Effortlessly Reading

DNF Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda – Becky Albertalli


simonvsthehomosapiensagendaSimon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Author: Becky Albertalli
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: April 7, 2015
Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Goodreads | Amazon | TBD

Summary:

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.

 
First Sentence: It’s a weirdly subtle conversation.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.

My Review:

It hurts my heart to say this, but I am officially DNFing Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Yes, I am well aware that this definitely makes me the black sheep, especially after seeing pages and pages of four stars and five stars for Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda on goodreads and on blogs, but I sadly just couldn’t do it anymore. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda wasn’t bad at all, but it just wasn’t the book for me.

After reading 180 pages, which is more than half the book and exactly twenty-one chapters, I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was hoping I’ll love Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda since everyone else absolutely LOVED it and wasn’t even worried that it was a contemporary book, which are mainly misses for me. I was that sure that I’ll love Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Simon also LOVES Oreos and I totally understand his Oreo love, so how could I have not enjoyed the book?

“I don’t know,” she says, smiling and shrugging. “You looked so sweet together tonight.”
“Me and Leah?” I ask. But I’m gay. GAY. Gaaaaaaaayyyyy. (ARC 52)

There was one main reason why: During those 180 pages I’ve read, I felt absolutely no connection to the book. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is mainly a character-driven book and character-driven books and I just don’t get along. I really enjoyed reading the first chapter, but from then on, I sadly didn’t care about the happenings in Simon’s life or his friends. Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda rarely dragged any emotions from me and when it did, it was just anger at the jerk who blackmailed Simon. i didn’t go all awww, what happened was so cute! and get overwhelmed with cuteness; I was just bored. After pages and pages of this, I finally decided to DNF Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda because I just couldn’t do it anymore.

A smart pet peeve I just have to mention: did anyone else get annoyed when Simon referred to Tumblr as “the Tumblr?” As far as I know, Tumblr is just Tumblr, not “the Tumblr.”

And then she sees me standing there listening and shoots me the stink-eye.
So here’s the thing: Simon means “the one who hears” and Spier means “the one who watches.” Which means I was basically destined to be nosy. (ARC 99-100)

I couldn’t help but skim the ending because I wanted to know who Blue was and I am happy to report that the ending was really cute. I’m sad that I couldn’t finish Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda without skipping right to the ending though. Who knows, maybe I’ll enjoy Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda more when I read it five years from now.

I’m also happy that Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is really diverse in more ways than one. Not only does Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda feature characters who are homosexual (kind of really obvious from the summary of the book), but it also features characters with different cultures. It’s really a shame I couldn’t enjoy Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda more with the amount of diversity it offers.

Overall, I understand why other people liked or even LOVED Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, but it sadly just wasn’t the book for me. Who knows, maybe you guys will like it!

-Kelly

Speak Your Mind

  2. Sorry to hear that you had to dnf it! But it happens. From reading those quotes, it doesn’t exactly sound like a kind of writing style I can enjoy. :( And I personally need a balance between character and plot driven. Character driven ones can be such a it or miss, because if you don’t like/can’t connect with the character, there’s basically nothing to redeem the book.
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  6. Aww, I personally really loved this one, but I can see where you stand. Sometimes you just don’t connect with the main character or characters, ya know? That’s okay!! And OMG. I saw that too. THE TUMBLR. What. That bothered me too, but not enough to dislike the book. And the ending was so so cute! Thanks for your honest thoughts, Kelly. <3

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  7. If you didn’t like this story, I’m pretty sure I probably won’t either. I can’t stand stories that drag or don’t give me something interesting and exciting to look forward to next. I force myself to finish those types of books if I accidentally read one, but if I can avoid them, I will. Either way, I’m glad I could know your honest thoughts about this book. Thank you Kelly! n_n

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  8. Aaack. Gorgeous review Kelly :) I’m so sorry you couldn’t finish this book sweetie :( I haven’t read it yet. But I also see so many loving it, and I had been planning on buying it, since I want to love it too.. but now I’m worried. It might not be for me either, lol :) See, that first quote you shared. Ugh. It annoys me. Not the writing I enjoy :\ But might still buy this one :) Will think on it. Anyway. I understand why you couldn’t read more of it :\ I’m sorry, though. <3
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  9. Well i am sorry to learn that you end up not enjoying this one Kelly…but i can totally understand not loving a book the everyone seems to love. I’ve been in that situation before,But i am still looking forward to this one. I haven’t read a lot of lgbt before so i’m keeping my fingers cross this one will end up a winner for me :)

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  10. I wasn’t even interested in this book but then I read a quote and it sounded interesting and I wanted to read it. I think your the first review I’ve seen that did not like this book. I definitely want to see what all the hype is about but it sucks when you go into a book expecting great things and you come out disappointed!
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Effortlessly Reading sometimes receives ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) from publishers or authors in exchange for honest reviews. Please note that no compensation of any kind has been provided in exchange for a review. Any use and/or duplication of my material without any permission is strictly prohibited.