Book Review : Simon vs the Homosapien Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Ahh!! The book that gave me jitters and creepers. So, this one was on my Amazon wish-list for real long time and I had finally received not one but two copies of this book as my Secret Santa gift. To be honest, I never knew there was a movie coming out based on this book but found out almost a few days later. The book talks about the sensitive issue of coming out for a closeted individual and brings out a question that we need to answer? Do Straights ever have to come out too?

Blurb (From Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My take on the book:

So, I'm digressing a bit here from my usual style of review because I need to talk a bit in detail about this book. For a closeted individual, it is always a dilemma when and how to come out. The book talks about some deep questions such as "Why is straight the default? Everyone should have to declare one way or another, and it shouldn't be this big awkward thing whether you're straight, gay, bi, or whatever. I'm just saying." The sensitive topic has been handled throughout the book in such a way that you just cannot stop thinking about it even after the book ends.

Another thing that I found interesting with the book was the characters were in their prime teen and hence this book will surely aid the younger generation in understanding themselves well. The characters were so relatable to today's times that you will surely have a smile at references to Harry Potter, Hunger Games, Star Wars etc. 

To people who are looking to understand more on LGBT life of people who are still in their teens, go for it. To those who want a cute romantic book, go for it. To those who wants a book that would make them think and ponder on the world today, go for it. Also, this book is for those who just wants to read a book that's interesting and fun.

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 1/2 out of 5 (It does get a bit of a drag in some places)

Book in Three Words: Deep. Beautiful. Fun.