Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli [Book Review]

"White shouldn't be the default any more than straight should be the default. There shouldn't even be a Default."

Content

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he's pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he's never met.

My opinion

I actually wasn't sure about whether I should read the book or not. Just because there was so much hype around it I really didn't know. Normally the more hype a book gets the more this hype ruins this book for me. But this time it wasn't like this. My conclusion of reading the book is that I'm glad that I did it and it's totally worth it!
First I thought this was going to be the same High School drama but this instead of having a heterosuxual relationship there will be a homosexual one within two boys. Turned out I was wrong but not completely. There is a little drama but it's the perfect dose. I really liked the idea that you can read the conversation of Blue and Simon. You need to know that I love having letters or stuff like that in books. It just makes me happy! Also can I say that I really liked the idea that you as Reader also don't know who Blue is. So, there's this little mystery to solve and I really liked it! Because guessing who Blue might be was awesome even though I never was right and it really surprised me when I found out who Blue was. Because it came kind of out of nowhere for me and that's what I like in mysteries. I really hate the fact if you can already tell in the middle of the book who the mysterical person is. That just annoys me the most! So glad, that Albertalli made this part awesome. About the coming out thing...I have to say that it was made great. You could really sense that it was difficult for Simon to do that and I really think that it is difficult. I mean you have to talk about your sexual orientation and that's not only weird but horryfying too. Especially if you aren't 'normal'. It was also interesting to read about the reaction of the other kids in the book. In my eyes this was made as close to reality as I possibly even could imagine - but I don't know if Imagination is enough when coming to such a topic...
I also loved Simon the protagonist especially because he loves two major things I adore. Number one Harry Potter and number two Oreos!!! I wish he was real so we could watch Harry Potter and eat Oreos while doing that. Also can I say how weird it was because the protagonist was a male and I perfectly understood him. Normally I would make other decisions and always think how stupid that guy must be to do so. But this time I hadn't these thoughts. Also what I want to say at this point is that Albertalli is great in creating characters which are realistic. With almost everyone I had a person in real life to compare them to. This was kind of funny but I won't tell who's who. The thing I can say for sure is that I didn't see myself in any of them. Not even Simon because the major difference isn't that I'm a girl - no. The major difference is that I'm straight and he's not!
Now coming back to the book. I need to talk about the gorgeous cover. I only read it in English because this amazing cover. Other wise I would have read it in German. In my eyes this cover represents the books somehow. It just fits perfectly!
Also the title fits. Those who read the book might know what I mean. And I like the title too because 'Homo sapiens' is my word. I mean it: it's my favourite word and I almost freaked out when I heard about this book the first time (which was a few months after it came out).
All in all I just can say that this book is great. Not only because of the things I said above but also due to the fact that you don't have to much of that typical LGBT stuff in it. It's just a decent love story which I prefer.

Rating

I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars! And in case you haven't read it yet. Do it. There might be a chance you like and you don't want to  miss that one!
Yours szebra

About the book

Title: Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release date: 7th April 2015
Price: $17.99 (Hardcover); $10.99 (PaperbackeBook); $19.99 (Digital Audiobook)
Pages: 320
Age recommendation: 14 and up

The author

Becky Albertalli is the author of the acclaimed novels Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat. A former clinical psychologist who specialized in working with children and teens, Becky lives with her family in Atlanta.

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