Simon vs.the Homo Sapiens Agenda
To: hopelessromantics@gmail.com
From: ryleeboothsmc@blogspot.com
Date: March 21 8:33 PM
Subject: I should be...
... doing several other homework assignments, but I just HAD to finish Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli! And now I have to tell you all about it. I know you've been hearing a lot about the adolescent brain and other science-y things, but today's topic is love and the struggle of self-acceptance during adolescence.
Simon Spier is a typical high school junior, but with one big secret: no one knows he's gay. Simon meets Blue, an anonymous person, through the school's Tumblr page where people can post confessions or comments anonymously. Blue and Simon begin emailing back and forth as they discuss their feelings about coming out to their parents and friends.
Becky Albertelli explores the idea that being heterosexual is the norm and heterosexual people do not have to make a big deal about "coming out" to loved ones about being romantically interested in the opposite sex. Simon, on the other hand, has to worry about telling his friends and actually has to prevent someone, who he isn't really friends with, from revealing his secret to the whole school. Who doesn't love a good blackmailing story?!
There are SO many connections between this book and what we have been learning in Adolescent Development that it's so hard to pick what to write about! I think the most impactful connection is that love and acceptance drive adolescent's behavior. The Revel textbook discusses how adolescents need to feel that sense of belonging before they can progress, but once they feel it, they can achieve so much. Simon is the perfect example of this. Once he finds love and acceptance, he is able to flourish and become more confident in himself. He doesn't feel like he needs to hide who he is, and I think that is a very important concept for adolescents to grasp.
Another important connection throughout the book is the discussion of gay rights and sexual identity. Erik son emphasizes the difficulty with which adolescents develop a psychosocial identity for themselves and how crucial it is to do so. The notion that straight and white is the default is evident throughout the book as both Simon and Blue grapple with the repercussions of this norm. They challenge this idea in many ways and it is interesting to get another perspective while reading. I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll have to read and find out how Simon and Blue deal with being gay in a straight wold, and how they come to terms with it.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has just been made into a movie called "Love, Simon" and my PLC group is super excited to see it! We plan on writing another joint blog post like you saw from our coming of age ritual, and we are pumped to collaborate and bring you another shared piece! Well, now that I've updated you all on this wonderful book, it's time for me to finish my homework. I hope you get a chance to read this and I'll let you know how the movie is!
Here's the trailer for the movie to spark your interest!
Love,
Rylee
From: ryleeboothsmc@blogspot.com
Date: March 21 8:33 PM
Subject: I should be...
... doing several other homework assignments, but I just HAD to finish Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertelli! And now I have to tell you all about it. I know you've been hearing a lot about the adolescent brain and other science-y things, but today's topic is love and the struggle of self-acceptance during adolescence.
Simon Spier is a typical high school junior, but with one big secret: no one knows he's gay. Simon meets Blue, an anonymous person, through the school's Tumblr page where people can post confessions or comments anonymously. Blue and Simon begin emailing back and forth as they discuss their feelings about coming out to their parents and friends.
Becky Albertelli explores the idea that being heterosexual is the norm and heterosexual people do not have to make a big deal about "coming out" to loved ones about being romantically interested in the opposite sex. Simon, on the other hand, has to worry about telling his friends and actually has to prevent someone, who he isn't really friends with, from revealing his secret to the whole school. Who doesn't love a good blackmailing story?!
There are SO many connections between this book and what we have been learning in Adolescent Development that it's so hard to pick what to write about! I think the most impactful connection is that love and acceptance drive adolescent's behavior. The Revel textbook discusses how adolescents need to feel that sense of belonging before they can progress, but once they feel it, they can achieve so much. Simon is the perfect example of this. Once he finds love and acceptance, he is able to flourish and become more confident in himself. He doesn't feel like he needs to hide who he is, and I think that is a very important concept for adolescents to grasp.
Another important connection throughout the book is the discussion of gay rights and sexual identity. Erik son emphasizes the difficulty with which adolescents develop a psychosocial identity for themselves and how crucial it is to do so. The notion that straight and white is the default is evident throughout the book as both Simon and Blue grapple with the repercussions of this norm. They challenge this idea in many ways and it is interesting to get another perspective while reading. I don't want to spoil anything, so you'll have to read and find out how Simon and Blue deal with being gay in a straight wold, and how they come to terms with it.
Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda has just been made into a movie called "Love, Simon" and my PLC group is super excited to see it! We plan on writing another joint blog post like you saw from our coming of age ritual, and we are pumped to collaborate and bring you another shared piece! Well, now that I've updated you all on this wonderful book, it's time for me to finish my homework. I hope you get a chance to read this and I'll let you know how the movie is!
Here's the trailer for the movie to spark your interest!
Love,
Rylee
I absolutely love your intro! It really creates a hook for the reader, and stays true to the epistolary theme of the movie title. Is the book itself an epistolary novel? Or did they just choose that for the title? Either way, reading your blog post has definitely convinced me to read the book. I think it speaks to a lot of relevant issues that adolescents can be facing in schools today. Great job!
ReplyDeleteFirst, I love the format of this post, and it seems to really work since it sounds like much of this book was centered around email correspondence. I'm glad the book was really good, I've heard a lot of great things about the movie and I've been thinking about seeing it, and after this post I think I'm going to! Second, the connection to the need for acceptance in adolescents was really important, and I think is present in all YA novels, at least the ones I've read. This certainly drives almost everything they do, so it is important as a future educator to understand this need for acceptance and how it affects LGBTQ+ adolescents particularly. Every teacher will teach someone who is part of the LGBTQ+ community and may be struggling with peer and family acceptance.
ReplyDeleteI love your description of the book and now I can't wait to read it! Strong connections with the learning of this semester both regarding development and working together. Well done.
ReplyDelete