September TBR

Review: Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Leah on the Offbeat by Becky Albertalli

Published: April 24, 2018

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Format: via Overdrive

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Leah Burke—girl-band drummer, master of deadpan, and Simon Spier’s best friend from the award-winning Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda—takes center stage in this novel of first love and senior-year angst.

When it comes to drumming, Leah Burke is usually on beat—but real life isn’t always so rhythmic. An anomaly in her friend group, she’s the only child of a young, single mom, and her life is decidedly less privileged. She loves to draw but is too self-conscious to show it. And even though her mom knows she’s bisexual, she hasn’t mustered the courage to tell her friends—not even her openly gay BFF, Simon.

So Leah really doesn’t know what to do when her rock-solid friend group starts to fracture in unexpected ways. 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 she might love one of them more than she ever intended.

My Thoughts

I was so anticipating this new book from Becky Albertalli and I was so happy with the results. You don’t have to have read her previous novels but all three of her reads have characters that cross over so it does help as far as having already known who’s who. In this read, we continue with Leah, Simon’s best friend and her troubles in life.

We see how she struggles with coming out as bi with her friends although she is out to her mother. We see her relationships with her friends and how she struggles with some of them more than others. We also see her struggle to come to terms with her crush and more, as she spends time with her the worse it is to just be friends with her but she doesn’t want to tell her how she feels because she doesn’t think she’s into her.

I loved seeing the different sides to Leah. I liked how she comes off as so strong but deep down she is so unsure of what to do. She has this soft side when it comes to her crush and her feelings but she is harder on her mom. I didn’t like how she treated her mother who has raised her alone and is now dating and Leah hasn’t been the most supportive of her boyfriend choices. I get that Leah was rude and mean but I also get that its typical teen attitude.

All in all, I did enjoy this book. I liked revisiting this world that Becky Albertalli has created and all her characters that are so real you can't help but be drawn into it. At this point, I will read anything she writes and here’s to hoping for more wonderful stories from this talented author.

Review: The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Published: April 11, 2017

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Format: audiobook via Overdrive

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

My Thoughts

I’m so late for the Becky Albertalli bandwagon but I’m so here now! I totally connected with Molly and rooted for her all the way. Sure everyone wanted her with Will but I always wanted her with Reid. I mean come on who doesn’t love a nerdy guy?? I loved all the characters and while there were times Cassie got on my nerves I knew she was just coming from a place of sisterly love.

Becky Albertalli writes wonderful contemporary YA and writes it in a way that doesn’t dumb down teens but also doesn’t make them seem way beyond their years either. She writes how teens truly are and that’s what I adore about her books. She writes real problems and the feels are oh so real! Plus she always writes books with such diversity in them I think is amazing and we need more books like that. I can’t wait for her next novel and see what she does next.

Review: Simon vs The Homo Sapiens by Becky Albertalli

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Published: April 7, 2015

Publisher: Penguin

Format: audiobook via Overdrive

Rating: 5/5

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.

My Thoughts

By now everyone knows the premise of this book; I, of course, am the last one to read this book. I wanted to read this before the movie came out so this isn’t really a review of sorts but more just me saying how I felt about it.

This was a cute and fun read for me. I love the emails between Simon and his admirer and how they expressed their emotions. However what I loved the most was the relationships between Simon and his family and friends. His friends were close and I enjoyed their banter with each other. I liked how they were portrayed as real teens with real teen problems. I also liked the relationship Simon has with his family. They are really close-knit and seemed like they could really tell each other anything and be honest about things.

Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda is a great story of coming to terms with yourself and not being afraid of whom you really are. It’s about allowing yourself to love who you want and to know you deserve it. This was one read I was happy I finally got to enjoy, it was well worth it.