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Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Written by · Published Aug 14, 2018 · Filed under Literary fiction

Leah on the Offbeat

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“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 mum, and her life is decidedly less privileged. 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.”

Like its predecessor Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, Leah on the Offbeat is set at Creekwood High School and deals with how the main character comes out to their friends and families while dealing with high school.

Leah is Simon’s best friend. In this book, the seniors are coming to the end of high school and starting to look at where to go to college. Relationships and friendships are coming to an end but also, for some, just beginning. Leah realises that she may be in love with someone that could cause all kinds of repercussions. Is it worth the risk?

Having read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, I couldn’t wait to read Leah on the Offbeat and I loved it just as much. The idea of a series of books looking at different people in the same school is great and I hope to see more books about the other characters we have met through Simon and Leah.

This book covers high school, college, sexuality and relationships and, like Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, is a must-read for anyone with an interest in LGBT issues.

Emma Maguire

I'm a library and information advisor.