Clare Reviews: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Title: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Series: No
Rating: 5/5
Description: Simon Spier is sixteen and trying to work out who he is - and what he's looking for. But when one of his emails to the very distracting Blue falls into the wrong hands, things get all kinds of complicated. Because for Simon, falling for Blue is a big deal.... It's a holy freaking huge awesome deal.

I honestly did not expect this book to affect me the way it did. There was so much hype and buzz around the book that I was honestly a little bit scared. I am constantly saying how much I want more LGBTQ+ representation in books, so what if when one came along – I hated it? Thankfully that was definitely not the case here. When I closed this book I had the biggest smile on my face, and it stayed there for a really long time. Right up until I picked up the next book on my TBR pile which just so happened to be... not so great.

Simon is honestly one of my favourite male protagonists, he was funny and flawed and everything I never knew I needed in a main character. And his emails to Blue, were sweet and interesting and one of my favourite parts. The characters in Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda are probably it’s greatest strength, all the characters were well developed and unique and had their own things going on outside of Simon, they did not exist purely to further his plot.

The plot itself was really well done - blackmail could have gotten dark or serious and this book never really went that route. Which I kind of loved. I am all for dark and twisty books but this book just works so well as a funny, moving, all around great book. This is the sort of book I have been waiting for and I am so, so glad I bent to the hype and gave it a chance.

I am writing this from a distance of about a week from finishing it (nobody procrastinates like I do!) and even now thinking about it I am smiling. It’s just that kind of book. It warmed me up and has definitely made it on to my list of favourite books of 2015. I can only hope there will be more from Becky Albertalli. And soon! 

I know this is a really short review and I'm sorry - we had a very busy (though fun) day out and saw Fantastic Four and Inside Out. Inside Out in particular was incredibly good and I definitely recommend you go see it if you haven't already - and on that entirely un-book-related topic - thank you for reading, let me know if you've read Simon and if you liked it and I would absolutely love any recommendations for books similar to this since this is absolutely what I'm in the mood for! 

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