I read this during my #readukya readathon, because I was just so excited to read it. I'd heard so many good things about it, so I jumped straight in, forgetting it was a US book. But even though it won't count as part of my readthon - which didn't go as well as planned to due personal problems anyway - I don't regret a single second I spent reading this amazing book.
At sixteen years old, Simon Spier isn't ready to come out as gay yet. Even when someone at his school reads his emails and threatens to tell everyone, Simon does everything he can to stop this from happening - if not for his sake, then for Blue's.
Simon emails Blue everyday. They go to the same school - they found each other on 'the Tumblr' - but neither will reveal who they are because, like Simon, Blue isn't ready to come out either. So Simon is even more keen to keep Martin from telling everyone his secret. But if he looked more closely at Blue's emails, he would know who he was straight away. All the clues are there.
I loved Simon's friendship group. Nick and Leah have been his friends forever, and Leah has a huge crush on Nick. So when new girl Abby steals Nick's attention, Leah becomes distant. I actually really loved Leah, and I think she was my favourite character, especially towards the end. It was a lot of pressure on Simon to have to hide who he really was from his friends and family, and I assume this is what it's like for a lot of young people today.
I love the way the book is written, because Simon's voice is just so funny! It's told entirely from his perspective, but emails from Blue are interspersed in there, so you get to know Blue a little as well. I love dual perspective novels, but I think this worked better as a single perspective, as when Blue is revealed, it is much better than if I had known from the start who he was. It made it more exciting, I thought.
This book is so wonderfully diverse, I advise you all to go and pick up a copy straight away! It completely lived up to the expectations I had from reading other reviews of it, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did.
And as one last comment: I will be using the phrase 'almost too Disney' in my everyday speech from now on. Be prepared!
Verdict: 5/5, of course!
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