Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (April 2015)
303 pages
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: The library.
Purchase: Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository | Amazon
My Rating:

Goodreads 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.

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My Review

There was a lot of hype surrounding this book and a whole lot of people mentioning Oreos as well. I just HAD to read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda for myself. I am so very delighted to say that I liked it. I liked it a lot. Since I had a lot of reactions (laughing, smiling, swooning, anger, etc.) while reading I did goodreads updates along the way. So that is how I will share my feels with you for this review. (I did have a few mishaps while trying to do updates from my phone which is why the first one is blank and the last one that said I finished apparently isn't on there.)

The Bottom Line: Although I am only giving this book 4 stars, I enjoyed it immensely. I do think all the hype surrounding the book may have made me set the bar a little too high for Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and that is why I didn't give it five stars. But the writing was fantastic, Simon was memorable, and it was full of cuteness and realness. You should probably take the time to read it. ;)

Review: The Boy Recession by: Flynn Meaney

The Boy Recession by: Flynn Meaney (2012)

Publisher: Poppy, Little Brown and Company

246 pages

Genre: YA/Romance

Purchase: Barnes and Noble | The Book Depository

Goodreads Summary: The population of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, is shrinking as families move to cities and towns with greener pastures, and the local high school is hurting: nearly all of the area's most eligible guys have moved or transferred schools.

With little competition, the remaining boys find their stocks on the rise, and even the most unlikely candidates have a good chance at making the team and getting the girl. Guitar-strumming slacker HUNTER FAHRENBACH has made an art of blending into the background, but now desperate coaches are recruiting him and popular girls are noticing his scruffy good looks. With a little help, Hunter might even by boyfriend material...

Down-to-earth KELLY ROBBINS has a simple wish for her junior year: "one normal, nice boy to crush on." Kelly and Hunter have always been friends, but is there something more to their platonic relationship? And can Kelly overcome the odds? After all, dating is hard enough without a four-to-one ratio.

My Review

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a winner! If you are looking for an easy quick read that has an adorable plot with likeable characters then The Boy Recession is the perfect choice for you. There is a boy recession in the small town of Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin, and it starts to show when things get a little crazy at the local high school. All the while Kelly and Hunter are just trying to navigate through the boy recession while staying sane.

This is a laugh out loud novel that had people giving me strange looks when I would let a giggle out or started chuckling louder than reasonable when other people were around. Meaney knows how to write the perfect cute silly novel. If I have yet to convince you to read this book here are some of my favorite quotes.

“Now I know what the flirtation is about: my voice. I’m like a dude version of one of those sirens from The Odyssey, which we got assigned sophomore year.’ – Hunter, pg. 119 

“I take the planner and flip through the pages. There’s already stuff written on a bunch of the days. Christmas, Hanukkah, daylight saving time, Canadian Thanksgiving…ugh. I can’t handle all of these commitments.” – Hunter, pg. 156

The characters in The Boy Recession are ridiculous, in a good way. Hunter is my favorite character (I mean just read the above quotes). Not only do the readers get some nice character development with Hunter, we also get a lot of laughs. He was a little annoying at first with is over use of the word dude, but in the end he was endearing in every sense of the word. He is a pretty cool guy and I can see why Kelly is friends with him. Speaking of Kelly, she is a cute nice girl with a good head on her shoulders. I liked her just fine, but there wasn’t anything overly special about her and there wasn't a lot of character development with her either, but it worked out with the type of book that this is and didn't really bother me. Kelly’s close friends Aviva and Darcy on the other hand were really great additions to the story. 

To put is simply, the plot is cute, the characters are humorous, the setting is fun, the writing is done well, and The Boy Recession pretty much just rocks. This would be a perfect book to read if you are looking for an escape from the real world, a good laugh, or just a quick read. So buy it already! Seriously, you can pre-order a paperback copy on The Book Depository for only $6.75 right now. What a deal! I got this book from the library, but I’m going to purchase it so I can read it again when I need a light fun read.

Just so you know, this isn’t a complex deep thinking book. I’m sure you have figured that out by know, but I wanted you to know before you read it so you are not disappointed.

 Oh, and I almost forgot... I love the cover!

RATING 5/5