicated, yet sometimes really simple, relationships with each other.

3. I loved that the author was careful to make Simon's emails a combination of the narration and the way he talked. It's not something I noticed initially and it was really smart.

4. I loved watching the two Simons, the one in the letters and the one with his friends, become one person even under the horrible circumstances.

5. I loved how the book wasn't too dramatic and despicted life so well. There weren't any too-perfect characters or loud dramatic monologues or evil villians. There were just a bunch highschoolers figuring out their life. It was simple and beautiful and so very real.

6.I loved the relationship between Simon and Blue and figuring out who Blue was. They were both so great and their emails were the cutest thing ever.

7. I loved the ending, even though I can't tell you what it was. Things were tied up so well.

Overall, this book was so simple and so wonderful and I'm so happy to have read it. I definitely think everyone else should read it as well. This is not a story you want to miss.

thefantasticalworldofsara's review against another edition

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4.0

Got a one word review for this: CUTE !!!!!

faeriesparks's review against another edition

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4.0

It took me quite a while to actually finish listening to the audiobook of this (I was just being lazy) but I loved it so much.
It was such a cute and also hilarious book.

dahliagreenleaf's review against another edition

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5.0

first read of 2024!!!
i was so invested in this book i’m not alright lol
i literally made a spotify playlist for it lol (https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3YPdZVmZqgF1aUSV8R7fON?si=dp6BHvRCTamcybA1npXprQ&pi=u-Miq3OqDARdaj)
simon is so relatable lol
also
note to self
STOP READING GAY ROMANCE BOOKS LOTUS IT JUST MAKES YOU SINGLE HEART SADDER /j
i love gay romance :DDDD

le_ila's review against another edition

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4.0

Great story

ingo_lembcke's review against another edition

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5.0

Saw the trailer for the "Love, Simon" movie, and noticed I already own the ebook, so I started it in between with 3 other books.
Nice fluffy gay coming-out romance with a few good twists, no violence (although I was expecting some, a few actions from someone warrant a good beating), sex only talked about.
A little on the short side, but that suited me well.
Highly recommended, will certainly watch the movie, which will hopefully be good (will leave a comment here when I watched it).

montylearoy's review against another edition

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inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Cute 

sethsparksss's review against another edition

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5.0

This book deserves more than 5 stars. What a great novel with a great sense of humor and a great main character. I loved this book so so so much

dj68's review against another edition

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4.0

I loved the movie Love, Simon; it was both hilarious and touching. This book is doubly so.
Even though I was Simon's age in pre-internet times, he's a character that my younger self can identify with, as I was never that much into drinking and the party scene and all that (that came later), and I was also a kind of a nerd (that never went away, though). I was a pretty average kid, and it's actually nice to read about those too, instead of those stories that only center on - and I'm no prude, trust me - endless hook-ups and drug-fueled parties. Yeah, those people exist and their stories need to be told, too, but all the average, self-doubtibg kids need their stories too. And Simon vs. is definitely one of them.

sovngarde's review against another edition

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3.0

I’m not sure how I got through this tbh. The writing was not great, “the tumblr” and it reads more like a woman trying to write a teenager boy than it should.
Meh.

2 1/2 stars.