Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertall

Simon is being blackmailed by Martin, the class clown. It seems that Simon was indiscreet enough to email his virtual boyfriend, Blue, from the library computers and forgot to log out. Martin used the computers, read the emails and threatened to out Simon unless Simon extolled Martin’s virtues to Abby, Simon’s close friend. Since neither Simon nor Blue have come out, Simon feels trapped. The problem is that Abby likes Nick.

Meanwhile, all that Simon knows is that Blue goes to his school, so as he walks the halls, attends play practice, and eats lunch in the cafeteria, he’s trying to figure out who Blue is. It could be any one of a number of people, even Martin!

Throughout all of this, Simon must negotiate his junior year of high school, deal with his very strange family, and the ups and downs of friendships.

Although I read David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy ages ago, Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda brought that book into my mind. Simon lives in world with little homophobia. When Simon does come out to friends and family, it causes little ripples vs. tidal waves of emotion. It is giving nothing away to say that Simon’s and Blue’s meeting is a happy occasion…very romantic. It is the journey towards meeting and the mystery of who Blue actually is that is the fun of the book.

Becky Albertalli knows what she’s talking about with Simon. Among other jobs, she was a counselor for seven years to a support group for gender nonconforming children. Her understanding of the subject matter is evident. Her characters are fun and evoke emotions that all teenagers go through, regardless of gender identity.

It’s nice, every now and then, to read a gay/lesbian romance that merely deals with the trials and tribulations of the romance itself (which, in and of itself carries with it enough mine fields) and not necessarily the gender issues. If you’re looking for just a fun romance, try Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

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Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan

Stephen is invisible to everyone, the result of a curse placed by his maternal grandfather on his mother. He’s been living this way for all of his 16 years and has come to grips with the lifestyle. That is until one day when a new neighbor moves into his apartment building, two doors down. Elizabeth, struggling to unlock her door and not lose her packages fails at the task, dropping them on the floor. Turning to Stephen, she snarkily says something to the effect of “having fun watching me? how about helping?” Stunned, Stephen assists her, which sets off a romance and a quest.

The quest is “why can Elizabeth see him when no one else can?” The romance…oh, you can figure that out yourself. I’ve never read anything written by Andrea Cremer. David Levithan, however, has broken many literary barriers with his YA novels. Boy Meets Boy certainly is ground-breaking. Every Day posits the supposition that a person can wake up in another person’s body on a daily basis and live that person’s life as well as his/her own. Quite a fun read. And now, he and Ms. Cremer have introduced us to magic, spellcasters, cursecasters and spellseekers in Invisibility. (By not explaining these, I’m forcing you to read the book…which is my intention.)

The authors take you on an adventure with all the necessary ingredients: spells, death defying feats, etc. I was going to put the book down with 50 pages left, at 11:15 PM one night, but decided wisely to stay up until I finished it.

For those of you who identify with the loners of the world, there’s Stephen and Elizabeth. For those of you who identify with the “can-do, nothing can stop me” characters, there’s Elizabeth’s brother, Laurie, who’s had to overcome his own major trials. For those of you who want a character to hate, well, there’s one of those too…and plenty of characters to love.  For those of you who just want something fun to read, there’s Invisibility, which, trust me, will not be invisible in your library or bookstore. Actually, I’m thinking this book is going to fly off the shelves, so it may be invisible for a bit. So, maybe you just need your own copy. Whichever way you go, just make sure you read it.

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every day by david levithan

What a concept. Every day you wake up in someone else’s body the same age as you. You are you, but you must act like your ‘host’. Luckily you can access the memories of the person whose body you are inhabiting. What do you think of yourself as? A boy? A girl? An it? This has been A’s life for all his/her/its 16 years and he has gotten used to it. No family. No relationships. No ties. Well all that changed the minute, the second he saw Rhiannon. He knew she was the one…the one he wanted for more than 24 hours. But how do you explain your 24-hour life cycle to someone who can’t possibly understand it? How can you convince a ‘normal’ person that the relationship potential is there?

This is the concept of every day by david levithan. This is not a para-normal romance, thank goodness. It’s a book that makes you think about life, love, romance. Along the way A inhabits the bodies of kids who have drunk too much, who are depressed, who are heterosexuals, homosexuals, geeks, cool. It makes you think about sacrifice and the impact one decision can make.

If you are a guest in someone’s body for one day, would you attempt to change him/her or would you try to leave the person just as you found them? For a fun read with some thought provoking situations, read every day by david levithan.

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