Reviews with content warning for Biphobia - Leah on the Offbeat

Reviews tagging 'Biphobia'

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

22 reviews

rayne_1906's review against another edition

funny lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Audiobook - 4 hours 42 minutes - This book was *okay*. That's all I can really say about it. I liked how the author chose to focus on a different character in an existing book, but the plot just felt a bit lacking. Nothing really happened. The titular character just raised the same issues about bisexuality, race, and college over and over again, which was fine at first but became boring. It was interesting enough to read about these characters, but it definitely wasn't anything special.

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readitandweep's review

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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lizzie04's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This is a downgrade from the 5 stars I’ve given this book previously, but I also understand why others have rated it even lower. Despite the issues I now have with it after this third reread, Leah on the Offbeat is still a soft spot for me since it was my first f/f romance I ever read, and the first time the main character had the same sexuality as me—I was a baby gay looking for representation, but representation isn’t enough. Some of these critiques I’ve realized before but pushed to the back of my head until this latest read-through.

Things I liked:
-Leah’s mom and Garrett were my favorite characters this time. The mom is such a sweet and cool character, and the way Leah speaks to her is a true testament to the shit white kids can get away with telling their parents. She and Leah had sweet interactions (despite the times Leah completely disrespected her) and I adored that scene where she’s helping Leah get ready for prom. Garrett is just such an adorable himbo, why did it take me three read-throughs to realize that?

-How accurate the teenagers are here, and how it really does feel like you’re in the mind of a teenager with Leah. I mean, I live in a big city, so the teenagers I know that have a car are zero, but their interactions and the teen-speak here are pretty good. I have issues with Leah’s character, but some of the things she thinks/does made me smile from how much I related, even minor details that Albertalli included that just added to Leah’s characterization. Very accurate and at times funny depiction of an awkward queer teen having a crush as well.

-The cheesy prom ending. Although this time it was soured by my biggest issue with this book, I still enjoyed the irony in Leah getting a prom night of the likes you see in teen movies, but queer. Also, just the nostalgia playing in from when I first read this.

Things I didn’t like:
-It baffled me how a bisexual character managed to be biphobic to another bisexual character. I’m specifically referencing the football field scene where Abby comes out to Leah by saying she’s “lowkey bi.” I interpreted this as Abby feeling like she’s attracted to more than one gender, but generally still prefers guys. Like Leah, I don’t think lowkey bi is a thing, because having a preference towards a specific gender is completely valid—it doesn’t make you any less bisexual than someone who has no preference. It isn’t always a 50/50 thing with every bi person.

What completely pissed me off with Leah is how strictly she seemed to adhere to the “you’re either bi or you’re not” thing. First of all, maybe Abby still isn’t completely sure or confident in her label. She doesn’t need another queer person, or anyone, to tell her what she is, she needs compassion. And what does “you’re either bi or you’re not” even mean? That Abby has to like girls as much as she likes guys? No! To me, it just seemed like Leah interprets bisexuality in the 50/50 sense. She was completely insensitive to someone confiding in her about their sexuality and made it about herself. Abby had been confusing before, but now she was point-blank telling Leah she wasn’t straight and Leah was still acting like Abby was a straight girl messing with her.

-Leah’s character. Teenagers are insecure, but Leah is insecure to an extreme, and I wouldn’t consider it a flaw of the story if it had been addressed. She lashes out on other people because of her insecurity, and for a lot of the book, she’s just a moody asshole. And that would be fine! I’m a moody asshole too at times, it’s not exactly uncommon for teens to be that way. What my issue is with Leah is that the only people who ever call her out on her bullshit are her mother and Anna; I especially liked the part where Leah’s mom pointed out how Leah overreacts to things. Something she doesn’t like happens and she wants to burn everything to the ground. But no character development emerges from this! Abby forgives her for being a douchebag during her coming out (actually, it’s as if that scene never happened) and the biphobia is never addressed and Leah gets her happy ending. Leah herself is aware of how much of an ass she is and how she can treat people unfairly, but being aware isn’t much better than being unaware if you don’t do anything to change it. In fact, it’s worse.

-The other characters in general. I may need to reread Simon Vs. the Homosapiens Agenda again to see if the characters were just off in this book. Simon annoyed me both here and in Love, Creekwood (the boy has attachment issues and an aversion to change), and I remember liking Nick more in the first book. He was an ass here too, and I know he got broken up with but even before the break-up, he didn’t feel like Nick to me. Bram was still adorable and Abby was just okay. I sympathized with her struggling to figure her sexuality out and wanted to hug her during that damn football field scene.

-Harry Potter references. Too many of those and they didn’t age well.

3.5 stars might seem like a lot for the demolishing of this I just did, but a part of me still enjoys the story and seeing Abby and Leah together. As I said, it’s soured now but I can’t completely resent my first entry to f/f romance.

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