Sunday, May 28, 2017

Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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






Because it shouldn't have to be said, but it beautiful when someone can write something so powerfully beautiful that isn't harping at you or trying to shove your square peg into the triangle hole on the board. I have all kinds of love for this book - and not just because Simon is a character who is so easy to love, but because it's real. It's so very real, and there is nothing that perverts the relationships between peer, parents, children and paramours here - there is only open honesty and something that many people can relate to - love.

I take a sip of my beer, and it's - I mean, it's just astonishingly disgusting. I don't think I was expecting it to taste like ice cream, but holy fucking hell. People lie and get fake IDs and sneak into bars, and for this? I honestly think I'd rather make out with Bieber. The dog. Or Justin.




There were so many moments in this book that made me remember what it was like being a teenager (ok yeah, it's been a while now) and how I felt about certain things. The first time I had beer being the big one - I'm with you Simon, that stuff is disgusting! I thought it the first time I tasted it, and I still think it many years later. I think that's part of the charm, that no matter how much time passes, things don't really change that much.

There are so many social issues in here to deal with that I think it's beautiful how Becky Albertalli married it all into Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. There wasn't anything like this when I was younger and dealing with issues - there wasn't anything like this and that's the saddest part, because with something positive to read I might have internalized the it does get better and there are reasons to believe motto rather than the it will never be better for you and this is all you deserve in life, to be be unhappy motto that put me in therapy many, many years later. It doesn't matter if you're a teen who's questioning your sexuality, the nerd they make fun of, or the one who didn't quite fit in and couldn't seem to make themselves fit (like me) that they tortured both in school and online, there is something here for you. There's a positive message for you, and I think that's key.

A full 5 stars for this one, I'll be reading The Upside of Unrequited soon because of how wonderful this one was. I can't recommend Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda enough!

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