Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. Penguin Readers. Level 5

The Penguin Readers series offers language learners an engaging pathway to exploring bestselling authors and captivating narratives through meticulously adapted texts, new illustrations, language practice exercises, and supplementary online resources. This collection includes beloved classics, thrilling modern fiction, and insightful non-fiction. Among these is "Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda," a Level 5 Reader categorized as B1 within the CEFR framework. The book comprises sentences containing up to four clauses and introduces various grammatical structures, such as the present perfect continuous, past perfect, reported speech, and second conditional, all reinforced by frequent illustrations.

The story follows Simon, a young gay high school student in the United States, who connects with Blue through the school’s Tumblr platform. As their conversation unfolds, Simon realizes he is developing feelings for Blue. However, when another student discovers their email exchanges, Simon is faced with the challenge of coming out.