Leah on the Offbeat

If this had been a stand alone book, I don't think I would have rated it so high. However, Leah on the Offbeat is the sequel to Simon vs. The Homo Sapien Agenda a book and movie (Love, Simon) that I loved. Therefore, it gets 3 stars just for being related. The 4th star is because despite, in my opinion, Leah not being my favorite character, Albertalli does a great job of normalizing teen, LGBT relationships. She moved the story forward for all of the characters, while still focusing on Leah, which was satisfying enough in itself. Leah is snarky, sarcastic, anxious, and pessimistic. Honestly, her inner voice got annoying. She's a perpetual naysayer who wants a fairy tale ending while doing everything she can do to get in her own way. It was annoying for 60% of the book. However, the last 30% or so was a lot smoother and I really enjoyed the last few chapters in particular. There's a great pay off, which after all that whining the majority of the book, was great to hear. Oh and another thing, as an audio book? I wouldn't recommend it. The narrator is great, don't get me wrong, but again Leah is so WHINY that I think it might not have been so potent if I had just been reading it rather than listening to it.