Now that our 2015-16 Heroic U classes are officially over, I have some time to catch up on some other great YA reading that I missed when teaching. So my first book of the summer was Simon Vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli. And what a great book to start my seasonal reading binge!
This book is all about teen love, particularly the gay-but-not-out-of-the-closet Simon Spier. Simon is falling for a guy at his school outside Atlanta, but doesn’t know who it is because they have only been emailing each other using anonymous accounts. But when Martin, one of Simon’s classmates, stumbles upon his secret, he wants Simon to help set him up with a popular cheerleader who is part of Simon’s crowd, or else Martin might “out” Simon at school. If Simon helps Martin out, he might be in hot water with Nick, one of his two oldest friends, who is also interested in Abby, the cheerleader. However, it might restore the equilibrium with his other oldest friend, Leah, who has fallen for Nick and would like someone else to take Abby out of circulation…
So, yeah, high school drama. But it is really well done. Most of these relationships are not the “grand statement” relationships you see in movies like Say Anything, but the kind of fumbling, “does he/she like me?” “is this what loves feels like?” beginning explorations that are much more typical of real life teenagers. Also, I appreciate how the author handles Simon’s concerns about his sexuality becoming public–he is clear about being gay but has not admitted it to his best friends or his family. Simon worries about coming out, but it isn’t presented as a big huge deal that will dramatically change his life forever. I think it is much more in line with today’s teenagers, at least in educated and fairly sophisticated communities like Cary, in which homosexuality and non-traditional gender identification is much more open and accepted than it was in high school years (so don’t get me started on HB 2 and how it does NOT represent the majority of beliefs in North Carolina).
Perhaps one reason all these characters and their relationship or identity issues is handled so deftly is because author Albertalli is also a clinical psychologist who counsels teenagers and was a co-leader of a support group for gender nonconforming children. So some of these important issues, like being gay or bi-racial or a minority in a majority culture, etc., are significant aspects of the characters without defining the characters. I love that these are parts of interesting, well-rounded, and believable teenage characters, rather than being the single lens through which these characters see the world.
I also really liked the dynamics with Simon’s family. Simon’s parents are reasonable, reasonable, and loving parents with a few quirks, like gathering the entire family to watch reality TV dating shows together and a tendency for his father to make gay jokes, unaware of how uncomfortable that makes his son. The family is trying to recalibrate itself now that Simon’s oldest sister is going to college up north. And I’m sure I’m not the only parent who could relate to how Simon doesn’t want to tell his parents certain things because, in their efforts to be supportive, they make such a BIG DEAL out of everything….
All in all, I think it is an honest and charitable story of high school life. Almost everyone in the book hurts, angers, or annoys at least one other character by doing something dumb. But the wrongdoing is generally motivated by cluelessness or self-centered thoughtlessness, rather than maliciousness or prejudice. But also everyone also has acts of courage, creativity, and caring. In the end, it does all come down to love. Whether it is love between two males or two females, or between a black person and a white person, or between friends and family members, or even, and perhaps most importantly, a person who can accept her-or-himself the way s/he really is….well, it’s all good.
This book is all about teen love, particularly the gay-but-not-out-of-the-closet Simon Spier. Simon is falling for a guy at his school outside Atlanta, but doesn’t know who it is because they have only been emailing each other using anonymous accounts. But when Martin, one of Simon’s classmates, stumbles upon his secret, he wants Simon to help set him up with a popular cheerleader who is part of Simon’s crowd, or else Martin might “out” Simon at school. If Simon helps Martin out, he might be in hot water with Nick, one of his two oldest friends, who is also interested in Abby, the cheerleader. However, it might restore the equilibrium with his other oldest friend, Leah, who has fallen for Nick and would like someone else to take Abby out of circulation…
So, yeah, high school drama. But it is really well done. Most of these relationships are not the “grand statement” relationships you see in movies like Say Anything, but the kind of fumbling, “does he/she like me?” “is this what loves feels like?” beginning explorations that are much more typical of real life teenagers. Also, I appreciate how the author handles Simon’s concerns about his sexuality becoming public–he is clear about being gay but has not admitted it to his best friends or his family. Simon worries about coming out, but it isn’t presented as a big huge deal that will dramatically change his life forever. I think it is much more in line with today’s teenagers, at least in educated and fairly sophisticated communities like Cary, in which homosexuality and non-traditional gender identification is much more open and accepted than it was in high school years (so don’t get me started on HB 2 and how it does NOT represent the majority of beliefs in North Carolina).
Perhaps one reason all these characters and their relationship or identity issues is handled so deftly is because author Albertalli is also a clinical psychologist who counsels teenagers and was a co-leader of a support group for gender nonconforming children. So some of these important issues, like being gay or bi-racial or a minority in a majority culture, etc., are significant aspects of the characters without defining the characters. I love that these are parts of interesting, well-rounded, and believable teenage characters, rather than being the single lens through which these characters see the world.
I also really liked the dynamics with Simon’s family. Simon’s parents are reasonable, reasonable, and loving parents with a few quirks, like gathering the entire family to watch reality TV dating shows together and a tendency for his father to make gay jokes, unaware of how uncomfortable that makes his son. The family is trying to recalibrate itself now that Simon’s oldest sister is going to college up north. And I’m sure I’m not the only parent who could relate to how Simon doesn’t want to tell his parents certain things because, in their efforts to be supportive, they make such a BIG DEAL out of everything….
All in all, I think it is an honest and charitable story of high school life. Almost everyone in the book hurts, angers, or annoys at least one other character by doing something dumb. But the wrongdoing is generally motivated by cluelessness or self-centered thoughtlessness, rather than maliciousness or prejudice. But also everyone also has acts of courage, creativity, and caring. In the end, it does all come down to love. Whether it is love between two males or two females, or between a black person and a white person, or between friends and family members, or even, and perhaps most importantly, a person who can accept her-or-himself the way s/he really is….well, it’s all good.