Warning: This might be all over the place, I have really strong feelings about this book. 5 reasons why this book is terrible: 1. Leah Burke is a terrible person: While I enjoyed her character in Simon's book, she pissed me the fuck off in this one. I know she is supposed to be witty and sarcastic but she just came off being the most unlikeable character of all time. She hates everything and everyone for no reason whatsoever, I don't even know how Simon and the others can be friends with her. I would have unfriended her a long time for simply being a dick. 2. The word 'dick' brings me to my next point, the writing: Oh boy, that was atrocious. Similarly to Adam Silvera, Becky Albertelli loves to write in a very youthful and approachable way. Nothing wrong with that, right? Well, it is annoying when it's blatantly overused. There were pop culture references everywhere which just gave me the impression that Albertelli wanted to be #relatable but I was just #cringing. Personally, I like books to have a timeless feel about them which obviously isn't the case when you quote Harry Potter and/or Hamilton every other sentence. Furthermore, there were certain phrases/words that were so overused. I lost count on how many times Leah used the words 'dick' (btw I love when that word is used to describe a person. I mean people are obviously perfectly described by male genitalia, right?) or how many times 'side-eyed' another character. I for myself have lost count on how many times I cringed at that. 3. The whole stepdad subplot: Ew, that was so bad. Leah just hated on her mom's boyfriend for no reason AT ALL (she also hated on her mom for no reason at all but that's another story). He was just trying to be nice to her (mind him, most people would have just ignored Leah because she sucks), taking her shopping, buying her presents, helping her out whenever he can but Leah wasn't capable of changing her mindset about him just a fraction. I really hate that I-hate-my-mean-stepdad trope and it certainly didn't make this book any better. 4. Relationships, both romantical and platonic: Where do I even begin? I hated how the author pretty much destroyed every relationship she has created in Simon . I get that this takes place in high school and relationships in high school just aren't meant to last forever but this is ridiculous. Firstly, Nick and Abby breaking up was super random? There was no real reason for it. Secondly, the Leah/Abby pairing is the most unbelievable one ever. I feel like the author was sitting at home thinking "so how can I milk this story even more? Oh, I know: let's just pair up two characters that had no romantic interest in each other in the previous book. That's a good idea. And it's diverse so nobody will think about the plausibility. I'm a genius". Yeah, that's how I think it went. Gah. Also, Leah went on talking about how much she disliked Abby for pretty much 80% of the book and all of sudden she's head over heels for her? Furthermore, Leah being an asshole to Garrett was never mentioned or explained in the novel. That again just shows how terrible Ms. Burke is. I'm just glad that Albertelli didn't break up Simon and Bram. 5. Bad bisexual representation: I won't really go into this aspect in detail because that would take forever and this review is long enough already. Let me just say that the aspect that Abby wasn't "bi enough" is the worst thing I'ver ever heard. I'm usually not someone who is easily triggered by problematic stuff but that right there is incredibly problematic. And not just that, but Leah, on the other hand, thinks of herself as a gold-star bisexual. I never ever want to hear something along the lines of "not bi enough". That's just the most stupid phrase of all time. I could probably give you 132 more reasons why this book is terrible but I think the 5 reasons I listed above should be enough. This was probably the last book I'll ever read by this author. While I liked her debut novel, this just showed how bad of an author she is. She doesn't know what she's talking about, she overuses pop culture in her writing and she's just desperately trying to find the next diverse book she can write. Sadly, most people will then completely forget about the actual plot of her books. But hey, at least it's diverse, right?

I'm so in love with this book. Leah is super relatable, and so is Abby tbh. I love how we get to see our favourite characters from "Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda" again and the picture it paints of high school relationships (or just any, for that matter). This book also perfectly encompasses the feeling(s) you get shortly before finishing school. I feel like this is a book a lot of people can find themselves in in some way.

soooooo. okay. i was well excited for this one and it certainly didn't disappoint! the first 100 pages had me falling in love with this book; i was so so so happy to get to meet the characters from simon vs again. leah is such a great and complex character, too, and she deserves to have her own story - i'm glad becky gave that to her, and, of course, to her readers. (one of the reasons i love her so much is because of the way she treats her fans & characters!) leah's voice was great, the relationships with her friends and family were great, and then once i realised where the love story was heading, i was completely sold - it was probably a bit obvious but i had no idea at first haha! so let's just say i shipped them like i haven't shipped two characters in ages. the rest of the book was really great as well, with funny and sweet scenes (favourites: leah and simon when she invites him over; the road trip, the prom scene when they're all dancing together ...). i liked how this book dealt with the topics of graduation, moving out, college, friendship etc.! however, it definitely wasn't perfect. i felt like the ending especially was a bit too rushed. i didn't like the last chapter because it feels like a too easy way to create the happily ever after. some problems (leah's relationship with her mom, her coming out to her friends, GARRETT) should have been explored / solved more. in general, there was a lot going on and not every thread got picked up enough at the end. (is that how you say it) still: it was an emotional and very fun read, and becky, i'm ready for your next move. :)

Imagine going about your day knowing someone's carrying you in their mind. That has to be the best part of being in love - the feeling of having a home in someone else's brain. Meh. It was a quick and easy read, but nothing remarkable. This didn't even feel like a book about Creekwood, the characters seemed like caricatures of the "original" characters from [b: Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda|19547856|Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (Creekwood, #1)|Becky Albertalli|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1402915678l/19547856._SY75_.jpg|27679579]. The romance was off and and seemed rushed, unrealistic and came out of nowhere. Leah told Abby, that she isn't "bi enough" because Abby labels herself as a "lowkey bi". There's no such thing as not "bi enough" and I'm probably not the only one who thinks that this is problematic. But that's just one reason why Leah was an unlikable character. She was aggressive towards every character and was just generally annoying. Who doesn't love a happily ever after? Probably everyone. Yet this ending doesn't work for me. I turned the page and expected more but... that was it? VERY underwhelming. What happened to all the other characters? There was no real plot, the characters seemed off and the writing was meh at best.

Bewertung: 3.5 Sterne Als großer Becky Albertalli Fan war ihr neues Buch Leah on the Offbeat natürlich ein Muss. Ein Tag nachdem ich Love, Simon im Kino gesehen hatte, kam auch endlich meine Buchbestellung an. Ich war mir gar nicht bewusst, wie sehr ich all diese Charaktere vermisst hatte. Schon im Film wurde ich neuerlich daran erinnert, wie sehr mir Simon und seine Freunde ans Herz gewachsen waren und auch wenn Leah noch nie wirklich zu meinen absoluten Lieblingsfiguren gezählt hat, fühlte es sich an wie Nachhause kommen – schon als ich die erste Seite aufschlug und die ersten paar Zeilen las. Bereits auf der Buchmesse im letzten Jahr hatte ich die Ehre, mit Becky Albertalli sprechen zu dürfen und allein die Tatsache, dass ihr insbesondere auch Leahs Geschichte sehr am Herzen liegt, machte mich nur noch neugieriger und schürte natürlich ein kleines bisschen meine ohnehin schon recht hohen Erwartungen. „I swear, people can’t wrap their minds around the concept of a fat girl who doesn’t diet. Is it that hard to believe I might actually like my body?“ Mit Leah on the Offbeat hat uns die Autorin die Möglichkeit gegeben, all die geliebten Charaktere aus Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda wiederzutreffen, was schön war, unglaublich schön sogar, doch so sehr ich diese Tatsache auch genossen habe, so ist es doch auch einer meiner größten Kritikpunkte. Anfangs hat es sich einfach nicht angefühlt, wie ein Buch über Leah; in meinem Kopf ging es nicht hauptsächlich um Leah und in dem Buch offensichtlich auch nicht, denn in den ersten 150 Seiten scheint es fast so, als läge der Fokus nach wie vor auf all den andere Creekwood kids. Ich beschwere mich nicht darüber, ganz im Gegenteil. Als großer Fan von Simon, Bram und Abby habe ich mich zugegebenermaßen auch mehr auf die Szenen mit eben diesen drei Personen gefreut, statt auf die in denen es nur um Leah geht. Schade ist es dennoch, da Leah, obwohl ihr Name auf dem Cover steht, gerade in den ersten paar Kapiteln viel zu sehr in den Hintergrund rückt, wodurch man sie auch nicht richtig kennenlernen konnte, zumindest nicht so, wie ich es mir gewünscht hätte. Vielleicht wirkte sie auch genau deswegen auf mich teilweise sehr oberflächlich und vor allen Dingen nervig. Es gab Momente, da habe ich sie geliebt, so sehr geliebt, dass ich sie am liebsten fest an mich gedrückt hätte. Dann gab es aber auch jene Momente, in denen ich sie weder verstanden habe, noch ihre Entscheidungen oder ihre Gedankengänge nachvollziehen konnte. Leah hat eine solch negative Einstellung dem Leben gegenüber, dass ich sie am liebsten an den Schultern gepackt, durchgerüttelt und ihr immer wieder gesagt hätte, dass das Leben gar nicht so negativ sein muss; dass sie diejenige ist, die alles schlecht macht. Sie tut sich einfach schwer damit, sich für andere zu freuen (die Ausnahme ist Simon) und steht allem Neuen skeptisch bzw. negativ gegenüber und wenn sie kurz davor ist, sich zu öffnen; wenn es fast so scheint, als würde all das gute Zureden ihrer Mutter und ihrer Freunde endlich Früchte tragen, macht sie die Schotten wieder dicht und versteckt sich hinter dieser unendlich hohen Mauer, die sie um sich herum gebaut hat, aus Angst verletzt zu werden. “It’s like it doesn’t even matter if I like my body, because there’s always someone there to remind me I shouldn’t.” Irgendwo kann ich all das auch verstehen, zumindest so ein bisschen. Ich kann ihre Unsicherheit verstehen, ihre Ängste, dennoch trieb mich ihre Sturheit fast in den Wahnsinn. Es scheint fast so, als wären all die Ratschläge, all die nett gemeinten Worte, förmlich an ihr abgeprallt; als wären sie zum einen Ohr rein und zum anderen direkt wieder raus, dabei bemüht sich insbesondere ihre Mutter so sehr, ihr zu helfen, ein bisschen mehr aus sich herauszukommen. Doch nicht nur ihre Mutter, auch ihre Freunde stehen die ganze Zeit hinter hier – no matter what – und sie scheint all das immerzu aus den Augen zu verlieren und gar nicht wertzuschätzen. Sie ist teilweise so unglaublich unhöflich und behandelt ihre Freunde und vor allen Dingen auch ihre Mutter wie Müll. Ich kann mich nicht daran erinnern, dass sie sich auch nur einmal für etwas, was sie gesagt oder getan hat, das jemand anderen verletzt hat, entschuldigt hat. Natürlich könnte man meinen, dass sie sich wegen all ihrer Ängste, wegen ihres geringen Selbstbewusstseins so verhält, allerdings entschuldigt all dies nicht, andere Menschen zu behandeln, als wären sie nichts Wert und sie am laufenden Band zu verletzen. Und es entschuldigt noch lange nicht, die Wut darüber, dass etwas nicht so funktioniert, wie man es möchte, an seinen Mitmenschen auszulassen. Denn eigentlich … eigentlich ist Leah in meinen Augen ein sehr selbstbewusster Charakter. Sie ist nicht nur im Reinen mit sich selbst und ihrem Körper, sie ist auch unglaublich charakterstark. Wie ihr seht bin ich, was Leah betrifft, ein bisschen im Zwiespalt. Ich mag sie, ich mag sie wirklich, besonders in den Momenten, in denen sie die Wahrheit ausspricht, die Wahrheit, die alle anderen nicht mutig genug sind, auszusprechen. Denn das muss man ihr lassen, sie steht ein für das, an das sie glaubt, sie setzt sich ein für ihre Mitmenschen und macht den Mund auf, wenn Jemandem Unrecht widerfährt. Doch manchmal habe ich sie einfach nicht verstanden; ich konnte absolut nicht verstehen oder auch nur im Geringsten nachvollziehen, was in ihr vorgeht. Sie ist und bleibt ein riesiges Rätsel für mich. Was ihren Love Interest angeht muss ich sagen ICH BIN ABSOLUT BEGEISTERT. Ich werde nicht verraten wer es ist, da ich Niemandem das Überraschungsmoment nehmen möchte, dennoch möchte ich hier nur ganz deutlich sagen, dass ich absolut begeistert bin von der romantischen Entwicklung, die diese Geschichte rund um Leah nimmt. Dieses Buch hat so viel mehr zu bieten, als bloß eine mit Teenage Drama gefüllte High School Story. Es geht um Freundschaft und Loyalität und um Liebe, vor allen Dingen aber auch um Selbstfindung. Denn geht es nicht genau darum auf der High School? Wir können uns sicherlich alle noch sehr gut an unsere eigene Pubertät erinnern, an damals, als wir fast täglich in jemand anderes verknallt waren, uns unsicher fühlten, uns vielleicht sogar verstellten aus Angst, die anderen würden uns nicht mögen, wie wir um Anerkennung kämpften, wie wir unseren Träumen hinterherjagten … Dies ist eines der Bücher von denen ich wünschte, sie hätten schon existiert, als ich noch in diesem Alter war. Ich bin sicher, es hätte zur damaligen Zeit so vielen Menschen nicht nur die Augen geöffnet, sondern auch ihr Denken verändert und ihnen vielleicht sogar geholfen, ihre eigene Stärke und ihren Mut zu finden, die Person zu sein, die sie eben nun mal sind, ohne sich zu verstellen oder etwas vorzugeben, was man eigentlich gar nicht ist. Egal ob heterosexuell, homosexuell, bisexuell, egal ob schwarz oder weiß, egal ob dick oder dünn, egal ob trans oder cis – all das ist Normalität. Es gibt kein unnormal; vielleicht gibt es auch gar kein normal, es gibt nur uns und die Person, die wir sind, die wir sein wollen. Das ist es, was dieses Buch lehrt; es zeigt uns auf, wie es auch in unserer Welt sein sollte. Wie es immer sein sollte. Wie es hoffentlich irgendwann sein wird. Natürlich gibt es immer irgendwelche Idioten, die meinen, sich dämlich aufführen und anderen das Leben schwer machen zu müssen, doch die wird es immer geben, solange es Menschen gibt, die füreinander einstehen, um gegen diese abstrusen Einstellungen, die noch aus der Steinzeit zu stammen scheinen, anzukämpfen. Dieses Buch ist ein ganz wundervolles Jugendbuch, das das Leben in allen seinen Facetten, Farben, Größen, Formen und Orientierungen feiert. Becky Albertalli schreibt ihre Geschichten dem wahren Leben entsprechend und das macht sie einfach so wundervoll. Und auch wenn hier und da ein wenig Teenage Drama herrscht (das haben wir immerhin alle irgendwann mal mitgemacht) und ein paar Dinge vielleicht zu perfekt sind, sind gerade aufgrund der Vielfältigkeit der einzelnen Charaktere ihre Geschichten so absolut realitätsnah. Sie sind herzerwärmend schön, romantisch, liebevoll und ehrlich, humorvoll und einfach zum Dahinschmelzen. Alles in allem hat mir das Buch wirklich unglaublich gut gefallen, was bedauerlicherweise allerdings weniger Leah zu verdanken ist, sondern vielmehr den anderen Figuren, die zwar eigentlich nur Nebenfiguren sind, aber doch zeitweise Leah in den Hintergrund drängen. Es war wahnsinnig schön, all die geliebten Figuren wiederzutreffen und noch ein bisschen länger an ihrem Leben teilzunehmen. Die Seiten flogen nur so dahin und das breite Grinsen auf meinem Gesicht war unmöglich abzustellen. Es fühlte sich einfach gut an, dieses Buch zu lesen; es hat nicht nur Freude bereitet, sondern mir auch einige „awwww“ und „ohhh“ Momente beschert und ich hoffe wirklich inständig, dass es vielleicht sogar noch einen dritten Teil geben wird, in dem es dann um das dritte Mitglied der ursprünglichen Crew geht: Nick. LOHNT SICH DAS BUCH? Ja! Das Buch lohnt sich und das nicht nur für die Love, Simon Fans, wenn für diese auch ganz besonders. Es ist ein Buch, dass vielleicht nicht die Welt verändern, sie aber doch ein kleines Stückchen besser machen wird; zumindest wird es (hoffentlich) dem ein oder anderen die Augen öffnen, sie sensibilisieren für Themen, denen sie vorher vielleicht aus dem Weg gegangen sind und sie zum Nachdenken anregen. Ich für meinen Teil bin froh, dass es Autoren wie Becky Albertalli gibt, die das Leben feiern und zwar in all seinen unterschiedlichen Facetten. Wenn man dieses Buch gelesen hat, möchte man es einfach nur die ganze Zeit fest an sich drücken und es umarmen, man möchte am liebsten gleich noch mal von vorne beginnen, weil man – sobald man die letzte Seite gelesen hat – all diese Figuren bereits schmerzlich vermisst. Mehr Rezensionen gibt es auf www.ivybooknerd.com

Here's the thing: I do understand Leah at least most of the time, and I did relate to her in a lot of things in Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda. I also don't like her here at all, which kind of ruined this book for me. The way she treats people is just awful and downright mean, even for an angsty/angry teenager (and believe me, been there, done that), especially her behaviour towards her mum and most of her friends, but also towards Abby at some points. What stood out to me the most is the "really bi" vs. "low-key bi" thing, and maybe it's because that's important to me on a personal level, but wow, that was the final turning point for me. I get why Leah is angry about the low-key bi statement. Really. From every straight girl who once made out with another girl while they were drunk and now jokingly calling herself a litte bi, over people claiming that everyone is at least a bit bisexual and people not believing in it altogether and feel proven right by statements like this, to the fact that - for me - you're absolutely allowed to call yourself bisexual even when you have a strong preference and something like low-key bi just adds to that bullshit idea it has to be precisely 50% guys and 50% girls. BUT. While I think Abby has every right to identify as 100% bi I also think that's entirely up to her and get where the lowkey part is coming from. This is new to her. She's only just started to accept this as part of who she is. She's confused and still figuring out a lot of things. She probably has no idea what the "rules" are and if she's allowed to take this label when she's only ever been interested in boys with the exception of crushes on like 1 1/2 girls. And instead of supporting her Leah completely shuts her down just because she had figured this all out when she was 11. Good for you, Leah, really, good for you. Also, that girl literally just came out with this to three people (including you), and obviously it was a big deal for her, and all you can do is be an asshole to instead of being happy for her? Anyways, this might still have been such a good opportunity to talk about all this - but instead what happens to it is the same that happens to most of these opportunities in this book: nothing. I mean, a few days after this argument Abby just says "so am I" when Leah calls herself really, really bi, which, okay yeah, maybe she thought about it, or did some research, or it just took those couple of days to accept that part of her even more, but the fact this mess of a conversation is never addresed? Sorry, no. Apart from that this book feels just so disconnected from the first one and in a lot of ways it shows that it wasn't planned like this. A lot of things just don't work in the established canon of the first book: Leah and Abby allegedly being best friends when Abby first moved to their town goes against the entire conflict of Leah feeling left out when Abby becomes friends with Simon and Nick. Her feelings for Nick (romantic or platonic, so it doesn't even matter how you interpret that whole thing) apparently went god-knows-where, probably the same place Nick's entire personality went between those two books, but oh well. How the hell can she be hurt about Simon not coming out to her earlier when she did the exact same thing and didn't even tell him for about a year after he came out? I really love the fact that the author went with the idea of Leah being bi, and turned her crush into something at least relatively angst-free (apart from the unavoidable teenage drama), and I know I need stories like this as much as i needed them ten years ago, but there was just so much going on that I couldn't enjoy at all. Side note: I'm honestly really glad right now I'm not from the US because that entire college stuff sounds exhausting before they even start there. Side note²: Being an asshole doesn't make you a Slytherin, but that's really beside the point here, so I won't go into that.

Das Buch habe ich im Zuge einer Leserunde gelesen. Ich muss gestehen, dass vom Inhalt her nach einigen Wochen nicht viel hängen geblieben ist. Leah hat man bereits im Vorgänger kennengelernt. Sie ist für mich definitiv kein Charakter, der mir auf Anhieb sympathisch war. Ich fand ihre permanente negative Art sogar richtig anstrengend und wüsste an Stelle ihrer Freund*innen nicht, wie lange ich es mit ihr ausgehalten hätte. Dennoch hat Albertalli zumindest keinen 0815 Charakter geschaffen, sondern eine junge Frau, mit vielen Ecken und Kanten - und das fand ich gut. Der Schreibstil ist sehr simpel und umgangssprachlich, wie man es von der Autorin gewöhnt ist. Das Buch hat für mich aber an vielen Stellen leider nur an der Oberfläche gekratzt und nicht das volle Potenzial genutzt, das dieses LGBT-Thema mit sich gebracht hätte. Man sieht viele altbekannte Gesichter aus dem ersten Band wieder. Leider scheint es so, als gäbe es für die einzelnen Charaktere ausserhalb der Clique keine Love Interests, weshalb es in diesem Band zu einem "Bäumchen wechsel dich"-Spiel kommt, das ich eher unglaubwürdig fand. Gleichzeitig hat die Autorin auch viel Konfliktpotenzial geschaffen, das der Geschichte mehr Tiefe verliehen hätte, aber dadurch, dass sich am Ende alle diese Konflikte wie von Zauberhand auflösen und alle happily ever after leben, war ich vom Schluss des Buches sehr enttäuscht. Kann man sich mal durchlesen. Man verpasst aber auch nichts, wenn man es sein lässt.

Okay so this Book was definitely good but I wasn’t as into the story as I was with Simon vs the Homo sapiens agenda. I wasn’t fangirling as much simply because there were so many problems. Also I did not like Leah and at the same time I love that she exists as the main character. Her flaws, her issues and self doubts are just very real and were written realistically. That’s refreshing, especially because she wasn’t as cliche of a self conscious girl as many other main characters. Still sometimes she was too b*tchy and too critical for me. That’s typical for a 17/18 year old, I get it, just wasn’t for me. So I liked the book, the ending was cute but for me a little bit abrupt, kind of a nice solution with the last chapter. But it didn’t catch and move me as much as the first part so there’s that. 3,5/5 Stars

Mal wieder eine unglaublich lustige, süße und chaotische Liebesgeschichte aus dem Simon-Universum. Leah ist unsterblich in Abby verliebt, die allerdings Leahs besten Freund Nick datet. Dass das nicht gut gehen kann, ist von vornherein klar und somit sind einige Fehltritte und Streitereien vorprogrammiert. Einige Reibereien zwischen den Charakteren wären nicht nötig gewesen und auch das Ende kam etwas zu plötzlich. Insgesamt hat das Buch aber unglaublich viel Spaß gemacht.

I listened to the audio book of this and it was loads of fun. I really enjoyed Leah, the whole fandom part of her life was super relatable to me and as a fellow potterhead all the references were such a joy. I loved the friendships, they were just as amazing as in Simon Vs. and I loved seeing more of everybody, especially Simon and Bram together. It was also lovely to see Simon through another person’s eyes for once. As always, the representation in this one was amazing. I loved all the bi representation and the whole storyline around Leah and Abbie felt very natural. Even though it got dramatic at times it always stayed believable. It really did address some important issues and always managed to stay light, which I loved. I lost interest in it a bit in between, which is why I didn’t give this a 5 star. It wasn’t something that pulled me in and never let me go, but it did feel super comfortable to get back to Creekwood and I would love to see more of these characters in the future.

read my complete review: http://isabellsbooks.blogspot.com/ Instagram: isleepnaked Can you read it if you haven't read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda beforehand? Yes, you can. But.. I sort of did do that myself since it's been quite a while that I've read Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda myself - I think I read it for the first time in 2016. So I didn't really know much about those characters anymore and found it quite hard to keep track of all the different characters at first. The book definitely expects you to know those characters and views itself as a sequel but after a while you'll get into it whether you've known the characters beforehand or not. But since Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a wonderful book and since its movie has just come out, I would definitely recommend to you to read Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda first! And this book obviously has major spoilers for Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda so if you want to read Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda one day, you should probably read that one first. MY THOUGHTS ON IT I love love love the cover. I wish there were more books in this beautiful colour and I think it's one of the prettiest books that I own. Turquoise is my favourite colour and this book sets such a beautiful contrast with the purple and I just adore the font and the drawing of Leah. So if I hadn't already loved Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, I certainly would have bought this just because of the amazing cover! So like I said, I found it quite hard to keep track of all the different characters at first. It felt as if the author expected the reader to have read Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda right before this book which caused some chaos for me. There were so many names and I just didn't know who they were and had a hard time figuring out who was who and who was related to whom in which way. I should have reread Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda before I read this because I decided to reread it after I've read Leah on the Offbeat and then I knew all the characters and could follow the story right from the beginning. But as I said- although I felt thrown into this group of friends at first - I figured it out eventually. I just think that it would have been nice if the author had included a little bit of a "previously on" or just some more details and reminders of the characters. That would have made the reading easier right from the beginning. Ever since it got announced that Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda (how often have I written this long title already?) will get a movie adaption, I wanted to reread the book. But I didn't think to do so BEFORE I read Leah on the Offbeat so I spoilered myself a lot because I just didn't remember a lot about Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda anymore. What I loved most about this book - besides its beautiful cover - were all the Harry Potter references! *-* If you know anything about me you know that I'm a huge Potterhead and that I love nothing more in a book than Harry Potter references. And that was also what made me love Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda (I'm going to copy and paste this from now on..) so much because I remembered that it had a lot. But since I've reread Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda right after Leah on the Offbeat, I can now confirm that Leah on the Offbeat has a LOT more! And the references were just amazing - I think I posted lots of them in my Instagram Story and I've also seen others post them. Becky Albertalli is definitely the Queen of Harry Potter references. And the references were especially great this time because Leah, the main character, is a Slytherin - like me. ;) And I could therefore identify a lot with her and loved that. I think every book character should get sorted into a house. That should be the basic description of any character really: brown hair, blue eyes and Ravenclaw. I'd love that. I liked Leah but I LOVED Simon. Simon was just perfect as a side-character. Every time he appeared he just made me want to reread Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda so badly. Leah does not only identify as as Slytherin but also as bisexual. And since bisexual characters are still underrepresented in the media I just love that Becky Albertalli explored this sexuality. I also really liked the girl-girl romance in this book and thought that it was done in a lovely way and I definitely shipped the two. (I don't know if it is a spoiler to say who Leah is in love with, that's why I don't mention her name.) There was also a male love interest for Leah and I kinda wished that he would have been more of an option for Leah because that would have created more struggles and would have made the book way more thrilling. The book slowed down a lot in the middle but I nevertheless read through it extremely quickly. That's mainly due to the rather easy writing style of Becky Albertalli. Her books are incredibly easy and quickly to read through and are definitely a good choice to start reading English books. Leah was definitely not your average character. She's quite sarcastic and has a really refreshing personality. CONCLUSION What bothered me the most in this book was the lightness of it. It was just not an extraordinary or even a deep book. And now that I've reread Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and didn't love it as much as I initially did and since I also didn't really love Becky Albertalli's last book The Upside of Unrequited (click here for my review) I just think that Albertalli's books are just meant to be a light and uplifting read that doesn't go very deep and just entertains you a bit for a while and wants nothing more than that. And I know that I shouldn't compare every book I read with CALL ME BY YOUR NAME but since this is my favourite book of 2018 I just have to. And when I think about the depths that CMBYN has explored I just cannot but be a bit disappointed in Leah on the Offbeat. Maybe if I've read Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda right beforehand I would have lowered my expectations because I used to adore this book and now I am not as hyped anymore. So, to sum it up, Leah on the Offbeat is definitely a nice, entertaining, lovely book which I praise for having bisexual representation in it and love for its many Harry Potter references (there could have been even way more in it - especially in the second half!) and for the extremely adorable Simon scenes, but which disappoints in its lack of going deeper and really touching the reader. MY RATING I award this book with 3,5 out of 5 stars.

Oh Lord where do i start, Leah Burke. She is literally me. Awkward a huge nerd and overthinking literally everything! It is really refreshing to see a bi-sexual and obese character who is not ashamed of her body. Its a big issue that everybody tends to be ashamed about the fact when you dont have model sizes. Leah is sarcastic and stubborn and its a brilliant book about friends, relationships and family. I also enjoyed the fact that we once again see old loved characters like Simon and Bram in this book. Over all everything changes in this book. This book was sweet, honest and true. Loved it

Eine authenitische Geschichte mit Schwächen! Der Schreibstil der Autorin war wie immer super. Man konnte das Buch sehr flüssig lesen und hatte am Ende jedes Kapitels immer das Gefühl, umbedingt weiterlesen zu müssen. Die Idee hinter der Geschichte hat mir ebenfalls sehr gut gefallen. Das Ende der Schulzeit steht an, es geht auf die Collegezeit zu und alles soll anders werden. Das ist natürlich sehr beängstigend, was im BUch auch wirklich gut rübergebracht wurde. Man hat mit der Protagonistin wirklich mitgefühlt, ihre Ängste verstanden und mit ihr mitgefiebert. Die Protaonistin Leah war mir übrigens sehr sympathisch. Ich meine, sie liebt Harry Potter und Drarry-Fanfiction und zeichnet unter anderem Fanart. Hallo? Ist das cool oder ist das cool? Und nebenbei bemerkt mag ich einfach die Art, wie sie denkt. Immer ein bisschen sarkastisch, wenn man das so sagen kann. Auch die anderen Charakteren waren auch wie bereits in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda wirklich sympathisch und haben als Gruppe wirklich gut funktioniert. Sie waren einfach toll. Zu toll. Denn genau das ist auch gleichzeitig mein Problem gewesen. Ich mochte Leah wirklich sehr, aber irgendwie war mir die Geschichte wirklich zu langatmig. Ich habe mich jedesmal ultra auf die AUftritte von Nebencharakteren gefreut, was nicht wirklich ein gutes Zeichen ist. Nur in der Gruppe war die Geschichte wirklich interessant, was schade ist, weil Leahs restliches Leben mich größtenteils gelangweilt hat. Meiner Meinung nach ist einfach zu wenig passiert. Trotzdem war die Geschichte wirklich interessant, ich mochte die Thematik und fand es wie immer super, dass die Protagonistin und verschiedene weitere Charaktere der LGBTQ+-Gemeinschaft angehören. Deshalb bekommt das Buch von mir 3,5 Sterne!

All right so. I already disliked Leah in Simon vs the homosapiens agenda. But I did not want to judge this one too early so i picked it up. Sadly Leah was just as annoying in that one as in the previous book. I was not able to go through with it and even skipped pages until I only briefly read the end. It was really putting me through a lot of force to keep reading which I find rather sad as I loved Simons Story. Plus I loved the fact that this one was focused on a girl loving someone of the same sex (there are too less out here). The later making me even more sad that this book did not do it for me.

"Leah on the Offbeat" was a letdown for me. After loving "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda" and liking "The Upside of Unrequited", I had high hopes for this book. Leah was my favorite character in Simon because many characteristics of her reminded me of a younger self. And I don't just mean that she is a fat nerdy bisexual girl with resting bitch face and a bad mood most of the time. Her strive for perfection, her inability to accept that things aren't always going exactly how you want them to and getting pissed because of that is something that I can relate to. I feel, however, that from all of Albertalli's novels, she is the weakest protagonist, and the most immature. Her inner monologues only were relatable to some point--over that point, all I thought was "what a brat". It doesn't help that she doesn't develop at all in the narrative, instead waiting for the world to change for her. You don't get to walk around like that, being a dick in most social situations, never apologizing, and getting your girl in the end anyway, just because the universe likes you. That doesn't make for a compelling plot. The novel doesn't feel as well thought out, perhaps because it is a sequel that wasn't meant to be. It feels awfully fanfiction-y at times, and not the good kind. The romance feels lackluster and somehow unrealistic. At some point, having a lurching stomach whenever your love interest's name is said doesn't cut it anymore. And how am I supposed to take this serious after a sentence like: "It feels like having to pee, except it's not actually pee. It's lightning"? The conflicts introduced are superficial and barely resolved, to a point where most of the novel just drags on and not much is actually happening to drive the plot forward. There were more than enough elements that could have been developed, but the romance took the lead and everything else just fell flat for it. It is teenage banter, but with Albertalli's other books, all these elements connected more nicely, leaving me satisfied in the end. Perhaps I become more and more frustrated with characters whose only problems lie in their inability to communicate their desires for various reasons. Or perhaps Leah's reasons weren't good enough. I think it's time to move on, Albertalli. Leave Creekwood behind and develop in another direction, taking risks and giving us new narratives. I hope the collaboration with Adam Silvera brings just the fresh wind we need.

I loved Simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda and I also really loved this book. Although it is all about love (what I usually find quite annoying) the nerdiness of this book makes me so insanely happy that no matter what happens I'm gonna love all these characters. Give me all the HP jokes and in general nerd jokes and I'm gonna be the happiest being on this world. I root for all the characters and love lines going on because, how could you not? That it displays the same time of life that I'm in atm only helped me. I mean they have all the worries I have and it is simply so relateable. I just love this and whatever comes next will also get showered in my love!

Kleine grumpy Leah ❤️ Während des Lesens habe ich so oft gedacht "Wow, das könnte ich sein". Ich habe Leah und ihre Gedanken, ihre Selbstzweifel und ihre art komplett nachvollziehen können. Ich selbst kenne eine Großteil davon, von mir selbst. Ich habe das Buch von Anfang an genießen können. Der Schreibstil von Becky Albertalli ist einfach so gut! Locker, leicht und irgendwie realistisch und ungefiltert. Leah war mein Highlight in dem Buch. Wie selbstbewusst sie sich nach außen gibt und in Wahrheit nicht glauben kann, das jemand sie hübsch findet oder sogar richtig mag. Wie selbstbewusst sie aber in Bezug auf ihren Körper ist und sich da auch nichts einreden lässt. Das habe ich so geliebt an ihr! Solche Charaktere brauchen wir viel öfters! Es vermittelt eine sehr Körper Positive Stimmung und leider gibt es das viel zu selten. Die Liebesgeschichte mochte ich wirklich sehr, auch wenn ich von Anfang an geahnt habe das es darauf hinaus laufen wird. Aber ich fand sie so schön geschrieben und auch ohne künstliches Drama. Das habe ich wirklich sehr genossen. Der Humor in dem Buch hat mir auch richtig gut gefallen. Wie zynisch und sarkastisch Leah ist und dabei einfach nur sie selbst ist. Ich bin ein großer Leah Fan ❤️

ich kam gar nicht mit leah als hauptcharakter klar, sie war mir absolut unsympathisch, hat keine fehler zugegeben oder irgendwie character development gehabt. außerdem kam mir das ende sehr gehetzt vor und abby fand ich genauso unsympathisch und alles an ihr und ihren entscheidungen unlogisch, bin leider echt sehr enttäuscht