Leah on the Offbeat

The second book in Becky Albertalli's Simonverse series, following Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, shifts the narrative to Leah Burke, a sharp-tongued 18-year-old drummer navigating the final months of senior year at Creekwood High School in the affluent Atlanta suburb of Shady Creek. Leah lives with her single mother, Jessica Keane, who had Leah at 17. Their modest financial situation stands in quiet contrast to the wealth surrounding them. Leah plays drums in an all-girl band called Emoji and maintains a close circle that includes her best friend Simon Spier, his boyfriend Bram Greenfeld, and Nick Eisner. Though Leah has come out as bisexual to her mother, none of her friends know, not even Simon, who is openly gay. This secret creates an imbalance Leah feels acutely but cannot bring herself to correct.

Leah's internal life is dominated by a complicated fixation on Abby Suso, Nick's girlfriend. Over a year earlier, Leah drew an intimate portrait of the two of them and showed it to Abby, who seemed moved and hinted at a secret she wanted to share. But Abby never revealed the secret and began dating Nick shortly after, and the closeness between them evaporated. Now those feelings resurface as Abby mentions she will attend the University of Georgia (UGA), the same school Leah will attend on a Zell Miller Scholarship, a merit-based award covering tuition for Georgia residents. Meanwhile, Garrett Laughlin, a soccer player and friend of Nick and Bram, begins showing clear interest in Leah, but she feels no real spark.

Tensions fracture the friend group when Morgan, Leah's bandmate, is rejected from UGA. Devastated and bitter, Morgan implies at the school musical's Sunday matinee that Abby only got into UGA because she is Black. Leah calls the comment racist and storms away. Anna, another bandmate and close friend, sides with Morgan, and Morgan quits the band; the rift hardens. At the cast party, held at the house of Martin Addison, the classmate who outed Simon the previous year, Abby vents to Leah about not wanting long distance with Nick. As they leave a bathroom together, Abby makes a suggestive remark to Garrett implying she would never do something with Leah "in front of" him, sending Leah's mind spinning. Soon after, Abby proposes a spring break road trip to Athens for a UGA campus tour, just the two of them. Leah agrees.

Bram executes his promposal for Simon in the music room, lip-synching with backup dancers in a performance referencing Simon's secret Love Actually fanfiction. Simon tearfully says yes. Leah preempts Garrett's planned public promposal by privately agreeing to go to prom with him. At lunch, Abby learns Leah is going with Garrett and seems surprised, holding Leah's hand across the table and murmuring that what happens in Athens stays in Athens. Garrett treats the moment as a joke, and Leah storms off, furious that her bisexuality is invisible and that Abby may be toying with her. Her mother takes her prom dress shopping, where Leah falls in love with a $250 yellow floral gown. They argue about money, and her mother tells Leah she needs to stop burning everything down whenever something goes wrong.

Abby breaks up with Nick, unwilling to attempt long distance. Nick is devastated. On the drive to Athens, Abby confides that she does not feel wrecked enough by the breakup, confirming the decision was right. Leah blurts out that maybe Abby should date girls, and Abby replies that maybe she should. They stay in an apartment belonging to Caitlin, a loose acquaintance of Abby's cousin. At a party in Caitlin's building, Leah impresses college musicians by playing an electronic drum kit and is effectively offered a future spot in their band. That night, Abby tells Leah that watching her play made her question things. She dares Leah to kiss her. They kiss. It is Leah's first kiss.

Leah pulls back and, overwhelmed, comes out to Abby as not straight. Her anger pours out: The drawing was a love letter Abby never answered, the flirtation that led nowhere. Abby is stunned; she had assumed Leah was straight. She reveals that the secret she once tried to share was that she had wanted to kiss Leah, but she was too scared. She admits she may not be straight but does not know what she is. They sleep separately that night, and the drive home is strained.

Back home, Leah finds the yellow prom dress on her bed; her mother bought it despite their fight. Simon confides that he fell in love with Haverford College near Philadelphia, not NYU, even though Bram is going to Columbia in New York. Leah reassures him that the distance is manageable. Later, lying beside Simon, she desperately wants to come out to him but cannot make the words come. Nick spirals over the breakup. Leah realizes with sudden clarity that she does not want to kiss Garrett; she only wants Abby. After school one Friday, Abby takes Leah to the football field and reveals she came out to her cousins as bisexual. Leah reacts badly, accusing Abby of not fully owning the label. Abby says she is scared. Leah tells her not to involve her if she is not all in, and walks away. That evening, Leah posts on her anonymous art Tumblr that she is open for commissions.

On prom day, Leah's mom does her hair while sharing memories of her own prom, when she was pregnant with Leah. A series of small disasters unfolds: Leah has no strapless bra, no purse, and no appropriate shoes, and the car battery dies. Her mom's boyfriend, Wells, jumps the car and drives them to Target, buying Leah a gold clutch purse over her protests. Wells reveals he grew up poor and understands her discomfort with gifts. Leah begins, reluctantly, to warm toward him.

At prom, Morgan approaches Leah with a sincere apology, and Leah listens but does not fully resolve things. Abby arrives in a pale blue tulle dress and mouths "Wow" when she sees Leah. At the Chattahoochee Nature Center venue, Nick kisses Taylor Metternich, the band's lead vocalist, on the dance floor in front of Abby, and Abby disappears. Leah finds her on a wooden observation deck overlooking a lake. Abby tells Leah to check her Tumblr: There is a new anonymous commission request for "two girls kissing on prom night." It is from Abby.

They confess their mutual feelings. Leah tries to be practical, arguing they should wait for Nick to heal and for Garrett to be let down gently. Abby agrees, heartbroken. Leah walks away. But hearing Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered," a song tied to her parents, Leah decides to stop overthinking. She runs back, finds Abby, and kisses her. Simon and Bram stumble upon them moments later. Leah comes out to Simon as bisexual, and Abby also comes out as bi. Simon is overjoyed. Leah takes Abby's hand, and they walk back toward the pavilion together.

In a September email to Simon at Haverford, Leah writes from UGA, where she and Abby are roommates and girlfriends. She describes small, happy moments: Abby smuggling dining hall cookies to her in bed, their feet touching on the quad. Nick is dating Taylor Metternich. Simon visits Bram in New York by train. Leah signs off telling Simon she loves him, acknowledging she has become earnest and unguarded.