Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a young adult novel^[1] by Becky Albertalli.^[2] It is a coming-of-age novel.^[3] The book is based on the character Simon Spier.^[4] Becky Albertalli was inspired by Jaclyn Moriarty.^[5]

Plot

Simon is a 16-year-old gay teenager in the closet that enjoys acting in his school's theater and musical productions. Then he falls in love with the guy that he has been emailing anonymously. Their paths will cross but before that he crosses the path of the class clown, Martin, who blackmails him with those emails. Simon either has to aide Martin to get closer to the girl everyone wants, Abby, or have the emails get leaked.

Characters

Simon Spier- the 16-year-old gay protagonist who has yet to come out and is in an online relationship with a boy named "Blue". He goes by the pseudonym "Jacques," which is a reference to "Jacques a dit," meaning Simon Says in French. He loves Oreos and has a passion for Elliott Smith. He is fond of musical theater and participates in his school's productions, even though he gets bit parts. He plays "Fagin's boy" in their production of Oliver!

Blue- Blue is the boy Simon emails for 5 months. Simon met Blue on "creeksecrets", the school Tumblr page (referred to as the Tumblr) after Blue posted a very intuitive and relatable post about being gay. He is Jewish-Episcopalian, has divorced parents (his father is an English teacher, his mother an epidemiologist), likes superheroes, has excellent grammar, and is a very private person. Simon tells him everything, which is why it is hard to keep Martin's blackmail a secret. At first, Simon thinks Blue is Cal, but after sending him a series of questions pertaining to him, most of the answers sent back are "no". However, Blue finds out Simon's identity, so their emails become tense. At the end of the book, Simon finds out Blue's identity, Bram Greenfeld.

Nick Eisner- Simon's male best friend. He has known him since he was four. He has a crush on Abby and is a talented singer and guitarist. He is Jewish and plays soccer. Often times, he jumps into random philosophical moods, rambling existential monologues about his dreams and such. Simon finds this irresistible. His crush on Abby is quite obvious, with him switching seats to sit next to her at lunch and his "lingering, lovesick eyes." He becomes Abby's boyfriend at the end of the book.

Leah Burke- Simon's female best friend. She is described as very "deadpan" and sarcastic and is shown to bottle up her feelings. She is very insecure about her looks, often hiding her thighs and such, despite Simon's reassurances. She is in love with Nick and is quite hostile towards Abby due to her feeling that the latter "intruded" on their friend group. At the end of the novel, it is revealed Leah has been learning drums for two years and is part of a band called Emoji, in which Simon's sister is the guitarist, Taylor is on vocals, Anna is the bassist, and Morgan is on the keyboard.

Abby Suso- Simon's other female best friend, who moved from Washington DC at the beginning the year. They befriended due to alphabetical homeroom assignments. Abby is shown to be very pretty and very perky and very well liked, much to Leah's displeasure. She is involved in many committees, such as soccer, cheerleading and the musical (she plays the Artful Dodger). Simon comes out to her first, rising tensions between her and Leah. She is the love interest of Martin. She and Nick get together at the end of the book. She is a cousin of twin sisters Molly and Cassie Peskin-Suso, main characters on Albertalli's novel The Upside of Unrequited.

Martin Addison- the class clown. He has floppy brown hair, has a gay brother, and plays Fagin in the school production of 'Oliver'. He is shown to be a nerdy, entertaining, well-liked guy, with Simon referring to him as a sort of "mascot". However, his dark side is revealed when he blackmails Simon into pairing him up with Abby after he finds out that Simon is gay. Martin believes Abby likes Simon when he sees their platonic hug and impulsively discloses his sexuality on "creeksecrets," a Shady Creek Tumblr page. After Simon is the subject of some bullying, Martin shows extreme remorse for his actions, confronting him in the parking lot and sending him a heartfelt email. It's unknown whether Simon forgives Martin.

Cal Price- the stage manager of the school production. Simon had a crush on him. He is described as very cute, with "awesome bangs" and blue-green eyes and a Southern accent. Simon initially believes Cal is Blue until Simon sends Blue a series of questions pertaining to Cal, of which the majority of the answers are "no". Cal is revealed to be bisexual and to have interest in Simon.

Bram Greenfeld- a quiet kid who sits at Simon's lunch table. He plays soccer and is very smart. Simon thinks he's "actually kind of adorable," with "expressive brown eyes, light brown skin, soft dark curls and cute, knobbly hands,” and is "actually really funny inside his head," despite his shyness. Simon believes Bram likes Leah. In the end, Bram is revealed to be Blue.

Nora Spier- Simon's younger sister. She is a freshman. She has blond curls and is described to be "under the radar cool." She is not very assertive and seems to be subject to peer pressure. She taught herself guitar and is part of a band called Emoji with Leah, Taylor, and Anna.

Alice Spier- Simon's older sister. She is a freshman at Wesleyan University and has dirty blonde hair. Alice has a secret boyfriend named Theo for the beginning half of the novel, and she tells her family only after Simon encourages her after he comes out to them.

Mrs. Spier- Simon's mother. She is a child psychologist and seems to be very involved in Simon's life, much to his annoyance. She and Simon's dad are fans of The Bachelor.

Mr. Spier- Simon's father. He tries to be a "cool, hipster dad" and often tells jokes about gay people, much to Simon's discomfort. He is also "obsessed" with Simon's life, making a big deal about everything, which made it harder for Simon to come out to him and his mom.

Taylor Metternich- Simon's theater mate. She plays the lead, Oliver. She is skinny and has "super brushed blonde hair". Simon describes her as a "dark side of perfection." Taylor is very self-obsessed, often boasting about her talents and appearance. This both annoys and amuses Simon and his friends. Ironically, Taylor has a very strong reaction to Simon's bullying, almost slapping one of the boys. Taylor is the singer in the band Emoji.

Ms. Albright- Simon's "moderately badass" theater teacher. She has electric red hair and was furious about Simon's bullying, determined to put it to a stop.

Garrett- a soccer player who sits at Simon's lunch table. He is best friends with Bram and has a crush on Leah.

Anna- Simon's ex-girlfriend. She sits at his lunch table, wears black eyeliner and reads manga. She is the bassist in Emoji.

Morgan- Anna's best friend. Simon thinks they're interchangeable. She is the pianist in Emoji.

Peter- a college guy Simon picks up in a bar. He has very white teeth. In the film he is named Kevin.

Maddie- A student council girl.

Mr. Wise- Simon's English teacher.

Theo- Alice's boyfriend.

Film

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is an upcoming young adult movie based on the book by Becky Albertalli. It stars Nick Robinson in the title role along with Katherine Langford as Leah Burke. Filming started on March 21, 2017.^[6]

Sequel

There will be a sequel to Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda with Leah's point of view. ^[7]

References