Book 6
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
By: Becky Albertalli
Published: 2015
ISBN: 978-0-06-234868-5
Approximately 300 pages
Still can't believe I am still into this. It's been great and excruciating to think all I want to do is read. The need to read has been keeping me from getting some household chores done. However, one would think if all I'm doing is reading how could I make a mess. Trust me friends, it happens. It's like when you sit on an airplane for an hour and a half and you step off the plane exhausted...and all you did was sit. You can't understand why you are so tired from sitting.
Alright so I deviated from my original plan to read Making Meaning for a couple of reasons. The first is this book has been "burning a hole in my pocket" since I bought it a month ago. Secondly, I wanted to read it before the movie came out this weekend. While I have tried not to read the books before seeing the movies, I couldn't help myself this time. I'm going to force myself not to compare the two because the titles are different and I believe the movie is "inspired by" the book.
So not to spoil too much, this post will probably be a short one as well. I saw the previews for the movie when I binged in a movie theatre one Saturday. And by binge I mean I saw two movies back to back on the same day. I was instantly intrigued by Love Simon, and jumped onto google in the theatre to see what the book was. I'm not one to typically read a book in one sitting, however, if I had the time when I started it, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, would have been one of them. I read this one in what I equate to be about two days. I just wanted to spend every spare minute I had reading it.
The story revolves around teenage Simon and high school relationships. Simon is a young man who knows he identifies as gay and is not yet out of the closet. Through the magic of the interwebs, he finds an online confidant via e-mail in another student who, in e-mails, identifies as a gay male student at the same school. The two continuously exchange e-mails about their experiences and the when, how, to who, reactions to of coming out. There is additional typical teenage angst spread throughout the story.
The story also explores developing a digital relationship with an anonymous individual. I believe, while this is classified as a young adult novel, there are some things adults can also learn equating some of it to online dating. Some things even an in person relationship in how you can come to care for someone and have a yearning to spend time with them without indulging in superficial qualities.
I appreciate the choice of professions of Simon's parents. Their professions allowed for the author to not divert from the story too much by having to deal with disapproving parents. I also appreciated that the setting of the high school was fairly accepting, again, so not to detract from the intention of the story. Overall, the story is about teen angst and it stays pretty true to that all the way through.
If you are looking for a quick "find a different world" kind of book to escape just a bit, I would recommend this. If I can get through it quickly most probably can as well. Enjoy the trailer for Love Simon.
Citation:
Albertalli, B. (2015). Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. New York, NY. HarperCollins Publishers.
Up Next (Really this time)
Making Meaning:
Embracing Spirituality, Faith, Religion, and Life Purpose in Student Affairs
Edited by: Jenny L Small
