Who is Simon with in Love, Simon?

Seventeen-year-old Simon (Nick Robinson) has a loving family and three best friends, Nick (Jorge Lendeborg Jr.), Leah (Katherine Langford), and the newcomer Abby (Alexandra Shipp), but he’s yet to tell them his long-kept secret: that he’s gay.

As you giggle at the dramatic actions and lines of the supporting characters, you’ll gradually come to understand the stress and pain of the closeted gay teenage protagonist, Simon.

One day, Simon reads an online confession written by another closeted gay student from his high school, who writes under the pseudonym Blue. He begins to talk to Blue by email and gradually falls in love with him.

LGBT teens, just be yourself; everyone else is already taken

While Simon tries to figure out the real identity of his pen pal, another student Martin (Logan Miller) discovers their conversation and threatens to out Simon to the entire school if he refuses to help him win over Abby.

Romantic comedies are always fun and easy to watch, but few of them are also as meaningful and thought-provoking. Love, Simon is one of those rare romcoms that have more to offer than just laughs. Half light-hearted and half serious, this coming-of-age dramedy explores teenage angst and gender discrimination faced by the gay community. A marvellously clever scene about Simon’s imagination invites the audience to put themselves into the character's shoes, who often worries about how others will think of him if he comes out as gay.

Lady Bird is a heartfelt coming-of-age story that also gives us a parent's view of the teenage years [Review]

The main cast gave a lot of soul to their characters; Robinson managed to communicate the anxiety, loneliness and everyday struggle of a closeted gay teenage boy, while conveying the innocence and feelings of adolescent love. The supporting actors were very charming as well, especially Miller and Natasha Rothwell (as Ms Albright, the students’ drama teacher) who played two of the most spirited, wicked, and entertaining roles.

Though the film is easy to follow and logical, the plot manages to remain interesting. The fact that the mystery of Blue was untangled little by little and was also not resolved until the end, kept it interesting.

By authentically portraying Simon’s relationship with his family, friends, and also himself Love, Simon brings to light the self doubts and offensive gossip that may be part of a gay teen’s life. Apart from the jokes in the film, the drama helps viewers to understand the negative impact of putting false stereotypes and labels on people, as well as cyber bullying. If you enjoyed Lady Bird, you’ll love this too!

Edited by Nicole Moraleda

A holy freaking huge awesome deal

by Shelumiel Delos Santos
A couple of weeks ago, Morris Award-winning author Becky Albertalli took to Twitter to announce/confirm that 20th Century Fox—the studio that is bringing Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda to the big screen—has decided to shorten the movie’s title to simply Love, Simon.

Today, I’m talking about what this means and why it’s important. Very important.
But before we get down to the order of business, let’s get something out of the way first, shall we? If you think Love, Simon rings familiar, you’re not making stuff up. I’m almost positive I know what your brain is remembering. It’s Love, Rosie, that 2014 film with Lily Collins and Sam Claflin, which is based on Cecelia Ahern’s sophomore novel. Or maybe your brain went straight to the book itself. It doesn’t matter. Not really. The point is Love, Rosie is out there. And I wish Love, Simon didn’t strongly resemble it but it does, and I’m okay with that. So there’s the caveat. Anyway…
I’m 24 and openly gay. I didn’t use to be. It took me roughly 18 years to come to terms with my sexuality, another year to tell people outside my immediate family and close friends. And Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda had a huge part on that journey, even if I didn’t realize it at the time. Because in retrospect, it made me feel seen. In all the ways that it is exhilarating and scary and nauseating and wonderful to be seen. In all the ways that I was afraid—but secretly craving—to be seen. And with Fox’s decision to rename the movie—and this is all on the studio and producers—I’m feeling these things all over again.
Because with Love, Simon, Fox is telling you right off the bat that this is a love story. With Love, Simon, Fox is telling you that a massive company like them is willing to bet—is betting—on this to be a blockbuster hit (or at the very least, that it would sell and go mainstream), despite its themes, despite it having two teenage gay boys at the center. Which is in turn telling you, if you’re queer, that you get to have the narrative. That you crushing on another boy is valid. That you’re entitled to your emotions. All of it. And more than anything, with Love, Simon, Fox is telling you that you matter and you get to see yourself and your high school romance in the big screens. That people will call it just as it is.
And I can’t stop smiling. Becky’s debut impacted me in a lot of sense that I’ll never be able to articulate. Now, I’m incredibly excited for this generation of young gay boys, who may not think much about books but are into films, to see Love, Simon and walk out of the cinemas having the courage to find a shore worth swimming to. Or, you know, be comfortable in their own skin. Yes, I’ll take that. I’ll take that any day of the week.
Love, Simon is set to hit theaters on March 16, 2018. So you have all the time in the world to catch up. Go pick up a copy today and thank me later. I mean. I’m just saying.

About Shelumiel Delos Santos
Shelumiel would like to think he’s funnier than he actually is, but the truth is he doesn’t freaking know. You can find him usually talking about race and gender representation in young adult literature over at Bookish and Awesome or otherwise fanboying on Twitter @mielsnickety.
Up next: Everything You Need to Know About “Love, Simon”

Update: We have a second official trailer!

Get ready to fall even further in love with Simon and all his friends because this trailer dives a little deeper into what LOVE, SIMON is all about! There’s a lot to dig through and freak out about, so we figured we’d help out and do it right along with you guys!!

• All the thoughts we had watching the new Love, Simon trailer

Update: Jack Antonoff is curating the soundtrack!

Update: We have the first official trailer!

Did anyone hear that hollering in the distance? If so, that was probably us here at EpicReads because the LOVE, SIMON trailer just dropped!!! AND. IT’S. SO. GOOD. We knew not to expect any less from what we’ve seen so far, but it’s still exciting! It’s not every day one of your all-time favorite books gets a movie adaptation done right! That music! Nick Robinson’s voiceover. Everything! We loved it from the very first second of Simon and Leah laying down on the bed. Let it be noted that you can laugh and then cry and then laugh again all in the course of one minute and 23 seconds.

So we officially have a giant crush on Nick Robinson. And Katherine Langford! Oh, and Alexandra Shipp! And  Keiynan Lonsdale!  I think it’s safe to say we do Love Simon *bad dum tss* But our biggest crush of all is on Becky Albertalli. None of this would be happening if it weren’t for SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA!

Update: We have the first teaser footage!

WE CANNOT WAIT TO SEE THIS ENTIRE MOVIE IN THEATERS.

Update: New edition of the book!

And don’t worry, the old edition will still be available. But this movie tie-in edition has some exclusives, including bits from the script, photo stills from the movie, interviews with Becky and the cast, and some MORE EXTRAS. Is it March yet?!?!?

Update: We have our first official poster!

Are you obsessed? We’re obsessed.

The Story:

Haven’t read SIMON VS yet? No worries—you’ve still got time! The movie comes out on March 16th, but you should definitely jump on this sooner rather than later. You can thank us afterwards for making your life better, because this book definitely will.

The Title:

If you read the rest of author Becky Albertalli’s heartfelt thread, you’ll see why she’s on board with this new title: “The movie feels like a love letter. Now the title does too.” And she is SO RIGHT. The movie does the book so much justice, and this is an adorably on point alternate title for one of the sweetest stories we’ve ever read. It’s common for studios to do this, and it means that Fox believes that it can be a mainstream hit. YAS!! 🎉
 

The Cast:

The cast for LOVE, SIMON could not be better. Shall we take you through a brief rundown?
 

Nick Robinson as Simon Spier

Katherine Langford as Leah Burke

Keiynan Lonsdale as Bram Greenfield

Jennifer Garner as Emily Spier

The rest of the cast includes: JOSH DUHAMEL as Simon’s dad, Jack Spier, ALEXANDRA SHIPP and JORGE LENDEBORG, JR. as Abby Suso and Nick Eisner, two of Simon’s other good friends, LOGAN MILLER as Martin Addison, one of Simon’s classmates, TALITHA BATEMAN as Nora Spier, Simon’s adorable little sister, MILES HEIZER as Cal Price, TONY HALE as Mr. Worth, and so many more for you to fall in love with!

Behind-the-scenes!

Margot from Team Epic Reads travelled down to the LOVE, SIMON set and got some behind-the-scenes footage! She also may be an extra in the movie… *eyebrow waggle*

 

Any other questions?

You can probably find the answer on Becky’s blog right here! Oh, and we know music plays a pretty big part in SIMON VS. And you know what? The soundtrack of the movie is freaking phenomenal and we are going to have it on repeat 24/7.  
 

Are you going to read (or re-read SIMON VS before you see the movie)? Or are you going to do it after? Or both?! Let us know in the comments below!
Up next:

• Simon vs. the Bonus Emails
• Should You Eat an Oreo Right Now?