Book Review: Leah on the Offbeat

Title: Leah on the Offbeat

Author: Becky Albertalli

Series: Book 2 of Creekwood

Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBT+

My rating: 4 stars

Goodreads synopsis:

Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It’s hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting—especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

My thoughts:

This is one of my most anticipated April reads, and now that I read it, I am once again bombarded with feels. Honestly, everything Becky Albertalli writes fills me up with so much emotions. This book is no exception.

Buying this book and getting into it, I was really excited. I loved Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda; the characters, the message it was trying to portray to the dear readers, and the simplicity it shows, it’s truly beautiful. I was so excited for Leah on the Offbeat because I know Leah has much more to say—she has a story and it needs to be heard. And of course, I was so excited to come back to Creekwood!

Okay, so, onto the story! I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT, I KNEW IT. My theory was right! (And I’ve had this theory ever since I’ve read Simon versus, hahaha!) It was just so good reading through Leah’s perspective. I know sometimes she may seem really annoying, but I loved her; she was sarcastic and badass, but she was also shy and insecure, and sometimes even cynical (in those parts I could really relate to haha!)
I really got to see Leah and her struggle and confusion as she weaves her way through the last few months of her senior year. With tension between her friends, family, and her own self, it was good to see how she tried to cope with it and how the people around her dealt with it.

I also love how I could feel Leah’s longing and confusion for love and affection throughout Albertalli’s writing…

“Imagine going about your day knowing someone’s carrying you in their mind. That has to be the best part of being in love–the feeling of having a home in someone else’s brain.”

…and Leah’s constant struggle with people making unnecessary comments about her weight (in which I could totally relate to.)

“I swear, people can’t wrap their minds around the concept of a fat girl who doesn’t diet. Is it that hard to believe I might actually like my body?”

I wanted a little more at the end though. It seemed a little too easy for me. I wanted to have more details about how the gang dealt with the truth and the outcome of all the tension that happened, and how did they moved on from it. The ending was short and sweet, and I guess I really craved for more, after everything that happened in Leah’s journey.

Al in all though, I really liked it and my heart is satisfied. I give this book 4 stars!

(ALSO CAN YOU JOIN ME IN FANGIRLING OVER THE COVER? IT’S GORGEOUS, AND MY FAVORITE COLOR IS POPPING! (see below))

How are you book nerds? How is your first read for the month of May? Just comment down and we can talk!