Review: Simon Sort of Says

Simon Sort of Says, by Erin Bow (Disney Hyperion 2023)

First line: “People are always asking why my family came to the National Quiet Zone.”

Listen, do I have other books that have been languishing for longer on my “to review” stack than this one? Yes. Five in fact. HOWEVER, seeing as it’s #MiddleGradeMarch, I felt compelled to share about this one as soon as possible, because I want you all to read it immediately. That’s right, folks. I found my first five-star book of 2024!

Simon and his parents have recently moved out of Omaha and into the National Quiet Zone, where internet, cell phones, television, and radio are all forbidden. His mom has taken a new job as director of the local funeral home, Slaughter and Sons (yes, you read that correctly), and his dad will be the deacon of the local Catholic church, leading services every other week while the priest is away serving elsewhere. While they tell everyone the reason for this move is an alpaca incident during the Blessing of the Pets at Simon’s dad’s last church, that’s not the full story, and while the publisher’s description does in fact tell you the real reason, I think it would be even more impactful had I not known going in. So I’m not going to tell you. (The real reason is pretty horrific, so if you have content concerns, go ahead and read that description.)

As one might expect from a town cut off from the rest of the world, the cast of characters Simon finds in Grin and Bear It, Nebraska (yes, that’s the name of the town) are truly outstanding. From neurodiverse Agate and her countless red-headed siblings living next to an emu farm to the Jesus Squirrel who may or may not start a fire at Simon’s dad’s new church, I was laughing out loud regularly and reading parts to my husband, who typically would not care one iota about a middle grade novel. Of course, as my vague description above alludes to, there is trauma buried beneath all the humor, and I thought the author handled it beautifully, really taking into account all the different ways something like that could affect a person. This is a book about friendship, recovery, celebrating differences, and deep familial love, and I found it to be remarkable.

While this certainly isn’t an under-the-radar pick (hence all the award stickers on its cover), I haven’t seen many people talking about it in my circles. I hope this review gets at least one of you to pick it up! It certainly deserves all the accolades it has received thus far.