Reviews

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

nikfernandez17177's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5⭐️

ritmanbooks's review against another edition

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4.0

Esta novela es el spin off de 'Yo, Simon, Homo Sapiens' (Con amor, Simon), así que os recomiendo leerla primero. 'Leah a destiempo' es una historia que trata sobre el desarollo del personaje, de cómo Leah se va conociendo a sí misma, así que no esperéis una gran trama. Personalmente, yo disfruto mucho de este tipo de libros.

La narración de Becky Albertalli es fluida y siempre hace que los personajes sean cercanos al lector, lo que hace que sea muy fácil sentirse identificado con sus sentimientos. Además, la autora siempre nos presenta unas relaciones entre personajes muy sanas y nos muestra valores fundamentales que para mí hacen necesarias este tipo de novelas; luchar por lo que uno quiere, no tener miedo a ser y amar.

Si tengo que ponerle una pega para justificar las cuatro estrellas es que el final me resultó un poco abrupto, para mí le faltaron algunas páginas. Aún así, me ha encantado reencontrarme con todos los personajes de Creekwood (sobre todo, con Simon) y conocer la historia de Leah.

Lo recomiendo tanto como a su predecesor. Las novelas de Albertalli siempre son una gran soplo de aire fresco.

annettebooksofhopeanddreams's review against another edition

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2.0

Ik keek heel erg uit naar dit boek, vooral na Simon vs, dat nog altijd één van mijn favoriete contemporary teenage romances is. Helaas viel dit boek toch een beetje tegen en ik durf niet te zeggen of dat aan mij of aan het boek ligt. Wellicht ligt het aan ons allebei een beetje.

Allereerst liggen Leah en ik elkaar niet zo. Ik heb absoluut niet het hart op mijn tong liggen, maar de manier waarop Leah met alles omgaat staat zo ver bij mij persoonlijk vandaan en ligt dusdanig in mijn allergie-sfeer dat ik me er eigenlijk vooral aan ergerde. Het grootste deel van het plot van het boek wordt veroorzaakt door Leah's onmogelijkheid om eender wat met eender wie te communiceren. En dat is helaas een van mijn grootste irritaties in dit soort boeken.

Daarnaast vond ik Leah's manier van praten bij vlagen erg plat. Ik weet niet of dat puur door de vertaling komt, of dat dit ook in het Engels zo is, maar het taalgebruik sloot absoluut niet aan bij de manier waarop ik dingen uitspreek of benoem. Het voelde voor mij als bij vlagen erg grof en het woordgebruik weinig creatief. Ik snap dat schelden één van Leah's dingen is, maar het was niet alleen dat. Haar taalgebruik viel bij mij gewoon niet erg lekker.

Ten slotte vond ik het ook jammer dat heel veel relatie-opbouw niet in dit boek gebeurt, maar eigenlijk al eerder gebeurd is. Ik kan me niet meer herinneren of dat in Simon was, maar aangezien het boek als op zichzelf staand wordt gepresenteerd hoef ik daar ook niet naar te kijken. Heel veel dingen die mij interessant geleken hadden, waren al gebeurd voor het begin van dit boek, worden heel summier benoemd of worden uiteindelijk helemaal niet meer beschreven. Persoonlijk vind ik dat jammer. Ik ben een emotie-lezer en juist deze scenes hadden mij emotioneel betrokken kunnen maken bij het verhaal.

Al met al dus voor mij helaas een minder boek. Maar ik ga moedig door naar het volgende!

ruth24's review against another edition

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4.0

[b:Leah on the Offbeat|31180248|Leah on the Offbeat (Creekwood, #2)|Becky Albertalli|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1510886704s/31180248.jpg|51820754] is the continuation of the "Creekwood" series, which began with [b:Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|19547856|Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood, #1)|Becky Albertalli|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1402915678s/19547856.jpg|27679579]. The story focuses on Leah Burke, a pretty badass character who plays drums in an all-girl band, isn't afraid to stand up to people, and who has yet to come out as bi to anyone except for her mom. I personally didn't catch any hints of Leah being bi in the first book, but maybe I'm just clueless? My rating of this book is somewhere between a 3.5 and a 4. I didn't enjoy it as much as the first book, for several reasons.

I found Leah really frustrating at times. Her mom hit the nail on the head when she said that Leah razes things to the ground every time she feels the least bit uncomfortable. It was infuriating to watch her ruin relationships and hold herself back because of her intense emotions and self-doubt. I was also annoyed by several aspects of the book's ending.
SpoilerWhy on Earth would you agree to be someone's girlfriend who just broke up with their boyfriend of one year 2 weeks ago and who you'll be living in a tiny dorm room with for the next 8 months? This has got to be the worst idea, though tbh it's probably accurate of idiot naive teenagers. It was also annoying how everyone ended up happily dating someone else in the friend circle (Garret and Morgan, Nick and Taylor, for example). That wasn't very realistic. It was like the final chapter of [b:Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows|136251|Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Harry Potter, #7)|J.K. Rowling|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1474171184s/136251.jpg|2963218] all over again!


OK, the bad parts are over and now we can move on to the good parts, because I really did like the book, despite my ranting!

I've read three of Albertalli's books now, and I really like how she is able to make me remember what it's like to be a teenager, with all the angst and crushes that come with puberty. She's also really good at characters - they're complex, believable, and easy to connect with, which pulls me into the story each time and makes me want to rip through the pages. Her books are pure entertainment and so much fun to read!

allygatr's review against another edition

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5.0

i think i have finally come to the conclusion that audiobooks are not nearly as good as physically reading. there's something about hearing someone read in a different voice than what you would expect the character to sound like.

aside from that, this was really cute. leah was sometimes super annoying, but it was fun to catch up with all the simon characters. i still love bram, simon and kind of everyone seemed flat, butttt twas fun

joana_stormblessed's review against another edition

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5.0

I mean how could this not be a favorite? I love Becky Albertalli's books and characters and I loved this book. I loved seeing the characters I grew attached to in Simon grow and move onto next phases of their lives. I hope that there will be more from them!

astheplotthickens24's review against another edition

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4.0

This book is so sweet omg!!! I don't wanna spoil anyone but it freaking happened y'all!! Never in a million years would I ever guess that Leah and ______ are in love.

Ps: Simon Spier and his beau is still my OTP.

snaillydia's review against another edition

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2.0

Simon vs. the Homosapiens Agenda is one of my favorite contemporary young adult novels. It's sweet, and it's meaningful, without being preachy. It has all you could ask for from an LGBT novel and more.

Everything about Leah On The Off-Beat is obnoxious. As a bi girl in her teens, I thought I would love this, but I ended up disappointed.

Leah is plain bitter. And rude. I understand that she's depressed, but that doesn't excuse her from being an asshole to everyone, from her mom to her friends. She constantly thinks condescending things about the people who care for her. She's the epitome of a stereotype that's considered so cool these days, the "woke" sassy girl. Sometimes she isn't just rude to her friends, she actively screws them over. She says things in her head that just feel like the writer trying to make her relatable. If you strip away the occasional funny line, Leah is just an unpleasant person.

I'm not sure how much sense the romance makes in the context of the first book. But, besides that, the romance was cliche-filled and not in the good way. For me, the chemistry was not there at all. Every time something romantic was mentioned, instead of gushing like Simon and Bram made me, I cringed and pitied other characters. Instead of finding myself in Leah, I related to Nick and Garrett.

We did get to see Bram and Simon a lot, which kind of made me want to read about the events of this book from Simon's point of view rather than have to read more cringeworthy Leah sourness.

Me me big disappointment.

teeggzz's review against another edition

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3.0

*3.75
Overall enjoyed it but got some issues :/

contodoelamor's review against another edition

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lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Too many Harry Potter references. Also the story went too far out of its way to make Nick a douchebag. Nick was great in Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda but suddenly he was a dick in this one in order for Leah to end up with Abby. Don't get me wrong, as a dyke I love reading about gay women but this felt like it was held together with not enough glue. Can't even kick my feet at the girls kissing at the end because the plot and characters bugged me so much. Just mid overall.