Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a 2015 young adult novel and the debut book of American author Becky Albertalli. It belongs to the coming-of-age genre and follows Simon Spier, a sixteen-year-old gay high school student who has not yet come out and lives in a suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. The book appeared at a time when young adult fiction with LGBT characters was beginning to gain visibility in the American market, and its success soon made it a reference point for the genre.

The story revolves around an epistolary relationship. For months, Simon has been exchanging emails with a schoolmate he knows only as "Blue", a secret that no one around him is aware of. When a classmate, Martin, discovers the messages, he blackmails Simon: unless Simon helps him get close to Abby, one of Simon's friends, the emails will be made public, exposing both Simon's privacy and that of his correspondent. The protagonist is thus forced to confront a situation that pushes him well beyond his comfort zone, under pressure from his friends, his family, and the risk of losing the person with whom he has built an intimate and enigmatic bond.

The title parodies the phrase "homosexual agenda", a derogatory expression commonly used by opponents of gay rights in the United States. In the novel, Simon and his email correspondent joke about a "Homo Sapiens Agenda" that applies to everyone regardless of sexuality: the obligation, for everyone, to come out about who they really are.

Critics praised the sensitivity with which Albertalli portrays friendship and self-acceptance, as well as her credible characters and high school setting. The novel won the William C. Morris Award from the American Library Association, an annual honor for young adult literature, and the German Youth Literature Prize. It was also longlisted for the National Book Award and named by the Wall Street Journal among the best young adult novels of 2015.

Its influence has been considerable. In 2018 the film adaptation Love, Simon, directed by Greg Berlanti and starring Nick Robinson, was released to positive critical and commercial reception. Albertalli later wrote a sequel centred on the character Leah, Leah on the Offbeat, and an epilogue, Love Creekwood. The book has also been controversial: in several American states it was removed from school libraries, and in Spain its presence in high schools in Castellón sparked debate in 2021.