In relation to genre, this book fits in perfectly with the books I normally read, but there is something different, special about it. Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli is about Simon, a sixteen year old closeted boy, who has an online penpal, another gay boy at his school. However, Simon is also simultaneously being blackmailed by a fellow classmate into convincing one of his bestfriends to go out with Martin, the classmate. The only catch is that the material being used against him is his sexuality and the emails he has been exchanging with Blue, his penpal. If he doesn’t go along with it, he could be outed to the entire school and lose the boy that he’s slowly starting to like more each day. Despite the seemingly sad plot, the book has good humour and a whirlwind of different emotions.

Albertalli switches perspective every other chapter. Chapter one is in the first person perspective of Simon, but chapter two are a few of his emails with Blue. This technique really helps to show two sides of Simon. In the chapters with emails, the reader sees Simon being flirty and happy but in the first person POV chapters, the reader sees how he interacts with his friends and how Martin’s actions are impacting his social life.

Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda has something for everyone and truly shows that in the diversity of the characters. Every character seems to be relatable in some way from Nick, the “jock”, Leah, the “outsider artist”, or Abby, the “new girl”, and of course Simon, the gay kid. Although all these characters seem to fall into stereotypes, they are much more well rounded than that, Nick is one of the nicest most understanding characters and Abby is one of the most popular girls in school. They simply do not fit the typical stereotype of a high school story, which makes it that much more appealing. This book captures the struggle of coming out, while also adding a humorous spin to the whole situation.