Leah on the Offbeat

By: Becky Albertalli

Narrated by: Shannon Purser

Length: 7 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's Summary

Number one New York Times best seller!

In this sequel to the acclaimed Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda - now a major motion picture, Love, Simon - we follow Simon’s BFF Leah as she grapples with changing friendships, 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.

She’s an anomaly in her friend group: 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.

©2018 Becky Albertalli (P)2018 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

"Narrator Shannon Purser proves to be a great match for the wry, anxious, funny, self-deprecating, snarky, and longing inner voice of Leah... Her whiplashing emotions are always front and center for the listener, which feels endearing, exhausting, and relatable." (AudioFile)

I’ve been waiting months for LEAH! Was not disappointed

This was an incredible sequel and I loved every minute of it!!! The book was beyond expectations and it was my fav out of all 3 Simonverse books!! Leah is an amazing character and I am proud of her character development and I’m so happy that this book was made!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH BECKY FOR WRITING QUEER CHARACTERS!!! IT MAKES ME FEEL VALID!!!!!

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Not something you are expecting

Umm this book kinda ruins my impression from the Simon book...It kinda makes me hate some of the characters. And it makes me feel sick of continue listening. I have read Albertalli's other books and I love those, just not this one.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

like falling in love all over again

We already know that Leah is this super self-conscious and stubborn teen girl from 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'. In this book, her POV just made the thoughts and struggles ever so clear and real that sometimes I feel like 'how could you' and also 'I totally get it' at the same time.
'Leah on the Offbeat' audiobook is really cute and beautiful, and as much a cliché as a teen's story, it is very enjoyable. Very.
Shannon's narration made all the emotions so raw and reactions so alive. I might not enjoy the story so much if I were only to read it. Through her voice, I morphed into Leah and my stomach flutters so bad whenever Leah does. I feel I am in love....

2 of 3 people found this review helpful

Fan Service for the Simonverse

I picked this up because I loved "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda". If you haven't read that one, or seen the movie "Love, Simon", I would definitely recommend checking either or both of those out before starting this book. I guess, technically you could read this book without those, but it's good to know the history of this universe before diving in to Leah.

Right of the bat, I will say I was not a fan of the narrator's voice. I don't know if the author meant for Leah to sound stuffed up with a lisp, but that's what you'll be listening to for 7 hours. Maybe I'm just being critical because I LOVED the narrator for the Simon book. I mean, I guess it kind of suits the Leah character, but I just didn't find it as pleasant to listen to for an extended period of time.

The story itself it pretty good. You get to go on this modern coming of age journey with Leah where she is forced to deal with her sexuality, friendships, relationships, life plans after high school, etc. I thought focusing on Leah was a peculiar choice though. After reading the Simon book, I definitely felt that Leah was not focused on very much compared to the other characters in the "Simonverse" and I didn't find her particularly that interesting as a character anyway. Was that an intentional set up for focusing the sequel on her?

I think I enjoyed the Simon book better as a whole, not just for the superior narration, but probably because Simon was just a more likable character to follow. Leah is your typical angsty teenager with a sarcastic a surly wit. I found myself becoming very frustrated with her character during the course of this story because I felt like she over-complicated things due to her surly and angsty demeanor.

I will say, this book, like the Simon book, has excellent dialog and despite being frustrated with Leah, I was entertained and engaged the whole time. If you were a fan of the characters from the Simon book, you will enjoy this story as it picks up at the following school year. You get to find out how everything panned out and learn more about a character that didn't get much of the spotlight in the previous book. Overall, I would recommend this for any fan of the "Simonverse" and/or anyone looking for a dramady style LGBTQ Young Adult book.

#ComingOut #JadedTeen #School #Cynical #LGBTQ #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

A little disappointing.

I was really looking forward to this book, but it never truly lived up to my expectations. I didn't enjoy the narration at all, finding it lacking in any personality. I thought that Leah would be quirky and against the status quo, in a lovable, endearing way. But she was just not very multi-dimensional, making her fall really flat, in my opinion. All the self doubt and negativity built up for too long to just burst into such a strong turn around, at the end. Just didn't work for me, as well as Simon did.

A Return to Simon's World

Obviously Simon vs. the Homo Sapien's Agenda got a lot of press due to its great story and the movie. Leah's story is equally as good and Purser reads her well.

great story

I loved Simon vs the home sapiens. this was a great follow-up. narration wasn't the best.

Love it!

I freaking loved this book. Even more than the first Simon book! I love the ending!

At a loss for words

Usually when listen to a book. I hate the endings because I never want them to end. But Becky Albertalli did justice for Leah Burke. It is overall a funny and relatable story for kids struggling with sexuality and self-identification. I recommend this book a hundred percent.

Doesn't live up to SimonVsTHA.

I was really excited to get this book. I loved SimonVsTHA, but this book was just uneventful, boring, lacking in substance, poor character development, anticlimactic, and only leaves for about 5 mins at the end to try and resolve all the "drama" between the relationships. The resolution of the story was kind of a cop out, lazily done and rushed. I think it was this book (or perhaps her other one that took several rewrites), and I just felt like this book doesn't live up. Nothing happens! There is no direct overarching conflict that drives the story forward, just Leah's inner thoughts and observations that dont affect anything because she does nothing. It took me 2 months to finish because I was rolling my eyes for most of it. It's not the worst thing ever, but it doesn't do the Simonverse justice.