A review by pucksandpaperbacks
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

5.0

Grab some oreos and a glass of milk because this book will have you craving these. Simon Spier is a sixteen, going on seventeen year old with a great group of friends (Abby, Leah and Nick), a cute Golden Retriever puppy called Bieber and cool, but creepy parents. Aside from that, he also has an internet friend called Blue. Simon and Blue met through an anonymous Tumblr post (adorable!) and now have an email relationship. They don't know each other, but they go to the same school. Throughout the story Blue and Simon are emailing about their good days, and bad days, interests and family drama. To not reveal themselves they have to keep their friends names and teachers, basically their school life a secret. The mystery in itself is... who is Blue? His is Cal? is he Marty? This is a very well told, realistic GLBT story. Simon's characterization is told in depth. I would describe Simon as cool, outgoing and a great friend. I think that he is the type of kid that you wouldn't suspect to be gay. I absolutely loved him. While reading, I felt as if I were friends with Simon and his gang. I was even tempted to listen to his favorite music. Simon's family is present a lot of the time and as the reader you are able to get to know them. This story is very relatable for teens that may be going through bullying because of their sexuality. I could not relate myself, but I could relate with friends experiences. The dialogue was humorous and light-hearted. I was smiling and feeling compassion for most characters. As any good story, there is always a character you tend to dislike and for me that was Leah, Leah is very moody and her jealousy tends to come out at the wrong times. She is basically a kill-joy. Overall, I rated this book a 5/5 because I enjoyed everything about it and I hope you do too! And seriously, get those oreos...