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

 

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is about a closeted teenager, Simon Spier, who is being blackmailed about his sexuality. Sixteen year old Simon prefers to keep his sexuality under wraps and to focus on other things at school, such as the school musical. However, drama soon follows Simon when a secret email falls into the wrong hands.

Simon was corresponding with a fellow student, Blue, through email. The two things that Simon knows about them is that they go to his school and that they are also a closeted gay male like Simon who wants to keep his life private. Simon finds himself drawn to and liking Blue but that's all jeopardized when another student finds Simon’s private emails to Blue.

Simon finds himself forced to leave his comfort zone if he wants to keep his secret. He tries to navigate his life while meeting the blackmailer's demands. However, Simon will need to choose whether he will stand up for himself or will he ruin his chances with Blue and lose his friends.

I thought the book was a fun and cute read. I liked reading about how Simon was navigating staying true to himself and his beliefs but while trying to figure out who he is. There were times where I was yelling, “you know better, Simon” and then rejoiced in the moments where he got his life in order. 

There were parts I had felt iffy about. Such as when Simon thought the blackmailer wasn’t so bad and that they could be friends and then the fallout and aftermath between the two of them. I also thought at times that there were too many minor characters to keep up with and it was difficult to remember how they related to Simon. I did think that Simon could have treated his friends better and been more open with them, especially the ones he’d known for years. My favorite parts were the email snippets between Blue and Simon.  Readers who like high school drama and books about finding yourself, would enjoy this fun read.