Written by Mikayla Spicer
Leah on the Offbeat is a perfect sassy blend of real senior year feels, friend and family drama, and fandom references. The new YA novel tells the story of Leah Burke, who was first introduced in Becky Albertalli’s Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda (or the film Love, Simon).
It’s set three months after the events of Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda, and Leah, Abby, Simon, Bram, and Nick are all graduating and talking about college applications and dealing with being separated. The main character is Leah who, in her own words, is “your resident fat Slytherin Rory Gilmore.” The character development of Leah is amazing as she begins as a girl who is angry at her friends and family, and ends as someone who is more accepting of herself, and those around her. Her journey to this ‘enlightened’ state, if you will, is splattered with obstacles such as dealing with her mother’s boyfriends and her friendship group imploding. Relatable, am I right?
The thing about Leah is, she is written as a real human. That sounds stupid, however, hear me out. She’s 100 percent a fangirl, with a passion and talent for drawing. Leah talks about her images of popular ships, such as Drarry (for those who live under rocks, that’s Draco and Harry from Harry Potter) and the more canon Percabeth (again, Percy and Annabeth of Percy Jackson and the Olympians). She is written in a way that is incredible and Albertalli makes you laugh from the very first page to the last. She feels like someone tangible, someone you would want to be friends with.
As someone who is a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I appreciated the representation of bisexual experiences. Albertalli accurately (to an extent) represents the struggle of being out to only some people, and not to others, and that constant struggle of finding your true self. A big focus of the novel is the love Leah feels for her friend Abby, and being closeted to her friend group, despite knowing she’d be accepted. And this is just one aspect that Albertalli shows of some LGBTQ+ experiences.
Albertalli also continues the story of Simon and Bram through Leah’s eyes. Albertalli does a fantastic job of continuing their story whilst still maintaining Leah’s own story. I mean, when we left them in Simon vs. The Homosapiens Agenda, we were left to gush about Simon and Bram to our friends and family, and other readers on social media platforms. But now we have a canonical continuation of their story! I mean yes please!
Leah On The Offbeat is available on Amazon, Book Depository, and at other good book retailers.
Have you read Leah On The Offbeat? Or will you be checking it out? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | 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
