Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I don’t often read books I’d describe as adorable, but this coming out story is adorable.
It’s also utterly different than what would have been written 20 or especially 30 years ago–and the differences are all for the better. It may not seem like it circa 2018, but we’ve made some genuine social progress here.
Simon Spier is a high school junior who knows he’s gay but can’t muster the nerve to tell anyone, though he is desperate to do so. He comes across a post on his school’s tumblr and impulsively writes to the anonymous author. They begin a lengthy, silly and touching exchange of emails, carefully keeping their identities hidden, though they know they attend the same school. The emails act as interstitials between chapters.
After forgetting to logout of his email account on a school computer (how many people sweat over this sort of thing, yet continue to login to public computers to check personal information? All the better for authors looking to convincingly complicate their characters lives), a fellow drama student blackmails Simon into setting him up with a girl he likes or else he’ll spill the beans on the email love affair.
Hijinks ensue as Simon and his blackmailer work together in the school’s production of Oliver! and friendships go through their usual ups and downs, with hormones raging and tempers flaring at the slightest provocation. Simon and his anonymous admirer edge closer and closer to meeting in person and of course there are complications.
Still, it all manages to stay…adorable. There are no real villains here, there’s little in the way of violence, other than an overly friendly dog, and the sex is limited to kissing with both feet (mostly) on the floor. It is a YA novel, after all.
And it’s not a spoiler to say there is a happy ending.
If you love Oreos, watching teenagers grapple with being teenagers in that silly teenage way, and reading about people who are far wittier on the spot than I’ve ever managed to be, you’ll enjoy Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.
