The Skinny
(aka Back of the Book Summary in a Sentence)
Sixteen-year-old Simon is about to be pushed out of the closet, so he needs to find a way to come out on his own terms before his secret is revealed.
Nutritional Value
(aka What’s Good)
Simon is already blackmailed by his classmate Martin during the first couple of pages. That makes for quick and efficient pacing to the story. Albertalli just dives into the action like an athlete diving into the pool at the Summer Olympics. And she does it in a way where the reader still gets enough background information so the action makes sense.
Freezer Burn
(aka What’s Bad)
There was a lot of product placement and pop culture references in this chapter. People reading this a few decades from now might get confused. Like when a book written in the nineties mentions pagers, kids today have no idea what that is.
Here’s a list of those references I’m talking about: Gmail, Facebook, Tumblr, Tegan and Sara, iPod, a video game with assassins and Templars which I’m pretty sure is Assassin’s Creed Rogue since I play too many video games myself, Chick-fil-A, Oreo, and Harry Potter. I’m pretty sure a lot of this stuff will be around for a long while, but I was also pretty sure Myspace would stay popular. So…
Lingering Aftertaste
(aka My Prediction)
I’m pretty sure Simon is going to go along with Martin’s blackmail for a good chunk of the book so he can protect his anonymous emailing buddy, Blue. I can’t even start to guess the secret identity of Blue since I’ve only been introduced to four characters so far. But I’m almost certain that the big reveal won’t happen until the last fifteen percent of the book. Blue’s identity is the big mystery of the book, and Albertalli probably wants to keep the mystery alive for as long as possible.
Taste Test Verdict
(aka Would I Read More?)
I definitely want another scoop of this, mostly because I’m curious who Blue is. But if I don’t end up reading this book, I can rest assured that I’ll still find out Blue’s identity when the movie adaptation comes out.
Memorable Morsel
(aka Quotable Quote)
There’s a Chick-fil-A really close to my house. I love their breakfast biscuits. This is unfortunate. Bye-bye, breakfast biscuits.
I actually haven’t been to Chick-fil-A for a while. My sister heard they donate money to screw over gay people, and I guess it started to feel weird eating there.
How do you guys feel about product placement and pop culture references in books? Sound off in the comments below!
Get Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
Gwen thinks that it’s as close to magic as humans can get when a blank Word document is filled with groups of letters, and those groups of letters turn into lines, and those lines turn into a whole new world.
When Gwen isn’t reading or writing, she’s drinking boba milk tea and singing along to Steven Universe. You should sing along with her.
One Reply to “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli Chapter Review”