Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Simonverse, #1)

I think I really needed a standalone contemporary novel right now. I really liked it. The writing style was smooth and it reminded me a bit of David Levithan's writing. The plot also has some similarities to Will Grayson, Will Grayson. But that's good, because I love it too. The characters are alive and likable. The plot is simple, but it doesn't bore you. It's a very easy, light read. Very cute at times. ^^

Great mix of adorable and angsty

This was a book that I tore through yet didn't want to end. I loved the genuine teenage characters, the sense of humor, and the love story. Truly a fun read.

Put Tell Me Three Things with I’ll Give You the Sun and you, basically, have the formula for an unbelievably good read…which is EXACTLY why I loved this book so very much.

Sixteen-year-old Simon is gay, but hasn’t told anyone yet. He has found love though through an email correspondence with another guy that has helped him talk out some of his feelings. If only he knew whose heart he had captured…

When these emails get in the wrong hands though, he has to step out of his comfort zone and share about who he really is with those he loves.

This book is absolutely charming and Simon is a guy that you end up rooting for throughout the book. With a lot of wit and humor, Simon’s story is a heartwarming tale of acceptance, even in an unaccepting world.

I’m so excited to hear that this one will be coming to the big screen so be sure to read it before you catch the film! It is a really beautiful coming-of-age story!

First of all, this was a very quick read. It took me about two days to complete and the story just sucked me in. This book is about Simon, a junior who is gay. This story is about his coming out and finding love. Moreso toward a person he only speaks to via email.

I'm just going to jump right into my sections now

Negatives

And here we are.

My main problem was the constant reference toward "the Tumblr." I'm pretty sure thy meant it to mean "The Tumblr Page," but reading it just made me cringe. That's like saying "the Facebook."

My next negative was this Martin guy. I felt he was there just as an extra unneeded character. This story had a lot of random characters and references but this one took the cake for me.

Now on to the better.

Positives

I absolutely love who Blue is. That is all I'm going to say without giving too much away. I mean, if you're reading a review you want a little better idea of a book before you read it.

Let me tell you that the ending of this book was great. I loved this ending so much. You knew all the ends were going to wrap up but this was quite nice. You have something nice to look forward to.

To summarize

Gosh, this feels too much like a school book report, but it is needed.

This book was a great one shot and I quite look forward to seeing the movie!

If you guys have any book suggestions you want me to review, please let me know! I'm all ears!

Love,

Purplemanatees

Simon just wants to continue living in his safe social bubble with his small circle of friends and flirt textually with the mysterious boy he met on tumblr. Unfortunately, life has other things in store for him. After a classmate discovers his secret email correspondence with his crush, code name Blue, he has no choice but to go along with what they want. Even if it means betraying his friends. Because Simon doesn’t want to lose what he has with Blue, even if he’s not sure yet what exactly it is.

Honestly, I don’t even know how to start this review because every time I think of this book, my brain is flooded with happiness and the warm, fuzzy feeling that usually accompanies things like Christmas or the beginning of Summer, new crushes, and your favorite, most comfortable t-shirt. It’s just a lot of good feelings wrapped up in one good book. So I guess you can probably tell that I really loved it.

Let’s talk writing. The best thing about Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda is the tone of voice. Simon is humorous and relatable and incredibly easy to connect to. His internal monologue is honestly such a joy to listen to and be a part of. It’s so easy to put yourself in his shoes and walk around in his life and the experience feels truly authentic. Even as a straight girl, I could definitely remember my first love and flirting through email and experiencing the rush that comes with getting to know someone and developing feelings for them. I never had to conduct my romances in secret, but it definitely struck a chord with me that Simon, for the most part, felt more comfortable connecting almost anonymously via email than in person as that’s very much a character trait of mine. All the while, he remains this incredibly human and wonderful person navigating a very complicated social hierarchy with both his friends and his family.

Simon is the main character and the story is very much his. However, there are a lot of secondary characters and tertiary characters that come into play. You have Simon’s family- his parents and sisters and while none of them were explored hugely in depth, they did have a bit of their own stories showcased throughout the novel. And then you have Simon’s complicated group of friends. It was great to see a realistic depiction of how friend groups can shift and acclimate (and how sometimes they don’t). Simon has a very supportive core group and he has a hugely different relationship with each person in the group which makes things awkward and complicated at times, but also very true to life. I appreciated the nuance Albertarri put into these dynamics and how she illustrated the connections between the people both positively and negatively. Simon also isn’t a perfect character and she holds him accountable for his missteps which was also nice to see.

Obviously, the main relationship is the one between Simon and the mysterious Blue and it was adorable. The emails back and forth, the slow exploration of romance, and the hesitant nature of both boys for different reasons as they come to terms with it. This isn’t exactly a coming out story the way I expected it to be because Simon already knows who he is. His sexuality isn’t something he struggles with and he’s really not afraid to come out, he just doesn’t like attention. The situation is different for Blue and both boys really surprise you in the end with how they handle everything. I was constantly guessing Blue’s identity for most of the novel and even though I sort of knew who it would be, I also kind of wasn’t totally sure so it was fun to think about while reading. And I found myself traveling back through my own high school memories and wondering if anyone secretly had a crush on me. Although, I was a huge nerd, so probably not. :P

Guys, this book made me feel good. It made me feel everything. And I recommend it to everyone. End of sentence.

I don't even know how to say. I don't even know how to begin to explain the multiude or emotional states I went through reading this book. Simon and every other character are so fleshed out, so three dimensional and yet so secretive - its easy to understand WHO they are and yet knowing next to nothing about them (vast rooms, small windows indeed).
The writing was EXTREMELY relatable, the constant nerdy references a pleasure and I was unable to read Simon and Blue interacting without having a dumb smile on my face.
I love it, I love this

Charming. Cute. Lovely. But quite not what I expected.

It's hard to creative something revolutionary, isn't it? Something that has never been done, written or said before? This isn't me bashing the book by any means. I like it overall, but can't understand the "hype". I expected a thrilling, happy, open and jolly story about a boy experiencing feelings and emotions he couldn't understand before but.... It didn't quite happened like I imagined it.

The story isn't bad, except when the author clearly doesn't understand (the) tumblr. At all. Whatsoever. First of all, no one is using Tumblr as Facebook. Its' used for fandoms. Imagines. Aesthetically pleasing photos and porn (sorry mom). Second of all; the (???) Tumblr ?? What happened there? It's honestly bugging way too much.

I didn't find any of the characters interesting to be honest. And in the end, I didn't even care that some characters ended up together. I didn't care for Nick. Or Leah. Or Abby. Like. Why and what did they actually bring to the story? They're there, they might even serve some purpose to Simon but like. I didn't like them very much.


Oh God, I really wanted to like this book. I really did. I like some aspects of it. But not enough to give it more than 3 stars. :(

Leitura rápida, envolvente e cheia de drama adolescente que a gente tanto ama acompanhar.
Simon vs A Agenda HomoSapiens é um romance recheado de problemas da vida real, discussões importantes, amizade, desencontros, um pouco de mistério e pequenas descobertas.
Cada pessoa é um enorme quarto com pequenas janelas, há todo um universo a se descobrir em cada pessoa, e esse livro fala bastante sobre isso.