Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015)

I’ve been meaning to read it for ages and finally got my hands on a copy. Simon and Bram are both so precious and such an adorable couple! Unfortunately, before I even started the book I already knew who Blue was due to having seen a post on tumblr about it so I didn’t have the mystery of wondering who he was, but it meant that I got to fully appreciate every time he was mentioned prior to the big reveal. Simon’s friends and family are realistic and are evidentially important parts of his life. It’s so nice to read a book that shows how important and wonderful other relationships are as well instead of just focusing on the romantic interest. ( )

UPDATE 2020
The more I think about it, the fewer warm feelings it gives me.
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Original review:
It has its issues, sure. But this book made me happy. ( )

4.5 stars. It was really easy to get into this book. I had watched the movie, "Love, Simon" first, so got the general idea of what was going to happen in the book. Coming of age tale, coming out to family and friends, falling in and out of love and possibilities of life. The narrator was really good with voices, and I wondered if it was the actor who played Simon in the movie. ( )

2.75 starts
The extra bit of star is for the parents who stuck to their guns and actually carried through on the grounding they give Simon for getting drunk.

What to say otherwise? Well, let's start with the title: What Homo Sapiens Agenda? I kept waiting for it to show up and it never did.

After the first few times, I skimmed the email chapters. They did nothing for the story except drag it down.

Marty's agenda, to blackmail Simon, was poorly thought out and lame, though he does plenty of damage before the end of the story. And he's a coward for not trying on his own to get to know Abby, the girl he's blackmailing Simon over. When she shoots him down, he takes out his anger on the wrong person (I would have liked to get Marty's point of view on this whole thing, but as is usual with these type of books, we're stuck in first person, present tense with Simon who is, for all intents and purposes, a boring character).

This book could have used a real dash of humor, other POV characters, and a more solid, concrete foundation. Beyond that, as Simon says: "I don't know." ( )

Entertaining, very real-feeling coming of age of a gay boy with a supportive family and a mysterious crush. It did feel amazingly self-absorbed (but I felt that was pretty realistic of teenagerdom in general) and the scene where Simon gets very drunk is hilarious. ( )