Leah on the Offbeat

Author: Becky Albertalli
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBTQ
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 343
Series: #2 in the Creekwood series
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (HarperCollins)
First Published: April 24, 2018
First Line: "I don't mean to be dramatic, but God save me from Morgan picking our set list."

Book Description from GoodReads: 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 Rating: 3 stars

My Review: After loving and gushing about Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda a few months ago, I was eager to read this follow-up book which focuses on Simon's friend, Leah. Fans of Simon will enjoy getting back into the lives of the Creekwood gang, who are a deliciously diverse bunch, now in their final year of high school.

While this was a good read, some of the Simon magic was missing. I didn't feel the same connection with the characters and this was even more noticeable when it came to Leah. She wasn't likeable this time out and felt like she was in a bad mood most of the book. I like that she's brash, sarcastic, funny and flies her Potter geek flag high, but it felt like her inner Mean Girl took over so much of the story that we didn't see the real Leah beneath the layers of snark.   

Once again, I applaud Albertalli for delving into different issues influencing teens today (I loved Abby's story line) but Leah had some big shoes to fill coming on the heels of Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and, unfortunately, I was left wanting a bit more. While I didn't love this book as much as I had expected, I'm still glad I read it and enjoyed seeing where the characters have progressed to since the last book.