Becky Albertalli gets the award for cutest YA book I’ve read this year.
I originally picked this book up as part of the Pop Sugar Challenge for 2018. There’s a category of “a book made into a movie you’ve seen before” and the movie came out this year. I loved the trailer and so I watched the movie and ADORED IT! Impressively, this book was published back in 2015 and in 3 short years, the movie was out! This tells me that I missed the hype and bandwagon hard for Simon.
To bring everyone up to speed, this book is about Simon, a gay teen who hasn’t ‘come out’ yet and is struggling with his hormones, ‘coming out’, and trying to live his life drama free. Shenanigans ensue.
Honestly, when people talk about this book it doesn’t sound amazing or earthshaking. However, it didn’t need to be. It was the perfect mix of fluff and serious. It focused on important points but also gave us Simon’s quirky humor to keep the reader smiling throughout.
“What’s a dementor?”
I mean, I can’t even. “Nora, you are no longer my sister.”
“So it’s some Harry Potter thing,” she says.”
― Becky Albertalli, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
There are so many things I loved about this book. The dialogue is spot on for teen language and witty humor. The references to music and pop culture give me life. Also, I really enjoyed the fact that Becky Albertalli showed the reactions and growth for each character. His parents especially were a good aspect. She did a good job showing how each party assimilated Simon’s ‘coming out’.
I’m trying really hard to make this not a comparison to the movie but I will say i liked the book better. The book showed more about his friendships. ALSO – the movie never mentions he had an older sister, just his younger one. (#rude haha) So that was a bit of a shock. This topic is also such an internal struggle, the book does a better job of showing us Simon’s thoughts and struggles. As always, the movie sensationalized a lot. The movie does do a good job with keeping the overall feel of the book though. It was a good adaptation, just….the book was better. (as always haha)
“But 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.”
― Becky Albertalli, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Simon was a quick read, a fun read, and overall very satisfying story. I do see that this is a duology and the second book was released this year! ‘Leah on the Off Beat’ follows the story of Simon’s BFF Leah. I’m now going to have to check this out since she was an amazing character in the book. Becky Albertalli did a phenomenal job on developing the relationships between these characters. I was invested in all of them and I now want to read about all of them! hahaha
- Overall Rating: 4.25 Stars
- Plot: 4 Stars
- Character Development: 4 Stars
- Dialogue: 5 Stars
- Writing: 4 Stars
Overall, if you like Young Adult contemporary, check out this book. I realize LGBT YA romance may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but give it a chance. Simon won’t disappoint you and neither will Becky’s writing.
Happy Reading~
Ash
P.S. I’ve been on a streak of good books lately!! Let’s hope this continues~ haha
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