Leah on the Offbeat

by Becky Albertalli

Overview

#1 New York Times bestseller!

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781538499290
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	04/24/2018
Series:	Simonverse Series
Edition description:	Unabridged
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x (d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Becky Albertalli is the author of the acclaimed novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda and The Upside of Unrequired, among others. She is a clinical psychologist who specializes in working with children and teens. She also served for seven years as the coleader of a support group for gender-nonconforming children in Washington, DC.

Shannon Purser is a voice talent and audiobook narrator.

Editorial Reviews

Albertalli has a fantastic ear for voice, and it’s beautifully on display in Leah’s funny, wry, and vulnerable first-person narrative. Everything Albertalli already did so well in Simon she’s improved upon here, and fans of the first book will be utterly smitten with Leah.” — Booklist (starred review)

From the Publisher

Albertalli has a fantastic ear for voice, and it’s beautifully on display in Leah’s funny, wry, and vulnerable first-person narrative. Everything Albertalli already did so well in Simon she’s improved upon here, and fans of the first book will be utterly smitten with Leah.

Booklist (starred review)

Narrator Shannon Purser proves to be a great match for the wry, anxious, funny, self-deprecating, snarky, and longing inner voice of Leah (Simon’s BFF in SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA). It's her senior year of high school, and Leah is dealing with a lot—from graduation worries to unrequited crushes. Her whiplashing emotions are always front and center for the listener, which feels endearing, exhausting, and relatable. While Purser taps right into the essence of Leah’s character, she doesn’t differentiate voices for other characters, and listeners may find themselves confused about who is speaking during scenes with unattributed dialogue. Still, the story is Leah’s, and as prom approaches, listeners will worry right along with her about whether everything is, indeed, going to turn out okay. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2018 - AudioFile

Narrator Shannon Purser proves to be a great match for the wry, anxious, funny, self-deprecating, snarky, and longing inner voice of Leah (Simon’s BFF in SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA). It's her senior year of high school, and Leah is dealing with a lot—from graduation worries to unrequited crushes. Her whiplashing emotions are always front and center for the listener, which feels endearing, exhausting, and relatable. While Purser taps right into the essence of Leah’s character, she doesn’t differentiate voices for other characters, and listeners may find themselves confused about who is speaking during scenes with unattributed dialogue. Still, the story is Leah’s, and as prom approaches, listeners will worry right along with her about whether everything is, indeed, going to turn out okay. J.M.D. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

APRIL 2018 - AudioFile

★ 2018-05-28
Leah Burke is perched on the precipice of change in the final months of senior year, before everyone in her diverse friend group scatters off to become their college selves. Leah, Simon Spier's best friend in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015), takes center stage in this sequel. She knows she's bisexual, but she's only out to her mom, not her friends, not even to Simon, who is gay. Leah's cynical and socially awkward but also confident in herself. She's unapologetically fat. She's a talented artist and a ripper on the drums. She's also fierce when called for. When a white friend implies that their classmate Abby Suso only got accepted to her college because she is black, Leah, also white, calls out her bias directly (Abby is not present for this conversation), sparking a nuanced subplot on racism and white allyship. Mostly, though, senior year is characterized by Leah's aching crush on Abby, the oh-so-beautiful and oh-so-straight girlfriend of Leah's good friend Nick. When the prom-scene ending finally arrives, even the most Leah-worthy cynics will be rooting for her. With complex characters, authentic dialogue, and messy-but-beautiful friendships, this sequel is more than capable of standing on its own. A subversive take on the coming-of-age romance that will leave readers feeling like witnesses to a very special moment in Leah's life and filled with gratitude for sharing it. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews