Book Review: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

〰️

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda 〰️

This book is just so wholesome and adorable and filled with cute moments that made me actually laugh out loud. As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, I found it extremely relatable. I thankfully never experience any homophobia with my family and friends, so I can't relate to those aspects, but I can for sure relate to the nerves of coming out for the first time. And the second. And every time after that. (Because sadly coming out is never a one and done thing).

The emails between Simon and Blue were just too cute. I had a similar relationship with someone at that age so it was all very realistic to me. The dialogue in both emails and spoken was great.

I do feel like Nick could have had a bigger role, however. He wasn't in the story much other than to be the straight love interest to a secondary character. I think he was mentioned more than actually present in the story. I would have loved to see Simon hang out with his friends more. He talks about them a lot but he mostly pines over Blue.

Overall, this is a great debut by Albertalli. I've read her later books and love those, and when I realized I haven't read her earlier works (or seen the movie!) I knew I had to get on that. It didn't disappoint.

If you love a cute YA romance with witty banter and a coming out story, this is a great book for you. And if you really loved it, they made a movie! Love, Simon. (I'm glad they made the title shorter because this one was a mouthful). I haven't seen the movie (yet!) but I will soon!

Book Review: Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Before I begin, is it just me, or did Leah gain weight since the first book, and I didn't notice? Like, maybe I missed it in Simon's book, but I had no idea she was a plus-size character. I love the body representation; I just must not have noticed that in her character description cause when I was reading this book, I was a bit thrown off by her being a bigger girl. But she owns it, and I love that.

Anyway, that aside, I loved this book. I love a good sapphic romance. Also, I love the bi representation. We need more of that in media, I think.

Leah did come off a bit too teen antsy for me, but that's her character, so Albertalli nailed that. I would have liked to see her do a bit of the nerdy stuff she's always telling us about than just, well, telling us she's into nerdy things. My inner nerd needs it. But still, I enjoyed reading her much more than Molly in book two. She felt more fleshed out as a character.

One nitpick I will say, however, is that Leah telling Abby she can't be a little bi and that she has to label herself properly irked me. It's Abby's choice on how she wants to be labelled. If Abby is only 5% into girls and 95% into guys, she's still bi. No one should tell you how you identify.

That being said, this was a cute read and a worthy sequel to Love, Simon. It was nice to see the OG cast again, and fun to read little cameo's to characters in the second book. This book was a much better fit for the Simonverse than book two. (Which, it being a sequel and featuring the main cast again, wasn't hard to do).

Book Review: Here's to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

Here's to Us

〰️

Here's to Us 〰️

That ending!!!

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself.

Here's to Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

This was the perfect sequel to a fantastic LGBT+ novel. We need more diverse books like these in the world. I'm sure they exist, but I have yet to find them. I'll be on the lookout, that's for sure.

I will admit, having most of the book with Arthur being with Mikey and Ben sorta with Mario, I was worried about how the authors would get these two back together. It was bound to happen given that the perspective was both of Ben and Arthur. I'm so glad the authors found the perfect way to have them meet-cute all over again and get back together.

This book had me going for all the feels. With Dylan and Samantha's secret life, to the will-they-won't-they of pretty much every couple, to that OMG ENDING! And how Ben proposed to Arthur!?! It was so cute!!!. I loved it from start to finish.

The only thing I didn't entirely like (and in book one, but I failed to mention that in my review of it) was that sometimes it was hard to tell who was talking. But other than that, I don't have anything negative to say about this book. Or the first one.

If you want to read a good love story where there isn't any doom and gloom (like most of the stories I read) this is the book for you. I mean you could technically count breakups as doom and gloom, but I'm not in this case. This duology is a breath of fresh air. Anyone in the LGBT+ community (or anyone in general really) would enjoy these books and I highly recommend them.

Book review: Wilder Girls by Rory Power

"Something". The unique first word/sentence of this novel certainly sums up the book. It certainly was "something". A great something at that.

I congratulate Power on her first novel being so, well, powerful. Love all the girl power, strong friendships, and especially the LGBT+ representation. I also enjoyed the uniqueness of the Tox and world in which we are thrown immediately into. Right from the start, the Tox had already been around for a while and we see the girls living the only life they now know how. Just people trying to survive.

I love how brutal this whole book can be, and I'm not just talking about the Tox. The girls of Raxter held together so well, but when all hell breaks loose, humanity's dark side rears its ugly head and shows us how we really are in the wake of a situation such as this. (Such as murders and secrets and the likes).

Wilder Girls by Rory Power

I also applaud Power for her writing style, especially during Byatt's POV. The way it was written, like a person in and out of consciousness and out of their mind, really made me feel like I was in Byatt's head. And I love how Hetty's POV is also written just like someone's thoughts. Short sentences, repeated words. It just all worked so well.

These characters have been through so much before the book even started. And then to have everything happen in a week or so is insane. I just wish we knew the true fate of Hetty, Byatt, and Reese. I'm sure Power's left it open for interpretation on purpose but I'm someone who just wants all the answers. I just hope they are okay and are able to survive. They all had incredibly hard choices to get to where the book ended and I just hope it all worked out for them. A bittersweet ending indeed.

All in all, I could barely put this book down. The Tox is such an interesting thing to read about and I loved seeing how the characters reacted to it. Had me on the edge of my seat (couch) the whole time. I highly recommend it.