Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Special Edition)
4.6
107
5
1
Hardcover(Special Edition)
USD
14.68
$14.68
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780062839701 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | HarperCollins Publishers |
| Publication date: | 01/30/2018 |
| Edition description: | Special Edition |
| Pages: | 384 |
| Sales rank: | 18,069 |
| Product dimensions: | 5.70(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.50(d) |
| Age Range: | 14 - 17 Years |
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Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
4.6 out of 5
based on
0 ratings.
107 reviews.
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Reading this was like watching one of those good episodes of Catfish. Where the person is actually the person they say they are. Those are my favorite episodes. There aren't nearly enough of them. Just like there aren't nearly enough of books like this.
Simon doesn't like to let anyone in on his life to avoid making everything a big deal. But suddenly his email account comes up to someone who doesn't care that Simon is trying to avoid these things. He blackmails him. Help him land someone or he'll expose his secret. The bad thing is, it's not only Simon's secret, it's Blue's (the boy he's been talking to) secret too. Eventually Simon is ready to come out to Blue... And more importantly, the world.
I have to admit... At the beginning I wasn't really pulled all the way in. I don't want to say it, but it seemed like there was too much hype surrounding it. I get it. It's about a very important topic that all teens that may be going through this should read, but it really felt like a regular contemp to me. Maybe because there never really was a "default" to me, I'm not sure. But Simon and Blue are completely cute and their emails are adorable. But at the beginning that's the only reason I wanted to keep reading. The actual story line wasn't the best for me. It moved really slow and I found myself trying to speed read through it just to get to the next emails. But towards the end the story sped up and I fell completely head over heels for their relationship.
As for the characters, I wasn't sure how I felt about Simon's friends and family. His sister didn't know what a dementor was, one of his friends didn't know who Jason Aldean was, and everyone was calling it "the Tumblr," But otherwise all the characters were amazing besides that. One of his friends was Wonder Woman for Halloween.... We know how I felt about that lol But they were fully thought out and everyone played an important role in the story. It made it intimate and close which fit the story.
This story is important in so many ways. Simon shows that it's ok to not be "default." As a diverse person myself, I love that this book is getting so much attention. It may start slow but in the end it will completely suck you in and you won't want to put it down.
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As soon as I picked up the book I never put it down. I had heard many different things about this book, but never had the chance to read it until a couple days ago. The characters are just absolutely lovely, and you cant help but fall in love with them. I loved how it opened up about how coming out in High School can be a difficult thing, especially when you have absolutely no idea how anyone is going to react. Don't sit there and let me ramble about this book, just do me a favor and start reading it.
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After watching (and falling in love with) the movie LOVE, SIMON, I wanted to read its source of inspiration. In fact, I had the book on my "to read" list since it first was published and before I even heard talk of a movie. Seeing the movie, though, finally gave me the impetus to pick up the book.
If you've seen the movie, it pretty much follows the same path as the book. This is one case, though, where I thought the movie was better than the book. There are some tweaks and character development that were perfectly captured in the movie, but seemed a bit lacking in the novel. I credit that to the screenwriters and director (some of whom are gay and have first-hand experience at the emotions involved in accepting yourself as gay and then coming out to your friends and family). I also think the movie did a better job of setting up the mystery of Simon's secret crush's true identity, making us think it could be any number of people by giving viewers red herrings.
At any rate, I did enjoy reliving the movie and characters in printed form. The novel was easy to read and well-written, and told in first person from Simon's point of view. My favorite quote: "I guess I didn't really think of myself as interesting until I was interesting to Blue." It's sometimes hard to see the value of ourselves until someone points it out.
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Running the risk of sounding cheesy and cliche’, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" by Becky Albertalli genuinely made me smile. I could not have enjoyed reading this novel any more. This coming-of-age story revolves around an in-the-closet high school student, Simon Spier, who is forced to come out after a blackmailer discovers his emails to another closeted classmate with whom he has fallen in love. The storyline brought me aboard an emotional rollercoaster, with especially heartwarming highs. The experiences that take place in this novel are so realistic and engaging that I found myself stepping inside the characters’ shoes- from walking around Shady Creek to jamming out in the car with Simon’s posse. I was entertained the entire time I spent reading this novel, which occurred over the span of two days- I just couldn’t put it down! Some of the obstacles that Simon encountered over the school year are certainly not exclusive to members of the LGBT community. I guarantee that any typical middle school or high school student (myself included) has been in the same boat as Simon more than once in their life. He faces numerous challenges concerning the utter rudeness and hurtful acts carried out by his peers. However, despite the more deep or tense facets of the story, Becky Albertalli still managed to create an uplifting and heartwarming tone. The mysterious aspect of the story, relating to the anonymous character “Blue”, constantly kept me intrigued and wanting to read more.
The main characters are such a perfect mix of relatable and lovable; so much so, that I found myself caring for and adoring each character by the middle of the novel. I fell in love with Simon’s quirky, amiable, dependable, lighthearted, compassionate, hilarious, ingenuous - yet complex, conflicted, and tainted- personality. He is a perfect example of how human beings are often much more complex than they may appear to be. His many layers are what make him such a compelling and stimulating character. Leah is Simon’s long-time bestfriend, who completely understands him- almost more than he understands himself. She is not your typical teenage girl, which just makes her that much more lovable. She is fairly closed-off and sarcastic, but yet, such a genuinely nice and caring person. Abby is the newer addition to the close-knit group of friends. She is bubbly, optimistic, sympathetic, wholesome, and trustworthy. Despite being on the newer-side, her friendship with Simon is comprised of a mutual understanding and sincere love for one another. Lastly, Blue is the anonymous guy that Simon falls in love with over the course of the novel. He is very intelligent, sincere, compassionate, witty, and caring. His wholesome and pure personality shines through in all of his emails to Simon, and renders the reader to adore him without even knowing his true identity. Each character from this book contains qualities and characteristics that I recognized in myself, which added a whole new dimension to the story.
Throughout the course of the novel, Simon learns to be unapologetically true to himself, which is a wonderful transformation for the reader to witness. This novel is clear and obvious demonstration of how vital true, considerate, and loving friends and family members are in someone’s life. The novel contains very important life lessons that anyone can benefit from learning; one of the most prominent of the morals being to love yourself for who you are.
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This book has had rave reviews and has just been turned into a film, so despite not normally reading highschool YA books, I was more than happy to give this a go. The reason I usually steer clear is because going through high school once was more than enough for me!
I’m so glad that I did give this a go, I devoured the book whole and am feeling all warm inside still – it’s a lot less angsty than you’d expect a teen coming-out story to be but without skimping on the drama, with well developed characters and wit. The writing style is utterly compelling and so easy to read.
I love that the parents in this book are embarrassing, as all parents of teens are required to be, but they’re not negligent, stupid or hurtful as you often read in books. I really loved this because seeing supportive but slightly weird parents on the page is refreshing and probably truer to life than most other stereotypes!
I adored that the end of each chapter showed the e-mail correspondence between Simon and his mystery man, Blue. The intensity of their emotions and seeing them fall for each other through the lost art of love letters is addictive reading, along with their shared insecurities and uncertainty.
The characters are excellent and really did remind me of high-school politics and friendship dynamics. It’s great to see the issue of homophobia in schools being tackled – as in, the administration deals with it rather than sweeping it under the rug and there are teachers that are prepared to fight for their pupils’ right to not be targeted in school.
I can see why this is an important book and so popular, I’ll be recommending it to anyone and everyone from now on. It’s a wonderful book about how coming out can be challenging (when it shouldn’t be) but that things may work out better than you expect.
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I loved this book. I also loved the movie-- but now I see how much they are two separate things. I'm glad I saw the movie first because otherwise I think I'd be really upset at the changes. I was able to love the movie as itself first, and now I can also love the book. I mean, changing Oliver Twist to Cabaret? Why? I have no idea. I did really enjoy the teacher in the movie much more than the book and I loved the addition of the principal.
But the book... it was... I'm going to say it. BEAUTIFUL. Are you surprised? This was such a sweet love story that has a lot of really great ideas to ponder. How, even with white male suburbia privilege, it was really tough for Simon to come out to his really accepting parents. How even when Simon does get to be with his love, they can't hold hands "because this is still Georgia." How Leah reacts and how Simon handles that. How Martin is not a purely villainous villain. And so, so much more. Both of my copies are checked out and I wish I had more because there are so many students who want to read it!
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Simon is gay. But he's not out yet. The only two people who knows are Blue, the sweet anonymous guy he's been emailing, and Martin, the guy who discovered said emails and tries to blackmail him. How can he maneuver school, family, friends, and discovering Blue, if he has all these on his plate?
I have to admit, I picked up this book because it was turned into a movie. And I am very curious of how this movie will go. It's also been such a hype in the YA book community, so in a way, i was curious with all the buzz.
I liked the book. I didn't see anything I particularly didn't like. I liked the hunt for Blue but I kinda figured it out from the get go. I just liked how everything just fell into place in the end. Like about Simon's family and particularly his friends.
It's definitely a coming-of-age feel-good book. And I just love the simplicity of the book in general. This is why I love YA contemporary, I turns something so simple to something amazing.
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I’ve read quite a few books over the years, but this is by far my absolute favorite!! ??
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Went to see the movie and so glad I read the book after. Must read and must see!
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Love everything about this
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Beat book i have ever read i love it so mutch i read it like a 1,000 times
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I love this book and movie. Super adorable and cute. Amazing. Who ever thinks this is gross please keep your thoughts to yourselves.....or just go die in a hole.
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This book is outstanding. The meaning behind the book is inspirational and I love it. I checked this out from the library because so many people where talking about how good it is and may I say they were right its so amazing and so far I've read the book over a dozen times and every time its good. This is one of my favorite books ever. Becky Albertalli is truly an amazing author and I will definitely be purchasing and reading any of her future novels.
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This book is beautifully written, beautifully thought out, and beautifully gay. This brings up several contriversial points ie Why is straight or white the default? Buy the whole series you won't regret it.
To the fanpeople:
OTP
TO THE PEOPLE WHO SAY BEING GAY IS WRONG:
I disagree
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Simon is outed while trying to deal with his best friends' problems, his parents, and his youngest sister.
I liked Simon. His family was weird but likable. The story captured the angst of the teen years. Best friends are not easy to tell especially when jealousy comes along. He is also falling in love with a Tumblr e-mail pal. I liked how social media is portrayed--the good and the bad to the downright ugly.
This is a good beach read. I look forward to more in the series.
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I have been wanting to read this book for a very long time and I finally got around to it and must I say I was blown out of the water! Simon is such a loveable and relatable main character it's ridiculous! No matter who you are you will feel like an "angsty" teen all over again with this one, (not in a bad way but in a charming manner). It will flood your mind with nostalgia and bring you to tears as well. Not only is Simon a good main character but the side characters also undergo good character development as we get closer to finding out who Blue actually is. I would totally recommend this book if you're looking for a refreshing romance novel.
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Once I started I could not stop, it literally had me up until two in the morning to read it, it is definitly a must read even if you already saw the movie.
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I respect your opinion and your views, but people can have different view points on these subjects. Like me. Obviously no one has the right to say who is going to hell or heaven, since only God can judge that, but just because people have different opinions does not make them haters. We all believe something that is, ultimately, unproven, and it up to us to decide what is wrong or right.
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Dear haters,
How completely and utterly mean and uneducated can you be? Love is love. Gays have never hated you for being straight. Trans have never insulted you for what you are. So what do you think gives you the reason to be so openly rude to another human being? God has never said loving someone of the same sex is wrong. Yes he is mad when you practice sexual activity with someone just for the heck of it. But God has clearly stated to love one another equally. You should not hate someone for who they love. Everyone fights their own battles and hey, maybe God put lgbtqs on thus earth to see if we followed his way and was kind to them. Clearly we failed in doing that. Before you talk about how gay people are going to hell, I strongly suggest that you first look at yourself and ask if you are worthy of striking down another person. You may find that there are many flaws, secrets and sins that you have. Dont push another person down. Instead help them along because we only get one chance. Only one life. Only one time to do something in this world. Do you really want to waste it by hating people just because they are different? If so, then I dont think you deserve to call yourself a follower of God.
Love,
Leah:)
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Love the realness of this book. Beautifully written.
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so incredibly amazing.
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...”people really are like houses with vast rooms and tiny windows. And maybe it’s a good thing the way we never stop surprising each other.”
Simon is a High School Student. And if that isn’t “bad enough”he’s coming to the realization that it’s time he came out of the closet, in part because of his online friend,Blue. They challenge each other. They support each other. But, have they figured out who each other is?
This is a wonderful book. I’m 61 years old, obviously not Albertalli’s audience. When I was confronted with this issue, my immediate family was not as accepting as Simon’s is. It is so nice to see that, at least in Simon’s case, it was much easier....weeeelll, he is 3 generations removed and one would think this could be seen as a “non issue” these days if kids weren’t so cruel with things they don’t understand. ... oh, and this is one of those “I’ll never see the movie” because the book is so good. Highly recommended 5/5
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