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funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“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.”
This book to me is just the definition of a comfort book. The type of book that I can read while curled up in blankets on a stormy night. This book is just so normal and I mean that as such a compliment. It’s realistic, it’s easy to imagine myself as Simon or within his friend group and they all just seem like such real people which so many book characters lack feeling like.
The main criticism I always see is that it “doesn’t mention the darker parts of being queer” or that it’s “made for straight people” and personally I heavily disagree with both statements. The book never claims to tell the experience of every single queer person, just one, Simon. Simon’s story is one that a lot of queer people will probably be able to see theirselves in, even in just a few aspects of it. And the claim that it doesn’t touch on the realities of being queer is a straight up lie. This book touches on homophobia and being outed. Both which are incredibly traumatising things and the book deals with both in a way that reflects my own experiences and i’ll forever be thankful for younger me having a book like this to see theirselves within.
Everything about this book is so engaging to me. The mystery element of not knowing who Blue is and overanalysing every interaction Simon has with someone looking for any hint whatsoever that they could be Blue. The whole dynamic with Simon’s friend group, they really just felt like a real group of friends, the dumb arguments especially felt so real (other than Abby getting mad at Simon that felt so out of character for her and really put me off her for a bit). Also the writing style is just so easy to read, the pop culture references can get a bit overbearing at times but luckily that’s not really something that puts me off books.
The romance in this book is so well done. Even though Simon and Blue don’t interact in person until like the very end of the book, you can still see their love for each other throughout their emails. Their romance is just so incredibly sweet and I hope everyone who wants a relationship gets one like theirs some day, they’re truly the blueprint.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Young Adult book which sensitivity deals with homophobia and outing. 16 year old Simon falls in love with a guy via email anonymously. When a series of emails fall into the wrong hands he finds himself being blackmailed. He is outed. A great coming of age story that deals with homosexuality beautifully. You fall in love with Simon and want him to be loved. A great read, particularly for teenagers struggling with their sexuality
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Homophobia
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Outing
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoyed this book but it felt like it was written in 2015 which it was and you can tell, see thats the issue whit pop culture heavy books is alot of them feel old very quickly. Aside from that it was a cute cozy read and my favorite parts were the emails and the scene where Simons comes out to Abby it felt very genuine. I personally could've done without the typical teen boy boner talk but it didnt ruin the book as a whole. Push throught the dirst half because the second is way better when simon finally comes into his own. Definitely worth reading and then watching the movie lots of diffrences but also lots of similarities love both and what they have done for the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Outing
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've had Simon Vs. The Homo-Sapiens Agenda sitting on my bookshelf for years now, basically ever since the movie originally released. At the time, I really loved the movie - since then I've grown out of it, realizing it's many (many... many) faults, and just hadn't engaged with the "Love, Simon"-verse in a while. I never picked up the book initially because I was in a major reading slump. But, reading this book is something I'd wanted to do for a while, especially after seeing TikToks and other posts about just how much better the book was than the movie.
And they were all right! Simon Vs. The Homo-Sapiens Agenda is much more cohesive, complete, and simply better than it's movie counterpart.
Give this book a shot. The narrative around "Love, Simon" is very messy, but Becky Albertalli genuinely does a wonderful job fleshing out these characters, and doing a service to Simon and Blue's relationship.
The reason I'm knocking off a star is because I'd say that while Simon, Blue, and Abby are all wonderfully developed - the rest of the supporting cast is not. Couple that in with some awkward prose every now and again, it detracts from an otherwise very lovely story.
And they were all right! Simon Vs. The Homo-Sapiens Agenda is much more cohesive, complete, and simply better than it's movie counterpart.
Give this book a shot. The narrative around "Love, Simon" is very messy, but Becky Albertalli genuinely does a wonderful job fleshing out these characters, and doing a service to Simon and Blue's relationship.
The reason I'm knocking off a star is because I'd say that while Simon, Blue, and Abby are all wonderfully developed - the rest of the supporting cast is not. Couple that in with some awkward prose every now and again, it detracts from an otherwise very lovely story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Outing
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Sexual content, Excrement, Outing, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was fun. I read in a day and it did make me not want to put the book down. I think I would have liked this better at 13, but I still like it now. I don’t really have strong opinions so this is kind of a boring review, sorry :(
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Outing, Alcohol
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Outing