One of the fantastic things about reading is that it lets you live many stories. And here’s the story of Simon, which can be lived, felt, seen from the inside. It’s almost as living — first-hand — through the considerations and problems carried by gay teenagers — many of which I was unaware of. For this alone, ‘Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda’ is an important book, not just a delight into a new life, but in that it gives you some empathy and makes the world a more considerate place.

And it’s not just about being gay, it’s also about being young and in love. It this takes me back to being a high school student again. The flirts (often in vanity), the search for friends (and the frustrations to be left out), and the vastly different personalities of classmates (somehow exaggerated in the high school environment). And then there the online and email conversations I had with totally random strangers — just like Simon — and the real feelings you can derive from those. These emails are a nice and very true addition to the book.

Two notes; I’m not sure whether Simon matures or I got used to his quirks, but I started to like him (and the book) more when I got further into it. And I want to say; A big thumbs down for putting the sticker with a photo of the movie protagonist on the cover. This shows no love for books at all. Leave me to my own imagination please.