Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli | A Review

Leah on the Offbeat is the sequel to Becky Albertalli’s Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. In Leah on the Offbeat, we learn more about Simon’s best friend Leah Burke as she navigates her senior year in high school. The book hones in on her relationship with her mother, her friendship with Simon, conflicts among her friend group, as well as her struggle to come out to her friends as bisexual.

In my review of Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, I mentioned that I didn’t get a good sense of Leah’s character. I found her interesting but felt her complexities were largely unexplored. Fortunately, she really comes to life in Leah on the Offbeat. We get a closer look at her romantic life, her relationship with her young single mother, her interests in art and drumming, along with her humorous outlook on life. I found myself smiling and giggling so many times at all of her comical observations and commentaries about herself and the people around her. The deadpan sarcasm and dry humor Simon talks about in book one is actually put on display in the sequel.

Another thing in book one that I felt was lacking was the closeness between Simon and Leah. We’re told that they’re best friends, but it feels like they’re hardly even acquaintances. Their relationship is more fully developed here. The fact that they’re best friends is apparent in the way that they’re there for one another in times of crisis and in their witty banter. It’s also interesting to see that Simon’s interpretation of Leah’s feelings towards Abby and Nick were not necessarily accurate in book one. It goes to show that first person narrators are not always reliable when it comes to other characters’ feelings.

What threw me off in this book is that Nick and Simon don’t quite feel the same as they did in book one. Simon seems goofier, and Nick seems less cool, calm, and collected. I would have liked to see more consistency with these characters, because part of what was so exciting about reading the sequel was getting to hang out with them again after growing attached to them in book one.

Another thing I loved about book one was the storyline. The mystery behind learning who Blue is and the process of getting to know Blue’s life through his emails added an extra layer to the story. This book, on the other hand, feels pretty aimless at points and likes it’s going nowhere. It just feels like it’s missing something. And Leah’s incessant whining can become grating at times. She can also be pretty judgmental.

Also, the  ending brushes over a major conflict between Leah and a friend. At the end of the novel, the book skips ahead in time and barely addresses the conflict. It feels like a cop out, and I think it sends a weird message about not properly communicating with friends when there’s an issue.

If I had to choose, I would say I preferred Simon’s story, simply because his book feels more complete. While this book doesn’t have quite the same impact as the first one, it’s still ultimately worth reading. Leah’s relentless and often times self-deprecating humor and her hilariously wonderful way with words had me giggling throughout. And just like Simon, this book offers young readers lessons about compassion and acceptance, while still remaining funny and light-hearted. And along with Leah’s personality and her friendship with Simon coming to life, what makes Leah on the Offbeat special is the way it captures the drama of being a teenager, when everything feels monumental, life changing, exciting and scary all at the same time.

Rating: 3.5/5

Check out Leah on the Offbeat on GoodReads.