Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Title: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli

Initial Thoughts: Good read. Really fast.

I started it, and then I had a really hard time putting it down. Like, I was up a couple hours later than I meant to be when I knew I had to get up for work early the next day. So, I ended up actually going to sleep around 3 a.m. and getting up at 7 a.m. Yeah, that's how I roll. I'm a night owl and a bookworm. It was definitely an enjoyable book. I believe I've said it before, but I am a hopeless romantic so the whole emails-with-Blue thing was really cute. Honestly, my very early guess was that it was going to turn out to be Nick (I decided that the longing looks at pretty girls were a cover-up) but that was squashed at the Halloween party because he was there and Blue wasn't. I had Bram pegged about a third of the way in and was almost certain of it because initials. I didn't remember at that point if they had said his last name earlier in the book, but I was like, "His last name must start with a G." bluegreen = B.G. = Bram Greenfeld. So, yeah, I called that one. (Honestly, it probably wasn't really all that hard to do, I just like to make myself feel good by getting to claim that I figured something out before it was officially revealed.) I like them together, they're super cute. Like, I like imagining that they do cute couples things together. Like, maybe Simon actually goes to the Homecoming dance next year because he just wants the excuse to see Bram dressed in a tux and to dance with him. I'm not sure what I personally think of double dates, but they could double date with Nick and Abby if they wanted. And Bram starts hanging out at Simon's house a lot. And joins their little group of Simon, Nick, Abby, and Leah. And Bram introducing Simon to his mom. And his dad. Etc. Just cutesy couples things. (I did say I'm a hopeless romantic, right?) Ooh! Couples Halloween costumes! Lol. Making each other mixed CDs. Definitely going to a concert together. I should stop. I totally felt sorry for Simon at the one point where Leah was made at him and Abby was annoyed and Blue wasn't emailing and since Nick was dating Abby he wasn't around either so poor Simon was kind of left all alone for a time and that would suck. And what Martin did was absolutely terrible, but I liked in his explanation email that he said how Simon actually has a lot of friends and is really lucky. Like, we don't always realize how blessed we are by the people around us. Yeah, he has a select group of best friends, but he gets along well with a lot of their friends and other people as well. There are a lot of people around him who enjoy his company. We tend to be so focused on our select best friends that we miss the people in the periphery. Like, when I make plans, I invite by close friend-group, but I'm also surrounded by coworkers and church family, and others, who, while I'm not super close to them, do accept me for who I am and would be great to get to know better. Martin doesn't seem like he has any close friends, and he probably has a hard time getting close to anyone, but there are a lot of kids at his school who know him and like him and if he really needed to talk or get away or something, at least a few of them would be there for him. I don't think he realizes this. He just sees the lack of best friends in his immediate vicinity and completely misses the opportunities surrounding him. Like, when he just tried hanging out with Abby and Simon, they could have become pretty good friends and it was definitely going in that direction (if only he hadn't blackmailed Simon). He couldn't see the forest for the trees, I guess. How many missed opportunities because he only focused on what he lacked rather than trying to build something new? I'm not sure if that totally made sense. I think I wandered away from my original point, but anyway, I enjoyed the book and the characters. I felt bad for Leah too because I know how she felt. Like, your friends are telling each other secrets and going off to do things but leaving you behind. It's not that they didn't like her, or want her along, but sometimes it's just easier to leave someone behind when you know that it's not really their thing. I know what it is to be left out, and I'm sure I've made plans and left other people out before. Life is hard. We need to learn to let the hurts slide off or confront them. All the reading I've done, one of the most important lessons I've learned is that communication is key. People aren't going to know what you're feeling unless you tell them. Sometimes they just don't realize what they're doing and they need someone to point it out. If you don't say anything, though, you can't blame someone else for not understanding you. If after you talk to them they continue to mistreat you, then it's on them and they're maybe someone that needs to be cut from your life. If they're a true friend, they just need help seeing the world the way you do. Okay, this got kind of ranty. I don't usually read contemporary so I don't usually get to get up on my soap box and talk about these issues because they are much more subtle if included in fantasy. I'm done now.

Rating: 4/5 (sorry, but while I may be a hopeless romantic, I tend to prefer longer stories and series so standalones get points off, just how I rate things) Good book. Thought provoking. May or may not read again someday.