Image: Love, Simon: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, Balzer + Bray (2015). Cover design by ? Photograph of audiobook taken by me. Image used by on this blog under the “Fair dealing for criticism or review” provision of the Commonwealth Copyright Act, 1968.
I don’t know why I see some books around for years and then finally decide to actually read them, only to discover that they’re really good and I should have read them ages ago. I should stop that.
The novel opens with a scene of Simon being low key blackmailed by a classmate called Martin, who has taken screenshots of Simon’s anonymous email correspondence with ‘Blue’, another (also anonymous) gay kid at their school. Martin wants Simon to help him get close to his crush: Simon’s friend Abby. This might sound a bit dark, but Simon is a very witty narrator, so it’s kept light, despite the ethical dilemmas.
Simon has a pretty cool family, but he lives in a conservative part of the U.S. and he’s not out. Against a backdrop of school life, family & friendship dramas and Oliver! rehearsals, his emails with Blue continue and his feelings for this unknown boy deepen. Who is Blue? Will Simon ever find out?
I very much enjoyed this witty and sweary book. It becomes very tender and I was very invested in Simon’s life and the whole question of Blue. I did some totally unnecessary housework (dusting pot plant leaves?!?) so I could have an excuse to keep listening to it. I was also a bit annoyed when family members wanted to actually speak to me and so I had to pause the audio.
Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (original title); Love, Simon (new title)
Author: Becky Albertalli
Cover design: ?
First published: Balzer + Bray, 2015
Audio: narrated by Michael Crouch, Penguin
Film: Love, Simon (2018)
Awards: The William C. Morris YA Debut Award 2015, long listed for the National Book Award (YA) 2015
Genre: YA, coming of age, romance
Representation: LGBTQIA+ (main character), BIPOC (supporting characters)
Suitability: years 9-12
Fyi: outing, homophobic incidents, lots of swearing, a few sexual references
Themes: coming of age, sexual identity, coming out, love, family, friendship, school
Literary features: witty first person narrative, well drawn characters, significant epistolary (email) sections, intertextuality
NSW syllabus: genre study (romance, coming of age); wide reading
If you like this, try: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE LIBRARY... 
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