Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Not as good as I was expecting.

I think this book is probably a victim of too much hype as far as I’m concerned. It’s a book that’s been on my want to read list pretty much since the second it was released and my need to read grew with every fantastic review I saw of it. It’s safe to say then that my hopes were excessively high. Possibly so high that there wasn’t a hope that this book could live up to it and unfortunately it didn’t.

It’s an enjoyable read and there is a lot to like about it. It’s quite sweet, funny, sad in places and very well thought out. It was just missing that spark for me that would have taken it from a good book to a great book.

The main problem for me was probably the characters. They were likeable enough but there just wasn’t anyone I could really relate to or get invested in. Simon I found to be a little bit on the annoying and whingey side which is never a good thing. I know he was going through a bit of a rough time but it’s hard to feel sorry for someone who has so many great friends and a very supportive family.

The highlight of the book was probably the emails between Simon and Blue but even then they felt a little on the light side.

Overall it’s a good read but I’ve read other similar books that do it better.

Synopsis (from GoodReads)

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 Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. 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.