Leah on the Offbeat
Title: Leah on the OffbeatAuthor: Becky Albertalli
Series: Creekwood, #2
Published: April 24th 2018
Pages: 343
'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.
Like many people this year, I fell in love with Simon Spier - the adorable, Hufflepuff protagonist in Becky Albertalli's 2015 novel Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Needless to say I was a few years late to this party, but in early February, finding myself with a surprising break from uni reading and an ache to get lost in a light-hearted contemporary, I bought the audio book and began listening. I couldn't get enough, finished it in 2 days, (unusual since I'm not normally an audio book kind of gal), and didn't stop thinking about it for weeks afterwards. But that's a spoiler for a potential later review.
So when the movie adaptation Love, Simon was released in early April, I was more than ready. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and loved getting to physically see the characters in front of me. And Leah Burke definitely stood out. In particular, the moment when she sees Abby Suso in her Wonder Woman Halloween costume, and there's no straight explanation for the look she gives her. My friend and I both saw it as suspicious, and I'm sure so many others did too. So it was brilliant to hear that Leah was getting her own book, and that I was right! No straight explanation. Because Leah Burke is
a proud, bisexual, female, main character.
Even though she's not out to her friends, she has no trouble discussing it in the narration of the story and using the label - something not seen too often.
The book focuses on Leah's last few weeks of high school with her friends (those we know and love from Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda) and the lead up to her senior prom. It deals with issues such as changes in family structure, dramatic decisions within a friend group, preparing to say goodbye, and basically handling intense emotions.
I managed to finish this book in just 1 day, and there were so many aspects that I loved.
Leah as a character is super refreshing. She's bi and quietly confident about it, understanding her own sexuality well before the book even starts - which was a surprise. I thought we'd be in for a self-discovery journey along those lines. But nope, dove right in. She's also on the larger side, but it isn't much of an issue for her, as she states quite a few times that she loves her body how it is. But within this, there are a few salient moments that I feel will have resonated with so many people. For example, there's a scene in which she is shopping with her mum for a prom dress, and none are working for her. It really captures that sense of deflation and distress that I know most people, particularly girls, have at some point felt when they were trying on clothes in a changing room. The scene struck such a cord with me, and I really felt for Leah more than I've felt for any character in a long time.
I also love how unapologetically stubborn and grumpy Leah can be. Again, it was refreshing to read a female character who has such strong opinions and speaks her mind - even when it might have been best not to. Her relationships with her family and friends are complex, and she doesn't always make it easy for them. Sometimes I did find myself face-palming, asking "why have you just said that Leah?" But in an endearing way. And she made me laugh, which is again unusual because I don't normally physically laugh at books.
"I can't help it. I'm a Slytherin."And speaking of her relationships, I loved her family dynamic. Her mum had her as a teenager, and raised her alone after Leah's dad left when she was around 10. This was, again, something I've not seen very often and, coming from a kind of similar situation, I greatly appreciated it. I especially liked the interactions Leah has with her mum's new boyfriend. In true Leah fashion they are, spoiler, shall we say frosty. But I could understand exactly why the whole time, and it made me feel for her more.
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| (The book's dedication) |
It was also wonderful for me, as an adamant Simon Spier lover, to see Simon so frequently and know what he's up to - especially regarding Bram, as they didn't technically get too much time in their own book.
However, despite all my gushing about Leah as a character and other bits and pieces, there were just a few things that didn't sit quite right with me. The main one is the contemporary moment. If you've read even a small collection of contemporary novels then you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. It's the moment that everything falls into a million pieces and the protagonist's world seems to end right before your eyes. I shouldn't be complaining really, because I hate those moments and struggle to read them sometimes - it just feels like my world is ending and I can't take the second-hand agony. But in this book, the moment didn't really seem to...happen. Yeah, there are quite a few things that go wrong and tensions that arise throughout the book, but they seem spread out and none of them are really, truly world-shattering, so I just didn't feel that same impact, you know? Especially when the synopsis claims that 'her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture' and 'the people she loves are fighting'. There isn't really much fracturing and barely any fighting. But maybe it was just me.
The other thing is the love interest. Mild spoilers ahead (although the blurb kind of gives it away I guess?), but her relationship with Abby doesn't really live up to expectations for me personally. I fell totally in love with Simon and Bram's relationship in the last book, but Leah and Abby aren't as great. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of mystery? I'm not sure. But I didn't really enjoy Abby as a character too much and felt that she wasn't really complex or fleshed out. And so it felt a little odd to see her with our fiery, hot-headed Leah. But not in the cute-mismatched-couple-that-completes-each-other way.
"She probably thinks Troye Sivan's songs are about girls."But overall, I really did enjoy it, and I'd probably give it a 3.7 stars out of 5. Becky Albertalli's writing is just very smooth and easy to read so it really felt like no time at all finishing it. She also tends to nail the pop-culture references, especially with her highlighting how much of a Slytherin Leah is. And I really am glad that I got to read this stubborn, hot-headed, yet compassionate and endearing Slytherin's story.
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| (Creekwood #1) |
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