Simon Sort of Says

Simon and his parents move to a new town after major trauma, though Simon likes to tell people it was because of the Alpaca Incident. It's Simon's goal to fly under the radar, but Agate, his new best friend, convinces him that what they really need to do is to spoof a message from aliens, directed at the scientists at a nearby research facility. Also, goat birth, a murderous peacock, and a holy squirrel.

As you can sort of tell from that description, this is a wacky story of friendship and PTSD, interspersed with questions of faith and death, and a multitude of disgusting facts. You might not think that this would work, but let me assure you, it does. This book is funny and endearing, and accessible to both kids and adults.

I absolutely loved this book. I was either laughing out loud or crying or both. I loved the parents--they were fantastic and what all parents hope to be. This novel and the Labors of Hercules Beal are my favorite 2024 Lone Star novels that I've read so far.

Simon moves to Grin and Bear, Nebraska to attend a new school. His mother also purchases the one funeral home and his father is a deacon at the local Catholic Church. It's home to the National Quiet Zone. No one can use TVs, microwaves, cell phones, computers, etc. because of the radio towers waiting to hear from outer space. Simon feels ecstatic about the lack of outside intrusion because no one can google him. He can fly under the radar and live a normal life. He meets two people show more who become his friends. Agate (whose 6 siblings have "rock" names) lives on a farm, representing Team Farm, where she and her family have a dog, Todd, who drinks beer, goats, and lots of animal and farm chores. It's a lesson in biology with every visit. Kevin belongs to Team Science, with his mom a major player in the radio tower alien messaging world. She rules the house and the choices her kids make, relying on science more than emotion.

I am not giving away anything in this review and I'm annoyed that most tell about Simon's past, which isn't revealed until almost halfway through the book. As the reader, you need to wait. Catch the foreshadowing and the clues and get to know Simon and his parents. It'll make the reveal of his trauma mean more. Don't even read the cover of the book. Just read the book. Let it unfold. It's so well-written and pulls you in immediately.

Agate is overweight and autistic, but those facts are less important than what she wants to do. She wants to bring the Scientists joy. They really need to get a message from space, so she has a plan. Kevin spends his time trying to please his mom and her high expectations. Simon agrees to help Agate but vacillates on whether Kevin should help them. This project becomes an over-arcing plot. Can they fake a message from outer space?

So, how is a book about a past trauma, scientists, and farmers funny? Well, his mother owns a funeral home with the word Slaughter in the title and has an incompetent employees who picks up the bodies. His father manages the Catholic church where he pronounces a squatting quirrel, their Jesus squirrel. Erin Bow incorporates hilarious moments from these two jobs along with a peacock that's "in heat." Agate's parents are also amazing--not so funny but more than capable.

I absolutely loved the pacing of the book, the balance of humor and trauma. The realities of life are presented with a deft hand. I highly recommend listening to this novel! show less

A year after Simon survived a school shooting, he and his family are only too happy to move to a rare U.S. town with no radio, television, or internet—they are all suffering from PTSD and the overinterest of the media, but especially Simon. This novel is absolutely deft. I cannot emphasize enough how ridiculously funny this book is, without ever diminishing any of the extremely heavy, heavy topics it covers. I laughed, I cried, but mostly I laughed while being amazed I wasn't crying. The world's most accurate and evocative depiction of emus ever in fiction, and possibly the same for peacocks (I have less real world experience of peacocks with which to compare). An absolutely beautiful story of friendship, and of a level of strength show more that should never, ever be necessary. show less

i thought this was just excellent. this is about trauma and grief and friendship and how we save each other and it is touching and moving and beautiful and funny. it's funny! i'm so impressed by all of this. a story about trauma and what it does to you, wanting to not be defined by that awful moment but also carrying it everywhere with you, and how that affects you but also everyone around you, and how a child navigates that world - this is just so well done. it's thoughtful and poignant, and somehow manages to not take such a serious topic too seriously. i loved this.

Simon O'Keeffe moves to Grin and Bear It, Nebraska, with his parents at the start of his seventh grade year. His goal this year is to fly under the radar - literally. GNB is a National Quiet Zone, where radio telescopes search for signs of alien life, and no internet means that no one can look Simon up and learn about his past as the sole survivor of a school shooting.

This setup doesn't scream "laugh out loud funny," but bizarrely, this is a hilarious book. From Simon's wit to the peculiar setting, quirky characters, and even his parents' professions (his mom is a funeral home director and undertaker, his dad is a Catholic deacon), I frequently laughed out loud while reading. At the same time, there is just enough backstory to pack a show more wallop, and Simon has clearly been through many hours of therapy, using breathing techniques and "five things you see..."

Simon's two new friends, Agate Van der Zwaan and Kevin Matapang, have great depth as well. Red-haired, fat, autistic Agate lives on her family's farm, where they raise angora goats, ducks, and service dogs; Kevin is biracial (white/Filipino), with scientist parents. The three of them team up on a project to create what will look like a message from aliens - to keep the scientists in town, and to take the attention off Simon when his story inevitably gets out.

Quotes

If the SETI scientists don't get their funding fixed, then the internet will come to town, and that radar I'm flying under will lock on to me like it's a bombing run, like it's the end of the world. (49) (stakes!)

I'm just myself with both of them [Kevin and Agate], but I'm not sure it's the same self. I'm not sure how to be. (87)

another note on time
I think there's never going to be a now.
I think there's always going to be a before, and an after. (111)

in which there might be damage we can't see from here (ch 19, p. 179)

"God loves us infinitely, we're told - even more than a parent loves a child. That's hard to imagine. But he sends us out into the world like a parent sending a child to school. We don't know why. Maybe it's because he wants us to be free to grow up. But he sends us out into the world, and anything can happen to us there. Anything!" (Simon's dad's homily, 194)

Dad says that trauma is collective but we all process it differently. (228)

"If you want me to have choices, sometimes you're not going to like them!" (Kevin to his mom, 286)

It's like, somehow, [saints are] holy because awful stuff happened to them....We only know the one part of their life, and it's the most awful part. (289)

"So, there is no special now....There's only now. And now. And now. And now." (Agate to Simon, 305)

*
Re-read December 2023 (audiobook)
Ch. 16: What if? What if? What if? My brain specializes in disaster spiraling, and oh boy is it circling the drain. show less

First sentence: People are always asking why my family came to the National Quiet Zone. Like we need a reason. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live in a place with no internet and no cell phones and no TV and no radio? Who wouldn’t want to live surrounded by emu farms in a town that’s half astrophysicists and half people who are afraid of their microwaves? I mean, isn’t that the American Dream? Hint: no. Obviously, there’s a story

Premise/plot: Simon and his family have moved to Grin and Bear It, Nebraska, in the "National Quiet Zone." The town is divided into two teams: "Team Science" and "Team Farm." [The scientists are listening for radio signals from outer space.] Simon is hoping to blend into his school--though he's neither show more team--as much as possible. He wants to 'fly under the radar' so to speak. But his developing friendship with Agate and Kevin might just bring him some unwanted attention...the tradeoff being the best friends he could ever hope for.

Simon comes to town with a secret. He delights in the fact that there is no internet so that there no one can google his name and find out.

My thoughts: This one gets a million bonus points for quirkiness. Yet despite all the lighter, "quirky," moments this one hits heavy--in the heart. There are scenes that read like a punch in the gut. Simon's secret is that he is the sole survivor from his class after a school shooting. It changed Simon's life--and the lives of his parents--forever.

What I loved about this one was the characterization: ALL the characters--no matter how "big" or "small" "central" or "side" are developed. The narrative draws you into the story, into the community, into the characters' lives. I thought it was well done.

What I didn't quite love, however, was the theology. Granted, I'm not a Catholic. [His father is a deacon and program director]. I could understand how his son's experiences could shake/rattle/throw doubt upon his faith. However, I don't understand how he could maintain at least the outer profession of faith and religion yet preach--several times--in his belief, in his insistence, that there are no miracles, no providence, no sovereignty. He's applauded for embracing a "God of Chaos." This is a middle grade novel. It certainly isn't the place for a philosophical or theological discussion on the "Why is there evil?" or "If God is good, why is there evil?" or "If God is all-knowing or all-powerful, why is there evil?" or "Why does God allow evil?" There are other more appropriate places for that discussion. [I'm not saying it's not worth having...at all...] Again, I'm not a Catholic, so I'm not sure how 'shocking' or 'progressive' or 'controversial' that statement would be. It got me to thinking--that's all. show less

Trigger Warning: PTSD, School Shooting

Simon is the only kid from his class who survived a school shooting two years ago, and he’d much rather leave it behind him. When his family moves to the National Quiet Zone - the only place in America where the internet and TV are banned - Simon is grateful his new classmates won’t be able to Google him. When Simon makes a new friend, Agate, who wants to fake a message to the scientists listening for signs of life in space, he’ll finally have the chance to make a new story for himself.

This book deals with serious subjects, but it’s also very cute, wholesome, and funny too. This is such a beautiful book and I loved reading it so much. Simon and Agate’s friendship was such a wonderful show more thing and I absolutely adored seeing it blossom. The way that Agate was so responsive to Simon, even if she may not have fully understood everything that was happening (like before Simon told her what had happened to him), she was always there to help and support him the best way she could and it always made me smile. Agate even brought Hercules into Simon’s life because she knew she needed him.

I felt like Erin Bow did a masterful job writing about Simon’s experience with trauma and anxiety, especially for the middle grade age group this book is aimed for. I’m expecting this book to grab many awards and be the talk of all the best seller lists. I got this as an advanced digital copy but this is definitely a book I’m adding on my “must buy” list on its publication day. It’s too good to not own my own copy and to not share it with everyone I can.

*Thank You Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review show less