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kellypm 's review for:
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
by Becky Albertalli
Review originally posted on my blog here- https://kelmacsbooks.wordpress.com/2016/06/27/simon-vs-the-homo-sapiens-agenda-becky-albertalli/
The novel centres around Simon, a sixteen year old boy who is (not quite yet openly) gay, loves Harry Potter, sassy as all hell, is a grammar nerd, would happily live off Oreos and is in his school musical. (If he was an 18 year old girl I’d think we were the same person…) From the first page, I knew I was going to like Simon, and I was right. He was witty, awkward and used the word ‘freaking’ so much I could relate… He is emailing a mystery boy who’s named himself ‘Blue’, and the novel centres around Simon falling slowly in love with this boy he’s never met. However, the book does address important themes of our generation like cyber bullying, sexuality, coming out and blackmail; but it is written in such a way that keeps it lighthearted and very true to the way our generation is.
“He talked about the ocean between people. And how the whole point of everything is to find a shore worth swimming to.”
The relationships within this book were phenomenally accurate from his relationships with people at school to his family. They were believable and not stylised. This novel truly showed what it’s like to be in high school and conveyed the exact feelings that run through you when you’re nervous, confused or in the middle of a fight with your friends. The book somehow encapsulates the butterflies you feel when talking to your crush or the dropping of your stomach when something happens that is not in your favour. God, just everything about this book was so relatable and believable and it drew me right in with its unique characters and the cool format of the novel (as it contains emails between Blue and Simon).
“It’s like they have this idea of me, and whenever I step outside of that, it blows their minds”.
Basically from the first email I read I wanted Simon and Blue to meet. Right away, immediately. They were insanely cute and I loved how their correspondence was half witty banter and half discussion about truly important and meaningful parts of their lives. I felt extremely invested in all of the characters (Except Martin who was a serious douche, and when Simon started feeling like they could be friends, I’m not going to lie, I felt uneasy). And although I’ve read reviews that say that who Blue is was obvious from early on, although I had a slight inkling who it wasn’t, I still didn’t guess it.
“Like the way you can memorise someones gestures but never know their thoughts”.
Of course who Blue ended up being was perfect and oh my god the cuteness at the end of the novel had me seriously grinning and my heart truly could not take it. I was unbelievable happy and when the book ended, I felt complete and very content.
“White shouldn’t be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn’t even be a default.”
This book was cute. It was cute and it warmed my heart and I was happily surprised with how much I loved this book. It took me a solid four hours to read this simply because I could not put it down! I can truly see why it’s been called ‘the love child of John Green and Rainbow Rowell’. I don’t read a lot of contemporary books, but I loved this one so much feel like I’m now going to be much more open to Contemporary books!
“People really are like house with vast rooms and tiny windows. And maybe it’s a good thing, the way we never stop surprising each other.”
The novel centres around Simon, a sixteen year old boy who is (not quite yet openly) gay, loves Harry Potter, sassy as all hell, is a grammar nerd, would happily live off Oreos and is in his school musical. (If he was an 18 year old girl I’d think we were the same person…) From the first page, I knew I was going to like Simon, and I was right. He was witty, awkward and used the word ‘freaking’ so much I could relate… He is emailing a mystery boy who’s named himself ‘Blue’, and the novel centres around Simon falling slowly in love with this boy he’s never met. However, the book does address important themes of our generation like cyber bullying, sexuality, coming out and blackmail; but it is written in such a way that keeps it lighthearted and very true to the way our generation is.
“He talked about the ocean between people. And how the whole point of everything is to find a shore worth swimming to.”
The relationships within this book were phenomenally accurate from his relationships with people at school to his family. They were believable and not stylised. This novel truly showed what it’s like to be in high school and conveyed the exact feelings that run through you when you’re nervous, confused or in the middle of a fight with your friends. The book somehow encapsulates the butterflies you feel when talking to your crush or the dropping of your stomach when something happens that is not in your favour. God, just everything about this book was so relatable and believable and it drew me right in with its unique characters and the cool format of the novel (as it contains emails between Blue and Simon).
“It’s like they have this idea of me, and whenever I step outside of that, it blows their minds”.
Basically from the first email I read I wanted Simon and Blue to meet. Right away, immediately. They were insanely cute and I loved how their correspondence was half witty banter and half discussion about truly important and meaningful parts of their lives. I felt extremely invested in all of the characters (Except Martin who was a serious douche, and when Simon started feeling like they could be friends, I’m not going to lie, I felt uneasy). And although I’ve read reviews that say that who Blue is was obvious from early on, although I had a slight inkling who it wasn’t, I still didn’t guess it.
“Like the way you can memorise someones gestures but never know their thoughts”.
Of course who Blue ended up being was perfect and oh my god the cuteness at the end of the novel had me seriously grinning and my heart truly could not take it. I was unbelievable happy and when the book ended, I felt complete and very content.
“White shouldn’t be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn’t even be a default.”
This book was cute. It was cute and it warmed my heart and I was happily surprised with how much I loved this book. It took me a solid four hours to read this simply because I could not put it down! I can truly see why it’s been called ‘the love child of John Green and Rainbow Rowell’. I don’t read a lot of contemporary books, but I loved this one so much feel like I’m now going to be much more open to Contemporary books!
“People really are like house with vast rooms and tiny windows. And maybe it’s a good thing, the way we never stop surprising each other.”