Reviews with content warning for Fatphobia - Leah on the Offbeat

Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Leah on the Offbeat, by Becky Albertalli

12 reviews

lyd41's review against another edition

funny hopeful lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

0.75

This book is essentially I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver- if it was a dumpster fire. I've never hated a protagonist more. So "not like other girls," pessimisstic, stubborn, overall an ASSHOLE. Literally I feel so bad for her mother and it's not even real omg. Cliche book that ends with a prom scene. Only plus is that it's fat queer rep. This author is so obsessed with Harry Potter it is nauseating.

Content Warnings

tsar's review

Go to review page

emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

“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 some else’s brain.”

First impressions might not tell you everything that you need to know about one person or place, and this is evident in how Leah Burke is viewed by the perspective of Simon and the way she condones her own narrative in the second Creekwood novel.

Jumping one year after the events in Simon, the gang of friends face new responsibilities and anxiety for the future as seniors in high school who would be graduating soon. As the friends begin to settle with their roles, Leah languidly unravels herself in maturity and identity that she internally denies in all of her teenagehood years.

By this plot point, a direct storyline is almost non-existent, unlike the first book that has a straightforward conflict. Instead, readers are given a coming-of-age tale akin to the slice of life trope that primarily centers around self-reflection, creating a dramatic phase where the issues are externalized from within Leah's mind. This results in readers understanding better of her character, perceiving the negative impressions of her personality as bypass products of the imperfect life that she leads behind the scenes, and to see the more positive lights of her body that should've overshadowed the contrary ones—this predicament shifts my view towards the character: she only tries to maintain the false confident persona to protect herself from her own insecurities. As readers flip the pages, it becomes clear that Leah on the Offbeat comes off more as an expansive journal of her life instead of a third-person view story of someone else.

Following its suit to be more female-centric, Leah allows the readers to be further familiarized with Abby Suso that has been introduced as the perfect beauty with brains. Her social personality is pierced slowly to see how she struggles with her insecurities and the fact that she has a certain selfish side, such as her nonchalance to her break-up with Nick in order to save her feelings from the hard truth. On the other hand, while the relationship dynamic between Leah and Abby is commendably cute, it feels queer-baiting at the same time. Abby comes off stringing Leah along numerous times in the excuse of self-doubts even when she is sure of what she feels towards the main character, which makes the pay-off that is their get-together doesn't have such charming sparks.

I also wish that Leah would've covered more of the supporting characters' side stories as much as Simon did, but I do understand that the negation of this is there because we are already familiar with other characters' stories like Simon and his boyfriend.

Nonetheless, Leah on the Offbeat is a laudable addition to the Creekwood series. It might as well become my favorite out of the two novels released as it surprises me with its take in illustrating a character-driven tale.

Content Warnings

jenarae's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

rayne_1906's review against another edition

Go to review page

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.

Content Warnings