When Love, Simon, the 2018 gay teen rom-com proved a success, whispers of an inevitable sequel began to take off. Becky Albertalli, the author of the original novel, however, had denied any forthcoming literary outings for Simon and his friends. Until now.
This week, Albertalli changed her tune, saying her new novel will follow Simon and the gang to college.
Albertalli’s sequel will have a different story from the Disney-produced Love, Victor, a TV series spin-off from the film which will focus on different characters. Rather, her book, titled Love, Creekwood will follow the original characters during their first year of college.
The author says the story will include “shenanigans, exclamation points, yearning, Drunk Simon, Nostalgic Blue, Finals Week Abby, Valentine’s Day Leah, big decisions, and MUCH talk of kissing.”
Albertalli, a heterosexual woman, has taken some criticism for writing about a gay teenage male. The author, however, wants readers to know that she intends to give something back to the community with Love, Creekwood.
Me for literally years: this is the end of the Simonverse. There are no sequels coming. Never.
Me right now: LOVE, CREEKWOOD, a Simonverse novella, out 6/30/20 from @balzerandbray in hardcover, e-book, and audio. No info yet on int’l availability, but I hope to know more soon! pic.twitter.com/zvJjMnhANF
— Becky Albertalli Updates (@beckyalbertalli) April 21, 2020
“I’m donating 100% of my English language royalty advance to @TrevorProject,” Albertali tweeted, “the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.”
She went on to explain The Trevor Project’s role in preventing the suicide of LGBTQ teens. “They do the work I can’t, and they do it with such thoughtfulness, care, and commitment to research-based best practices,” she said.
Love, Creekwood will continue the story of the so-called “Simonverse,” the universe that encompasses Simon vs. the homo sapiens Agenda–the book upon which the film Love, Simon is based–and its two spin-off novels Leah on the Offbeat and The Upside of the Unrequited. All four novels focus on the same characters, though are told through different points of view.
Love, Creekwood lands in bookstores, on e-book and audiobook June 30. No word yet on if or when we can expect a film version, but we’re keeping our fingers crossed!
Related: ‘Love, Simon’ sequel set to debut on TV in June for Pride Month
Dick Gozinia
He’s cute and I will watch the sequel but I prefer when a movie about a gay teenager casts someone who actually looks/seems like a gay teenager. Troye Sivan, for example, seems more like your typical gay teen than Nick Robinson. Having been a gay teenage boy, I recall that other gay teenage boys were not typically ‘handsome’, did not look 25 years old, did not look/act straight and did not have what I call ‘heterosexual self-confidence’. BUT casting a guy like Nick Robinson sells tickets to straight people, so I’ll take what I can get. If you ever get a chance to see it, there is a movie about a gay Canadian boy and the movie is called C.R.A.Z.Y. The actor is straight but they did a good job of making him look/seem like a gay teenager.
PanzerRider
How does a gay teenage boy supposedly look, and how does he sound? Wait, don’t answer because it would take hours to write up, and your response, if accurate, would require pages. The notion that there is this single monolithic way in which a gay teenage boy looks, sounds, behaves, etc. is grossly stereotypical. I, for one, found the Simon character to be quite realistic simply because I found him to be very similar to how I dressed, spoke, and behaved in high school. Of course, I grasp that others are quite different, and their HS experience in no way resembled what we saw in the movie. However, to suggest this movie was unrealistic is being highly disingenuous.
oscarjames
I can assure you that some of the guys in your youth who looked straight, acted straight and were “typically handsome” were in fact gay guys whose real sexual identity was hidden from you because in your very limited way, you could only identify guys as gay if they conformed to some preconceived stereotype of yours. I don’t know where you’ve been but if the times have taught us anything, it’s that there is no typical gay man or gay youth. That means, pal, that that football player you drooled after could very easily have been a gay kid straining at his very tight leash. Gays run the very wide gamut from the intensely masculine and virile to the very effeminate.
nm4047
maybe give us an idea of how old you are, then we maybe able to know what a teenage ‘gay’ looked like in your era. Granted not all areas are accepting of gay teens, but those that do (similar to the one shown dramatisation) would be more progressive in the attitude of a ‘gay looking’ teens.
geb1966
You clearly did not read beyond the headline. It’s a sequel to the BOOK Love, Simon is based on, so there is nothing for you to “watch.” You clearly saw the movie name and umped on an opportunity to complain about your perceived flaws with in the casting. Do you feel better?
Dymension
Why should anyone criticize a heterosexual woman for writing a gay story? It’s not your story, it’s hers! She wrote it!
oscarjames
Amen! Amen! A work of art is a work of the imagination. Any artist can put her or himself in the shoes of any character they might want to create. They can only be judged whether they succeeded with authenticity or failed with a lame and maybe embarrassing misstep. That’s the risk the artist takes.
donnafnelson
Work from your house for two to six hrs every day, and start getting averaging 1000-3000 bucks at the end of every week. Read more information here>? 0.gp/a728L
Cam
The more people that write LGBT stories that end up on shelves or in movies….I’m here for it. The most dangerous place for us to be is a world where right wingers can pretend we don’t exist.
GayEGO
This is what it is all about! I am waiting for the movie to come out!
rocknstan
“Love, Simon” is based on a typical gay YA (Young Adult) novel, as they are termed in the trade.
Most of these books are written by gay men and straight women.
The YA book trade only accepts authors who are willing to write “series fiction” these days, i.e., books with a continuing story line to insure a steady and continuing profit.
Ms. Albertalli has no doubt been prevailed upon to write more Simon stories.
The movie was cloying and sentimental, and stumbled over itself to be not just liked–but LOVED.
Nick Robinson is one of the cutest and most masculine actors that could have been picked for the Simon role. Of course the movie was a success with straight audiences.
At one point in our gay history we were discussing the advent of “New Queer Cinema” and Todd Haynes.
Now we are applauding acceptance by straight audiences because that is where the PROFIT LIES.
dustychiffon
The movie was OK, but didn’t get any of the hysteria that some of these queens I know we’re acting like.
And is it just me, or anyone else notice that all the guys that were really into this were…
Dick Gozinia
To geb1966, it is in fact a movie being shown on Hulu. And once again, they’ve cast a straight boy in the role of Victor, because apparently there just aren’t enough good gay actors to portray gay people in the movies. As for the rest of you who like having straight, self-confident people portray us on film we’ll have to agree to disagree. To me, having straight boys portray gays would be like casting white people to portray black people.