Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertalli, is a realistic fiction novel. The book is about Simon Spier, a sophomore in high school, who is gay but not out. He hasn't told anyone except Blue, his secret pen pal. Neither Simon nor Blue know each other's real identities and correspond through emails. However, Simon forgets to log out of his email account on a school computer and his secret is threatened. Simon struggles with keeping his identity safe and protecting Blue's privacy while also dealing with the additional high-school drama that surrounds him.
Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is an enjoyable read. It's funny and somewhat relatable but many of the characters are reduced to one or two defining traits, including the main character. Several of the side characters are nothing except names and are extremely one-dimensional. Compared to other similar novels, Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda can come off as bland or unimaginative because it shares so many aspects with other novels of the genre. However, I enjoyed the book. It was fast paced and, since the characters were rather underdeveloped, it left a lot of room for imagination. The most attractive feature of Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, in my opinion, is that is relatable to readers that feel as if they are hiding a part of themselves or that they are alone and that the main theme of the book is self-acceptance and growth.