Books: "Leah On The Offbeat"

Leah On The Offbeat
By Becky Albertalli
Harper Collins Children's Books

With her new novel Leah On The Offbeat, Becky Albertalli returns to the world of her acclaimed first novel, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is soon to be a major motion picture, Love, Simon, starting Nick Robinson, Jennifer Garner, Josh Duhamel, and Tony Hale.



Fans of the original already know Leah Burke as Simon's best friend, and in Leah On The Offbeat, she gets a chance to tell the story as she grapples with changing friendships, first love, and senior year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah is usually on beat, but real life isn't always so rhythmic. She's an anomaly in her friend group: the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged.

Leah loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. Even though her mom knows she's bisexual, she hasn't mustered the courage to tell her friends, not even Simon, who is openly gay.

When her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways, Leah doesn't really know what to do. With prom and college on the horizon, tensions are running high. It's hard for Leah to strike the right note while the people she loves are fighting, especially when she realizes that she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

Albertalli charms once again with this funny, heartfelt, coming-of-age romance sure to strike a chord with fans of Simon, as well as anyone who's had to navigate the complex, messy world of growing up and becoming the person they're supposed to be without letting go of the person they've been.