By: Cait Marie
If you know me, you know that I absolutely adore Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I’ve said before, I don’t read a lot of contemporary or stand-alone books. However, I do occasionally read them, especially if recommended. I actually read this book as part of my school’s book club for Pride Month last year, but it had been in my tbr for a long time before that. I had heard Margot Wood (formerly with Epic Reads) talk about this book a few times and say how wonderful it was.
It exceeded my expectations to say the least.
This is about 17-year-old Simon Spier who is secretly gay. Through his school’s Tumblr page, he sees a post by someone with the same secret. He ends up emailing ‘Blue’ and they become friends. Except they don’t know who each other is.
When his emails are discovered, Simon is blackmailed into helping a fellow student who likes one of his friends. Meanwhile, as Simon and Blue continue to grow closer via email, Simon wants more and more to discover Blue’s identity.
This book is such an incredible story. Yes, it is a YA book about high schoolers, but it’s relatable in ways that are hard to describe. Regardless of whether you’ve had to go through something similar, regardless of whether you identify as part of the lgbt community, everyone has dealt with trying to figure out who they are at some point in their life.
Becky Albertalli weaves this emotional, heart-warning book in an amusing, yet serious way. Her characters are so real, and she writes their stories in a way that makes you feel as if you’re reading about people you actually know.
I’ve read this book a few times since last June and stand by my statement that it is the best feel-good book I’ve ever read. It is also my new favorite stand-alone book of all-time. It’s just wonderful and I could go on and on for hours about how much I love it.
My excitement for the movie Love, Simon was over the top. If you follow me on Twitter, I apologize for the 5000 tweets about it these past few weeks. I wrote a full book-to-movie adaptation review here, but I will say that I was extremely happy with the movie!
Albertalli has another published book, The Upside of Unrequited, which is a spinoff that is also really good. Her third book is a sequel to Simon, from his best friend Leah’s point of view. Leah on the Offbeat is set to be released April 24 and I cannot wait!! I’ve had this book preordered for months!
If anyone was doubtful, see photo below for excitement level!
Functionally Fictional 