Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Cover Art Courtesy of Goodreads

So, I finally got around to making this book a priority, and I'm SO glad I did. I chose to listen to the audiobook rather than read the text itself because I had heard amazing things about the narration, and I definitely made the right choice. Michael Crouch narrates this coming of age tale about a boy being blackmailed regarding his sexuality, falling in love with an anonymous classmate via email, and struggling with the typical family and friend dynamics that a teenager encounters. The entire time, I felt engaged and connected to the story, and I was so eager to learn what would happen next.

Simon was such a relatable character, even though I'm a straight female, simply because he was so down to earth and real. This story really showed not only the struggles that a typical teenager faces, but the ones that homosexual teenagers deal with on a daily basis that many of us will never understand. It really puts things into perspective about being kind to everyone, because you never know what they may be struggling with internally.

Simon's friends Abby, Leah, and Nick were great examples of how real friends should be, supportive yet hard when they need to be. And Blue, let's not even get started when it comes to Blue! Simon and Blue's emails were precious, and they made me feel all the warm fuzzies throughout the story. This was an easy read/listen with a really great message and a feel-good plot. I don't know why it took me so long to commit to this story, but now that I have I can see this being something that I will listen to, and even read, time and time again.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars