Annotation #5: Young Adult

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

by Becky Albertalli 

Release Date: April 7th, 2015

Genre

Young Adult

Appeals of the Book

• Authentic Characters

• Issue Oriented 

• Well-Written

Synopsis

Simon Spier is a normal teen who loves to be with friends, likes to be aware of all the drama happening at his school, and he has a really cool, funny family. However, he has one major secret. Simon is gay, and he’s not ashamed of it. He hasn’t told anyone yet, but he has his reasons. One day he does open up to another gay person he met online, who anonymously goes by the name of Blue. Simon feels like he can be himself when he emails Blue. But one day someone from school discovers Simon’s secret correspondences and blackmails him. Simon must do all he can to make sure his secret is not released to the world.

Characteristics That Fit Into Young Adult

• Main characters are teens and it is centered on them.
• Contemporary setting and time period. Part of the setting takes place at the main character’s high school. Modern references to video games, technology, and music.
• Teen angst situations.
• Teen lifestyle presented, such as the typical teen party with drinking is mentioned, hanging out after school, dealing with and gossiping about school drama. 
• Deals with realistic social issues such as LGTBQ relations.
• Mood ranges from humorous to dark.

Read-A-Likes

Anything Could Happen by Will Walton*

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green*

Read Me Like a Book by Liz Kessler*

At the Edge of the Universe by Shaun David Hutchinson**

The Inside of Out by Jenn Marie Thorne**

* Recommended by NoveList

** Recommended by Kirkus Review

Prompt Response Week 13

I want to start by saying that I love YA books. I love reading them for two reasons. One reason is because I am now a Youth Librarian, I want to read as many YA books as possible so I can do better RA for teens. The second reason is because there are many great YA books out there. If you love a particular genre, the main difference between and adult version of that genre and the teen version, in my opinion, is the age of the character, as well as content.

Graphic novels are great because in addition to reading, you get to look at the art presented in it. The experience of a graphic novel involves both the illustrations and text, which has inspired many teens at my library to want to do art. The same influence can happen on an adult. Graphic novels are generally short and sweet, and many are part of a series. If teens rather read this than traditional literature, then fine. If adults want to read this, I am for that, too. Some classic literature are in graphic novel format, as well as graphic novels on historical people and events, so if teens rather read that then who am I to stop them?

As librarians, we should encourage people to read. We already do not censor people from accessing information, so we should always be open and ready to help adults find whatever they want, even if that includes teen titles. Perhaps adults looking for teen novels are parents who want to see what kind of content is in books to see if their teen is ready to read it. One way I hope to allow adults to not feel weird while browsing teen titles is when my library undergoes renovation in the next few years, I want the teens to have their own enclosed hangout space, but have the teen titles outside of their space. This way, adults do not feel like they are intruding or feel awkward. If adults still feel awkward, I would approach them and help them like normal. I don’t want to give them an impression that I think it’s weird they are looking for teen books.

I personally love reading realistic YA fiction. I want to know what books are certain social issues are out there so that I can recommend them to teens who are in need of it. I also love reading graphic novels. Sometimes you need a quick read.