Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

7 reviews

torikate7's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I really enjoyed the first two books in the series. This book did not disappoint, and Leah Burke is a bad ass.  

This book is based on a Seventeen-year-old girl named Leah Burke. She is an amazing drummer who is always right on the beat, however her real life is a little harder to manage. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious and scared to show it. And she hasn’t told her friends that she is bisexual, not even to her openly BFF, Simon. Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture. With prom and college just around the corner, tensions are running high and it’s hard for Leah to fight the right note while the people she loves are fighting – especially when she realizes she might love one of them more than she ever intended. This novel is a young adult contemporary romance LGBT fiction, and it is set in Georgia, USA. 

I loved this book. It was a fast paced, highly emotional book. The characters were great, the storyline was sweet, and it was an easy read. I loved Leah in the first book and loved her even more in this book and reading this from her point of view. I related to Leah a lot with being confused about who she likes and how she feels in certain clothes. I liked seeing how Simon and Bram are still going strong and I hated that the friendship group is slowly breaking with them growing up. I don’t have anything negative to say about this book, it just didn’t hit my all-time favourites level and that’s why it didn’t get five stars. 

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes love triangles, plus-size representation, LGBT representation and for anyone looking for an easy read young adult novel. I cannot wait to read the next book in the series. 

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emmaward55's review against another edition

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funny inspiring lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love Becky Albertalli's writing and I don't think she could write a book that I didn't at least like. This book didn't quite give me everything that I wanted, but I still enjoyed it and I think it's an important view point both in YA romance and queer romance genres. Rarely do I see books about fat sapphics with happily ever afters, much less ones who are poor or who have divorced families. 

In some ways this book felt like a hug from a friend. It was familiar and comforting and I can see myself returning to it in the future. That being said, there were things that I thought it lacked. Mainly a satisfactory ending. I wish we'd gotten to hear Nick's reaction to his ex girlfriend dating one of his best friends. So much of the final arc of the book was about Leah worrying how Nick would feel, but we never get that pay off! I wanted resolution. At the least, I wanted the wrap up chapter to say something vague like "Nick isn't as fast to reply to my texts now, but we still hang out and he seems happy in his new relationship". 

Speaking of relationships, the pairing up of every single remaining character at the end felt so weird. Hetero characters who had barely interacted with each other were suddenly an item and it felt like something you'd expect from a straight romance writer. IDK, I can see that it's meant to be part of the "and they all lived happily every after and no one was sad or lonely" vibe, but it's important that teens reading YA romance know that they're not unlovable / broken / wrong for graduating high school without a partner. 

Despite all of that, I do really recommend this book. These are minor quibbles over a story that still had a lot of heart and soul in it. It deserves to be given a chance and I'm sure there are going to be readers who don't see an issue with anything written above. 

I wouldn't say that this is the female version of Simon Vs., but if you're looking for a comforting wlw story about two girls figuring out who they are to themselves and each other, this is the book for you.

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jenarae's review against another edition

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

4.0


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rayne_1906's review against another edition

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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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streebela's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0


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theasbookworld's review

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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