Description
Temporarily out of stock
Title: Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: ALBERTALLI BECKY
Format: PAPERBACK
Publication date: 25/03/2015
Imprint: PENGUIN
Price: $18.00
Publishing status: Active
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. And worse still, so will the privacy of ‘Blue’, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing.
With messy dynamics emerging in Simon’s once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s life suddenly becomes just a little complicated. Now 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.
School Library Journal (01/01/2015):
Gr 8 Up–Simon Speir, high school junior, walks away from his computer at school for just a moment, and that is when his biggest secret is discovered. He has been emailing a boy in his grade anonymously ever since a poetic waxing on his high school’s gossip Tumblr caught his eye, and now Martin Addison has taken a screenshot and has a powerful way to blackmail Simon into getting his friend, Abby, to date him. Although it is filled with trendy pop-culture and digital-age references (Tumblr, Justin Beiber, \”The Bachelor\”, etc.) that may not stand the test of time, the message will resonate. Rife with realistic, high school relationships and drama, with a laugh or two at every turn, this is a coming-of-age, coming-out, and defying-the-odds story with which many teens will identify. With a very tidy, feel-good ending, the book will appeal to readers who enjoyed Tim Federle’s \”Better Nate Than Ever\” (2013) and \”Five, Six, Seve, Nate!\” (2014, both S. & S.) and will find a familiar, slightly more mature home with Simon.–\”Brittany Staszak, St. Charles Public Library, IL\” Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Kirkus Reviews (02/01/2015):
A gay teen comes out to friends, family and classmates after his secret correspondence with another boy is discovered.Ever since he discovered a post about being gay on his school’s unofficial Tumblr, Simon has been corresponding with its author, an anonymous gay classmate who calls himself Blue. Their conversations, which readers see interspersed with prose chapters written from Simon’s point of view, are heartfelt, emotionally intimate and increasingly flirtatious-enabled, perhaps, by the fact that neither boy knows the other’s identity. Simon is impulsive, full of heart and not always as careful as he should be. When he leaves himself logged into Gmail at the school library, a boy named Martin reads Simon’s emails with Blue and uses the threat of outing Simon to insinuate himself into a relationship with one of Simon’s female friends. Simon’s social landscape is carefully and seemingly effortlessly drawn. Through light and often humorous detail, readers see clearly not only each individual character, but also the complex set of group dynamics at play in Simon’s loving family and circle of friends. While Simon is focused on Blue, other characters go on journeys of their own, and the author is careful not only to wrap up Simon’s story, but to draw attention to the stories the romance plot might overshadow in lesser hands. Funny, moving and emotionally wise. (Fiction. 12-18) COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Publishers Weekly (02/09/2015):
After a agoobery nerda named Martin discovers Georgia teen Simon Spieras secret email relationship with a boy who calls himself aBlue, a Martin blackmails Simon into helping him romance Abby, a new girl who has been welcomed into Simonas lunchroom clique. The threat of being outed by Martin forces Simon to come to terms with his sexuality, and his wise insightsa Why do only gay people have to come out? Why is that the default?a add heft to a plot that is both hilarious and heartbreaking. Debut novelist Albertalli writes believably in the voice of a confused, openhearted 16-year-old. The large cast of companionable and well-developed characters contains a heroic drama teacher and Simonas embarrassing but well-meaning parents. Page-turning tension comes from the anonymous quality of Simonas emails with Blue, which are interspersed with chapters written in Simonas first-person voice that chronicle Simonas increasing frustration with Blueas reluctance to divulge his identity, as well as the deepening nature of the boysa relationship. Blue may hesitate, but readers will fall madly in love with Simon. Ages 14a up. \”Agent: Brooks Sherman, Bent Agency. (Apr.)\” Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.
ISBN: 9780141356099
Pages: 300