“Leah on the Offbeat” by Becky Albertalli • Book Review

Published: 24.April, 2018 by Balzer + Bray
Format: Audiobook, 7 hours, Narrated by Shannon Purser

“You can't just like Harry Potter. You have to be balls-out obsessed with it.”

★★★ (3 / 5 stars) Maybe it’s just because I’ve been reading so many contemporary books back-to-back, but I’m kind of tired of the nothing-happening-pining-from-afar-while-filler-plot-takes-place-until-crushes-are-confirmed-with-a-dramatic-kiss stories... While I enjoyed Leah’s less-common, pessimistic narrative, it didn’t quite save the book for me. Why do we keep writing teens who deny their own feelings to themselves? This is not something I did when I was young, so when an entire book relies on that very repression for its plot, I just can’t relate.

I wish we had gotten to see Leah actually want something. I wish we had gotten to see Leah be great at something (besides the one scene at the party). I wish we had gotten to see herself be honest and open with a friend, to apologize for lying repeatedly to and misleading one of the characters, to see her grow up a little bit. Maybe there are other Leah-like books out there where we see this. I’ll be looking for them.