Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I liked the story. The plot could be broken up into 3 parts. The first part is someone blackmailing Simon about his emails with a guy and his sexuality. The second part is Simon's life along with his family and friends. The third part is the mystery of Blue, who's the person Simon has been emailing prior to the story. I thought that Simon was great. he was funny. smart. witty. He's into theater, video games, eating Oreos. His family was a joy to read about. I liked the dynamic they had with each other, their traditions were quirky. His friends were funny. There is a little love triangle thing that his friends have with each other that is unspoken. Nick likes Abby and Leah likes Nick. I liked all of his friends. Although, I felt bad for Leah throughout the book because they kept ditching her twice. Simon and Blue. Their relationship was adorable. I loved reading their emails. I had a few suspects of my own but leaned towards one of them more than the others. Turns out, I was right on who the person ended up being. I thought the ending was good, not great. It felt that it ended abruptly. Yes, they get together, but I don't know it seemed liked something was missing. Overall, I gave the book 4 stars. One thing I liked the most about the book was that Simon did not have sex. In fact, it's something that he talks about with Blue in one of their emails. I liked this aspect because it showed that not everyone does those things and that's okay. There are people who haven't kissed anyone or had sex at their age. I liked that it wasn't something that Simon was ashamed to admit or Blue either. It showed diversity in YA. There should be more representation of people who haven't had those experiences yet. Let's be honest, not everyone has been kissed or had sex in high school, Maybe, they did later on in life. The point is that it's okay if they had. It is their choice to make and that's what most important.

View all my reviews

Review: Solitaire

Solitaire by Alice Oseman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Solitaire has made the list as one of my favorite debuts of 2016. The characters are realistic and honest. Tori, Michel, Charlie, Nick, Becky, and Lucas are all characters who are flawed and brilliant. The main character Tori is relatable from the music she listens to and the movies she watched. Another thing I wanted to mention is the way mental illness is portrayed when it comes to Charlie, Tori's brother as well as Tori herself. Charlie suffers from anxiety and anorexia prior to the beginning of the book. By the time, the book starts he has it under more control. Tori, on the other hand suffers from depression throughout the entire book. The only people who notice is are Michel and Charlie. What I loved about this aspect of the book was that it wasn't something that just went away as soon as the girl met the guy that in common in books that deal with mental illness. This was not the case. For one thing, Tori's depression doesn't go away. She deals with it constantly, she has good days and she has bad days. It is an honest portrayal. I loved the friendship between Tori and Michel, and I was happy that this book has no romance in it. These were two characters who had formed a strong bond because they were two lonely people who were both angry at the world. One of my favorite scenes is when Michel and Tori are watching Beauty and The Beast at a party. It's a sweet scene because it's the first time that Michel is vulnerable around Tori. Charlie and Nick were great together. I loved their relationship, it was sweet. I loved this book and I can't wait to pick up Alice Oseman's second book, Radio Silence. I would recommend this book for fans of John Green, Perks of Being a Wallflower, and The Catcher in The Rye.


View all my reviews