''Leah on the Offbeat'' is a 2018

young adult novel Young adult fiction (YA) is a category of fiction written for readers from 12 to 18 years of age. While the genre is primarily targeted at adolescents, approximately half of YA readers are adults. The subject matter and genres of YA correlate ...

by American author

Becky Albertalli Rebecca Albertalli (née Goldstein; born November 17, 1982) is an American author of young adult fiction and former psychologist. She is best known for her 2015 debut novel, ''Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'', which was adapted into the 2018 ...

. It is the direct sequel to her 2015 debut novel ''

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda ''Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'' is a 2015 young adult novel and the debut book by American author Becky Albertalli. The coming-of-age story focuses on its titular protagonist Simon Spier, a closeted, gay, high school-aged boy who is forced ...

'' and the third novel in the "Simonverse", the

shared universe A shared universe or shared world is a fictional universe from a set of creative works where more than one writer (or other artist) independently contributes a work that can stand alone but fits into the joint development of the storyline, chara ...

in which Albertalli's books take place and which also includes 2017's '' The Upside of Unrequited.'' The audiobook was read by actress

Shannon Purser Shannon Purser (born June 27, 1997) is an American actress. She made her acting debut as Barb in the Netflix drama series ''Stranger Things'' (2016–2017), for which she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress i ...

. ''Leah on the Offbeat'' focuses on Leah, the best friend of Simon Spier, and her attempts to deal with various personal issues including friendships and relationships, body image, sexuality, self-esteem, going to college and feeling like an outsider. Leah was portrayed by Australian actress

Katherine Langford Katherine Langford (born 29 April 1996) is an Australian actress. After appearing in several independent films, she had her breakthrough starring as Hannah Baker in the Netflix television series ''13 Reasons Why'' (2017–2018), which earned he ...

in '' Love, Simon'', the 2018 film adaptation of ''Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda''.

Synopsis

Leah Burke is a drummer, usually on the beat drumming in the band Emoji. However, Leah has kept something from all of her friends, even from her openly gay best friend, Simon: she is bisexual. The only person to know about her sexuality is her mother, whom Leah is very close to. When her friend group starts to rock, Leah doesn't know what to do, with prom and graduation coming up. In between her friends fighting and graduation, Leah then realizes she might like one of her friends more than she first thought.

Characters

* Leah Burke – The young protagonist of the novel who is the drummer in the band Emoji. She has a deadpan, sarcastic sense of humor and is known to bottle up her feelings. She is very insecure and struggling to deal with her bisexuality. * Simon Spier – Leah's best friend with whom she was secretly in love when they were younger. He is supportive, enjoys

Oreos Oreo () (stylized as OREO) is a brand of sandwich cookie consisting of two biscuits or cookie pieces with a sweet creme filling. It was introduced by Nabisco on March 6, 1912, and through a series of corporate acquisitions, mergers and splits ...

, musical theatre,

Elliott Smith Steven Paul Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003), known professionally as Elliott Smith, was an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and lived much of hi ...

and Bram Greenfeld. * Nick Eisner – A talented singer, guitarist and soccer player and one of Leah's best friends. Towards the end of ''Simon'', Nick began a relationship with Abby, much to Leah's annoyance. * Abby Suso – Nick's girlfriend and one of Simon's closest friends. Leah is head over heels in love with Abby. * Bram Greenfeld – Simon's boyfriend, a quiet, polite, cute, soccer player. * Garrett Laughlin – Bram's best friend and a member of the soccer team with Bram and Nick. Garrett has a crush on Leah and is a part of her larger circle of friends. * Morgan – One of Leah's friends and the keyboardist in Emoji. She is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

and the events that occurred at her bat mitzvah are frequently mentioned by the other characters. In the novel, Morgan says something that causes Leah's group to fracture. * Anna – One of Leah's friends and the bassist in Emoji. She is Chinese-American, wears black eyeliner, and reads manga. * Nora Spier – Simon's younger sister and the guitarist in Emoji. Nora is not very assertive but described by Simon as "under the radar cool". * Taylor Metternich – Leah's self-obsessed, pretentious classmate and lead singer of Emoji. * Cal Price – One of Leah's classmates and the stage manager of the school's theatre production of '' Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat''. * Martin Addison – One of Leah's classmates who is universally disliked by the majority of the characters because he blackmailed and later outed Simon. * Jessica Keane – Leah's mother. A lawyer to whom Leah is very close. Leah tells her everything, including the fact that she is bisexual. * Wells – Jessica's new boyfriend. Leah dislikes him because he is older and says things like "oh fudge". *Caitlin – Abby's cousin's girlfriend's friend's sister who lets Abby and Leah stay in her apartment. ***** Abagail -

Critical reception

''Leah on the Offbeat'' has received positive reviews.

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is av ...

noted that Albertalli "has a fantastic ear for voice, and it’s beautifully on display in Leah’s funny, wry, and vulnerable first-person narrative." The entertainment site Hypeable praised the story, Leah's characterization, and "a voice to another wave of LGBTQ+ youth". Bustle praised the story as well as depiction of social anxiety. Albertalli won the Goodreads Choice Award for Best Young Adult Fiction in 2018 for ''Leah on the Offbeat''.

References

{{Authority control 2018 American novels 2018 LGBT-related literary works American young adult novels American LGBT novels American bildungsromans Novels set in high schools and secondary schools 2010s LGBT novels LGBT-related young adult novels Female bisexuality in fiction Novels with bisexual themes Fictional bisexual females Balzer + Bray books