Reviewing the book that inspired the upcoming movie “Love Simon”

Have you seen the book Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Abertalli on YouTube? Probably not. Have you heard or seen ads for the new movie, Love, Simon? Probably. Well, the two different titles are actually the same story of an in-the-closet teenager named Simon. You still have time to read the book before the movie comes out (no pun intended) on March 16.

The story involves a teen that is gay, but hasn’t told anyone except another homosexual guy over email, whose name is Blue. They both use code names over email to hide their true identities. Simon goes by Jacques and the mysterious guy is, well, Blue. The reader, along with Simon, is trying to figure out who Blue is throughout the story. If you haven’t figured it out yet, there are hints of love between the two. However, at the beginning of the book, Simon gets countered by someone that is going to blackmail Simon with his secret.

The love exchanges are all through emails, which is refreshing to see. This form of communication is becoming more prevalent in young adult (YA) fiction. The chapters in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens alternate between emails between the two lovers and Simon’s real world away from his computer. In his real world, he hangs out with his friends, practices for a production of “Oliver,” tries to keep the blackmailer at bay, and makes Harry Potter references.

Simon is also a very relatable character. Often times in YA fiction, the protagonist is either super popular or on the other end of the spectrum. Simon is kind of in the middle, which is interesting to see.

Although the book deals with the serious issue of blackmailing, it will also make you laugh. Even if you think romance isn’t your style, I guarantee you will like this book. The book is about so much more than just love. It deals with relevant social issues and many others things relatable to teenagers.

The title shows that being straight doesn’t have to be the default.

If you are still not sold on reading Simon’s story, at least get together with some friends and go see the movie when it hits theatres on March 16th.

However, if you do want to read the book, it can be found in the THS Library, the Mount Hermon branch library, and available for purchase at Target.