Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

Bram (Abraham) Louis Greenfeld, who for most of the novel is also known as the pseudonym Blue, is a major character and love interest for Simon. His emails also make up a portion of the epistolary chapters, so the reader hears a fragment of the story from Bram’s perspective. Bram, as described by Simon before he is aware he is Blue, is a quiet, Black soccer player who sits at Simon’s lunch table, and a friend of Nick’s and Garrett’s from the soccer team. He is also in Simon’s English class. Simon is aware that Bram is smart, and he observes “[y]ou never really know what he’s thinking” (96). Bram is also, according to Simon, “adorable” (64).

Bram’s character is mostly revealed through his identity as Blue, the voice of the anonymous emails. Bram is an observant, careful personality, although also witty and warm. Through his emails, Bram is also deeply emotionally invested in the correspondence, putting care and energy into listening to the music Simon mentions and into flirting back and forth. At times, Bram serves as a foil to Simon. While Simon tends to act from impulse and emotion, Bram is much more methodical and cautious, working through scenarios in his mind before acting. Bram is better at deducing the identity of his online pen pal, but also that he is less willing to take risks and put himself on the line. He admits to Simon in emails that opening up is “slightly terrifying” for him (61).

Bram’s arc in the novel is about gaining confidence in showing the world who he is—most obviously to Simon in the anonymous emails, but also to his parents and peers in the coming out process. For most of the book, Bram doesn’t speak much in person, and in the early emails, Blue is guarded about his identity. Blue gradually shares a few details about his life (e.g., that he is Jewish, that his parents are divorced), and he is the first to bring up coming out to his parents, which he describes to Simon in detail. Yet when Simon is outed by Martin, Bram is not ready either to be out at school or to reveal his identity to Simon.

In the last third of the book, Simon is hurt by Bram’s hesitation to reveal his identity. Bram is especially fearful about the possibility that Simon will be disappointed to find out that he is Blue, a fear made worse when Simon guesses that Blue is someone else. Affected by Simon’s emails, Bram takes the first steps, giving Simon his phone number and meeting Simon in person at the Tilt-A-Whirl. Bram is “nervous” for this meeting, and Simon notices his voice shaking (266). But the risk pays off, and they begin a relationship. When that happens, Bram is also able to feel comfortable being out at school as Simon’s boyfriend.

Abby Suso is one of Simon’s best friends and another junior at Creekwood High School. Simon has only known Abby for a few months, as she has only recently moved to the area, but he becomes close to her quickly. Like Simon, she is in the advanced classes and the school musical. A dancer and a cheerleader, Abby is extroverted, charismatic, and consistently described as pretty. She is well-liked by other Creekwood students (except by Leah), and Martin’s interest in her is a catalyst to the main conflict of the novel. Abby is Black and lives in College Park, far away from Creekwood High School, so she spends a long time commuting to and from school, something Simon observes as a sign of Atlanta’s segregation. Throughout the novel, Abby begins a relationship with Nick, and by the end, they are a couple.

Abby plays an instrumental role in the plot: Martin’s unrequited crush on Abby is his motivation to blackmail Simon, so Simon feels compelled to make sure Martin has chances to hang out with her, even though she finds Martin funny but not attractive. Later, Abby finds Simon’s willingness to set aside her own autonomy in dating problematic, although she forgives him because of the circumstances of being blackmailed.

Abby is compassionate and observant, and she is a significant support to Simon in his coming out process through the novel. Abby is the first person (besides Blue) Simon chooses to come out to, partially because he doesn’t have the years of history with her that he has with Leah and Nick. She is understanding and respectful of him, telling him she’s “honored” and keeping his secret (124). When Simon struggles with the anti-gay bullying at school, Abby is the one who organizes the night out in Atlanta, which involved buying Simon gay-themed children’s books and going to a restaurant aimed at gay customers. She is also the first to notice his interest in Cal and, later, in Bram, because she picks up on others’ cues easily.

Leah Burke is one of Simon’s best friends and another junior at Creekwood High School. Simon has known Leah since sixth grade, and he, she, and Nick have a well-established friendship going back years. Leah is a sarcastic, cynical girl known for her deadpan delivery. She can be self-conscious about her appearance; Simon is often worried about reassuring her she is beautiful. Leah enjoys manga and music; she also introduced Simon to reading fanfiction about male/male relationships. At the end of the novel, it is revealed she has been secretly teaching herself to play drums for the past two years when she performs with the band Emoji alongside Simon’s sister Nora.

Like Simon, Leah can be resistant to change. She tends to be dismissive and critical of school activities like homecoming, so when Nick and Simon decide to go to the game this year, she is upset that they overlook their tradition of hanging out at Waffle House. She also resents Abby’s new importance in their social circle, fearing that Abby is a better version of a female friend, “[n]ow available in the prettiest, perkiest package ever,” as she sarcastically tells Simon (283). These resentments are made worse when Abby, Nick, and Simon go out without Leah on an evening to Midtown Atlanta. Simon feels bad about excluding Leah, but he also worries she will resist the new experience of going out in Midtown, causing them all to feel uncomfortable (225). This exclusion hurts Leah deeply, and it causes a rift in her friendship with Simon.

Leah can be difficult for others to read. For example, Simon does not always interpret her accurately, causing conflict in the novel. He assumes Leah has a crush on Nick and is jealous of Abby because of Nick’s involvement with her, but Leah resents Abby’s importance in Simon’s life, too. She is frustrated and hurt about why Simon chose to come out to Abby first, even though she affirms Simon’s right to choose to come out how he wants to. When Simon explains to Leah that his longer and deeper friendship with her is exactly why he found it harder to come out to her, she moves past this anger. Leah is the protagonist of another novel in the Creekwood series, Leah on the Offbeat (2018).