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emilyhays 's review for:
Leah on the Offbeat
by Becky Albertalli
First I'm gonna talk about why I liked this book. Then I'm gonna talk about why I didn't.
I really, really liked Leah as a character. As a fellow fat girl I related to a lot of the things she had to say about being a larger-than-average teenager. She worries a lot about money, and cares a lot about her friends, and isn't afraid to speak up when she needs to (which can be a good thing and a bad thing). She's a little temperamental, and I couldn't find it in me to be annoyed with it because honestly that's exactly what I was like as a teenager. I also really loved her relationship with her mom. her mom had her when she was young, but she's still a really good mom, and wants what's best for Leah. And Leah sees and acknowledges that.
I also really liked seeing all the Simonverse characters together again. I can't tell you if it was fan service or not because honestly I'm a sucker for fan service.
But here's what I didn't like:
I couldn't tell you the plot? Like it's Leah and her friends gearing up for the end of high school and stuff, and Leah trying to figure out her crush on Abby, and whether or not she wants to come out to her friends. But that never really took a front as the main plot of the novel. They all read as side plots, but I couldn't figure out what they were side plots to?
And, if you didn't know already, there's this one part where Leah tries to police someone else's sexuality. Leah is confident that she is bisexual, but when someone tries to tell her that they're "lowkey bi," she tells them "it's not a real label." If you want more of a explanation behind it, I highly recommend Boricuan Bookworms blog post on it, cause they've hit it on the head. But basically this part sucks because it's manipulative, but it's also never redeemed. Like if Leah apologized for it, I'd be more comfortable, because she's showing character growth! But she doesn't. It's not even brought up as a discussion.
So, yeah. That's pretty much all I had to say. I think I could've easily given this novel a 4/5 had this scene played out differently, or was mentioned again. But I think it's a case of the author (and the people around her) not being aware that this is hurtful, and the scene going all the way to published.
3/5 stars.
I really, really liked Leah as a character. As a fellow fat girl I related to a lot of the things she had to say about being a larger-than-average teenager. She worries a lot about money, and cares a lot about her friends, and isn't afraid to speak up when she needs to (which can be a good thing and a bad thing). She's a little temperamental, and I couldn't find it in me to be annoyed with it because honestly that's exactly what I was like as a teenager. I also really loved her relationship with her mom. her mom had her when she was young, but she's still a really good mom, and wants what's best for Leah. And Leah sees and acknowledges that.
I also really liked seeing all the Simonverse characters together again. I can't tell you if it was fan service or not because honestly I'm a sucker for fan service.
But here's what I didn't like:
I couldn't tell you the plot? Like it's Leah and her friends gearing up for the end of high school and stuff, and Leah trying to figure out her crush on Abby, and whether or not she wants to come out to her friends. But that never really took a front as the main plot of the novel. They all read as side plots, but I couldn't figure out what they were side plots to?
And, if you didn't know already, there's this one part where Leah tries to police someone else's sexuality. Leah is confident that she is bisexual, but when someone tries to tell her that they're "lowkey bi," she tells them "it's not a real label." If you want more of a explanation behind it, I highly recommend Boricuan Bookworms blog post on it, cause they've hit it on the head. But basically this part sucks because it's manipulative, but it's also never redeemed. Like if Leah apologized for it, I'd be more comfortable, because she's showing character growth! But she doesn't. It's not even brought up as a discussion.
So, yeah. That's pretty much all I had to say. I think I could've easily given this novel a 4/5 had this scene played out differently, or was mentioned again. But I think it's a case of the author (and the people around her) not being aware that this is hurtful, and the scene going all the way to published.
3/5 stars.