Leah On The Offbeat

Once again, I'm weak for Becky Albertalli's books. After reading "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" and being totally in love with it, "Leah on the Offbeat" was a must-read for me. I pre-ordered it on March 26th--the day I finished the first book--and spent nearly a month obessesing over the day it would arrive. When it arrived two days ago, I dove in immediately. From the beginning, I was hooked. Leah is a character who really takes nothing from anyone and is totally aware of who she is, bisexuality and all--except for one thing: is she falling for the girl she never thought she would even LIKE? With college nearing and prom on her brain, Leah is completely confused about who she likes and who she doesn't like, and this is very relatable for any teenager. Leah on the Offbeat will take you through a wild ride with Simon Spier's best friend, Leah Burke, a high school senior who is not yet out to her friends but is also unmistakably and painfully falling head over heels for one of them. This is one of the best books I have ever read. Unlike other LGBT books, this is so much easier to digest as opposed to darker, heavier plots and characters. It's a lot more relatable, in a way that really makes your heart clench and your head just want more. It is a must-read for everyone, especially LGBT teens and young adults like myself. Once I started, I could not put it down, and that's really saying a lot. It's the perfect mix of heartfelt and hilarious and just brutally honest, and the way it's written just makes you want to read beginning to end with no break. Leah is a very sarcastic and witty character, and her classic deadpan lines are spot-on and make you giggle a little, and her point of view makes you see things in an entirely different light. She's quirky and uses every reference to fanfiction and fan art each chance she gets, and that's not something you often read in a book. It's definitely unique, unafraid of telling the story of a realistic teenager, even mentioning body image and the need to feel beautiful in your own skin, and those awkward moments and kisses everyone regrets. I actually shed a few tears towards the middle and end. It's definitely an emotional roller coaster, especially when you can just feel Leah's pain and anguish as she realizes she's falling madly for someone who may not even like her back, and quite frankly, Leah is not too thrilled that she's falling hard, either. I was a mess when I closed it for the last time (maybe not the TECHNICAL last time). Becky Albertalli has done it once again. She's written a masterpiece that will stick with many of us readers. Well done, Albertalli. You've won us over again. Please read Leah on the Offbeat. It's an experience worth having. Even if this isn't your sort of thing. You just might be in for a huge surprise.

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli takes you back to Creekwood, where you get to rejoin Simon Spier, Leah Burke, and all of their friends. This novel is all about Leah--you get an inside look into what's she's thinking and feeling as she explores her bisexuality. I really enjoyed this book! While I didn't find it as immediately engaging as Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, it was sweet and charming in its own right. The writing was superb. When reading it, you feel fully immersed in the high school experience. The pacing was good. Whether it's a witty retort or panicking over a kiss, Leah is always up to something. The plot development was nicely done. The events unfold slowly, and you're really not sure which direction the novel is going to go. I wasn't sure who Leah was going to end up with, and I wasn't sure if she would ever tell her friends about her bisexuality. Leah didn't seem to have as much internal turmoil as Simon did in his book. She seemed more comfortable with who she is. While there's still a fair amount of angst in Leah on the Offbeat, it wasn't quite the drama-fest that Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda was. The ending was sweet and wrapped up the story nicely. It ended on a positive note, which is always nice. The last chapter makes you feel good about how everything turned out. The characters in the book were quirky and complex. Admittedly I didn't like Leah quite as well in this book as I did in Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. While I really enjoyed the book, I thought Leah was a hard character to like. She has a chip on her shoulder and a grudge against the world. A lot of times she comes off as an unlikeable jerk, and some of her comments were needlessly rude. Regardless, she's still an interesting character, and her character was well-written. If you enjoyed Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and are itching to get back to Creekwood, then pick up Leah on the Offbeat. I'm glad I pre-ordered this book, and I highly recommend it to others.

Leah is unabashedly loud, potty-mouthed, overweight, bi, and insecure. She’s a fabulous drummer in a band, a band that almost breaks up because Leah calls out a member for making a racist comment. But when it comes to her love life, she’s a bowl full of jello. No one knows she’s bi. She’s super-frustrated by the girl who seems to be teasing her. Does she want to be her friend or more? This is a love story, albeit an unconventional one. The dialogue is snappy and non-young adults may get lost in the modern slang. The scenes move along at a rapid clip. Stuff happens. It’s senior year and a close-knit group of friends have chosen their colleges, for the most part. There’s some drama around whether long distance relationships will work. There are clueless cling-on boyfriends. Leah has to deal with her mother’s boyfriend. With the exception of the jealous boyfriend and the prom setting, Albertalli largely avoids clichés. This is a nerdy crowd. Leah draws anime. Enough said. Some characters are really drawn out, though I would have liked to know others better. I could really see Leah, though I don’t know anyone like her. I would have liked to get a clearer picture of the girl of her desires. Her close friend Simon is well-defined, but I couldn’t get a read on his boyfriend Bram. The ending called for a bit of suspension of disbelief, but it worked. Probably because Albertalli made her prom date such a doofus. All told, Leah in the Offbeat was a thoroughly enjoyable and quick read. I’m not a young adult. It would be nice to think there were tight groups of friends this diverse: black, bi, gay, questioning, white, hetero, though I haven’t seen it with my young adult. His friends check a couple of the boxes. Maybe it’s aspirational. Maybe other high schools are this diverse. In any case, the diversity of the characters made the book interesting.

Becky Albertalli does it again. I got this book after 40 hours with no sleep and I still read nearly half of it before actually falling asleep. First thing I did this morning was finish it. It made me so giddy happy. This is what representation looks like, not this "I'm gonna pat myself on the back about it for a year and then it turns out it's mediocre at best" stuff you see sometimes. This is just ~quality~ from an author who is as humble as the day is long. Have I mentioned I'm giddy happy yet? The protagonist was one of my favorites from the first book, and now she gets a book of her own, without the other characters feeling too much in the background. It's both Leah's story and everyone else's story all in one. I don't want to spoil, but it addresses a LOT of things. Institutionalized racism, the fetishization of girls who like girls, the problem with straight people joking about being gay, relationships with single parents, how important it is when someone casually uses gender neutral pronouns, when you should forgive someone who hurt you, when to forgive someone who hurt someone who isn't you, and how little comments like "you're not fat, you're beautiful" are harmful. Honestly, I went into this just wanting some f/f romance (I love reading books with gay boys/men prominently featured but I can never connect as much as I can when it's girls/women) and I came out just blown, away, as always, about how much Everything was here.

I'm struggling with how to rate this one. On the one hand, I did genuinely enjoy the book. I read it in one sitting, I giggled a lot and was generally put in a good mood. But this is where I probably should admit that I had a goal in buying this book, and that was to revisit Simon and Blue. Leah didn't really stand out to me in Simon vs.; I was, however, open to exploring her point of view. Mostly, I got what I wanted, which is to say that if you're looking to buy this book for cute Simon/Blue moments, you will get plently. But when it comes to Leah's love story...um. The biggest problem for me is that I felt Nick and Abby's characters were changed to serve the plot. The second biggest problem is that looking at the available evidence, the plot was changed to serve the readers. Looking around on goodreads and such, a common complaint is that reading the book feels like reading fanfiction. And yeah, it does. I write fanfiction, and much like Leah I favor non-canon, m/m pairings. When I write my stories, I have to think about what aspects of canon I have to tweak to make the story work. Sometimes the character is already paired off, so I have to get rid of the significant other. Usually I do it by having said character go completely off the rails. It's clean and easy and ensures that my chosen pair don't have to worry about hurt feelings. This is exactly what happens in this book. So now I have an image in my head of the author rereading Simon vs., wondering what she needs to change in order to bring her OTP together. Lest you think I'm imagining the influence that the author's fans have had in driving the plot of this book, here is the dedication : "For the readers who knew something was up, even when I didn't." It's great to think that characters have aspects of themselves that their author is not yet aware of, but when reader opinion drives an entire plot arc I think it separates the author from the work. It makes it less "hers" and more "theirs." What I really want is to see what Leah's story would have been without these influences. So that's where I'm at with this book, and it's definitely not where I wanted to be. I loved the first book and fully expected to love the sequel. I'm optimistic that way. I think Becky Albertalli is a talented writer and I look forward to reading more of her work. I just hope she writes more stand-alone books.

I finished this book in 2 days, I must confess I have been suffering from Simon and Bram and their group of friends "withdrawal symptoms" since reading Simon vs the homo-sapiens agenda 3 times and saw Love, Simon twice at the cinema. It was amazing to read this sequel and re visit my favorite characters, but this time through Leah's point of view and be given an insight into Leah's mind. She is a complex character, i think she has a tough exterior, because she is afraid of being hurt and let down again as she has in the past and this is problematic for her when it comes to people she really cares about and lowering her tough exterior and letting people in. I don't want to give anything away but I loved this book as it is written in the same style as Simon vs the homo-sapiens agenda and of course we get to see what is happening with all the characters as they all prepare to go to college. For me, the book re-enforces to all of us to be our true selves and live our lives without regrets, Our true friends will love and accept us for who we are, not a version of who they think we should be.

I have to admit that after reading a few mixed/negative Amazon reviews, I was nervous to read this novel. I loved "Simon vs. Homo Sapiens Agenda" and didn't want to be disappointed by a subpar sequel. My overall verdict is that "Leah on the Offbeat" is an enjoyable read, but not quite as emotionally c ompelling as its predecessor due to poor plotting. First, let me focus on what "Leah on the Offbeat" does well. By telling the story from Leah's perspective, author Becky Albertalli draws attention to issues glossed over in "Simon," like bisexuality, racism, and socioeconomic status. Some readers may be uncomfortable with the change in emphasis, but I thought they were handled well for the most part. Nearly all of the characters from "Simon" make appearances in the sequel and there's plenty of cuteness to go around. Simon and his boyfriend are still madly in love a year after Simon's involuntary outing. At times, they come across as the most stable characters in the story. To me, the main problem with "Leah Off the Beat" is that it has an uneven plot. While "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" was rife with suspense that drove much of that story (who is Blue? Will Martin out Simon? How will people react?), "Leah" lacks the same sort of unity. What we get instead are a handful of interrelated character conflicts about college application drama and prom night that don't quite pack the same emotional punch. The events leading up to prom night feel more like an episode of Glee than a poignant emotional roller coaster. And though there's a happy ending, the abrupt closing scene and epilogue don't give readers the chance to see how most of the other characters handle the immediate aftermath. The epilogue just tells us what happened. And that's disappointing. (It's especially stark compared to "Simon," where Blue's identity is revealed three chapters before the end of the book, leaving plenty of time to wrap up loose ends). In all, fans of "Simon vs. the Homo Sapien Agenda" will probably find "Leah on the Offbeat" to be an enjoyable sequel, even with its imperfections.

I don't think I have ever had such a joyful and emotional experience in my life. I was screeching out loud the whole time. The characters are loveable, flawed and deeply, deeply human. I relate to Leah so much and all the other characters too. The character arcs were simply brilliant. It got all the Simon Vs charm and made it even better, somehow sharper and softer at the same time. Becky's writing is relevant yet hilarious. The romance is done so beautifully I want to cry just thinking about it. Leah's bisexuality was portrayed flawlessly and I feel so blessed Leah On The Offbeat is a perfect read (from the adorable fluff to realistic depictions of family and friend relations to remarkable represantation of different kinds). I'm sure it won't disappoint you. SO READ IT PLEASE

Ce livre ne m'était pas destiné, mais l'ami qu'il l'a lu a adoré !

First of all the book arrived in perfect shape. The book itself made me so happy, I loved it as much as I loved Simon Vs the homo sapien agenda. Becky Albertalli has done it once again with great loveable characters and a great story in general. I totally recommend it.

サイモンの続編で、前作ではサイモンのちょっと気難しい親友として登場していたリアが主役です 最初は素直 なサイモンと比べて意固地で自意識過剰なリアに好感が持てなかったのですが、いつのまにか彼女が自分の一部のような気持ちで読んでいました。 あーわかるわかるこういう気持ち…と何度も頷きながら読み進めあっという間に読んでしまいました。 前作を読んでから読むとより楽しめると思います。 シニカルでクールな若者英語よんでてためになりました。

Every time I read a Becky Albertalli book I am pleasantly surprised by the quality and style of her writing. Leah on the Offbeat was no different. I found myself laughing and “awwing” throughout. This book was really sweet and the f/f romance was even sweeter. I only read Simon for the first time about 10 months ago but kept putting off Leah because I didn’t really like her character in Simon and a lot of my Goodreads friends haven’t rated this one well. But now that I have read it I think I enjoyed it maybe more than I enjoyed Simon. I liked the character of Leah and I think it was good to see her background instead of her through Simons eyes as a sideline character. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because it is the type of book I wished for as a teenager. If I read this at 15/16/17 I would have devoured it over and over! The biggest complaint by others is the romance and the way it happened but honestly the characters are teenagers who 1. Don’t see the world through the moral eyes of adults and 2. It’s quite common in f/f teen relationships to form this way. I’m sad that I have now read all the Creekwood books but glad I finally gave them and Becky Albertalli the chance to impress me- which she has done!

Me encantó. Quizá me gustó un poco menos que el de simon. Pero Leah me recuerda a mi mejor amiga asi que no hay mas que decir. Cada vez que salen simon y bram en el libro son lo mas "cute" de todo el universo. Worth it.