I am definitely going against the grain with my review of The Upside of Unrequited, but here me out. I enjoyed the novel, but did I like it as much as Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda? Sorry, but no.

It’s probably unfair to compare these books to each other, but The Upside of Unrequited sort-of works as a companion to Albertalli’s first novel, so I couldn’t help but contrast the two. In Simon, we were introduced to a wide-range of fantastic characters, all individual and emphatically real. In Upside, the characters felt a little two-dimensional for my liking. They just didn’t do it for me.

The Upside of Unrequited follows seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso, who has had twenty-six crushes (twenty-five if you don’t include Lin-Manuel Miranda) and each of those crushes has been decidedly unrequited. Her twin sister Cassie tells her to woman up and just date someone already, but Molly is terrified of rejection. That may have something to do with her issues with weight and her intense anxiety, for which she takes Zoloft. So she is careful. But then, Cassie falls in love and Molly feels as though she and her sister are drifting apart. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend’s best friend is a cute hipster boy who may or may not like Molly. Molly might just be able to win her sister back, right? The only problem is Molly’s co-worker, Reid. He is a chubby Tolkien and Game of Thrones fan and not at all Molly’s type. Except that he is.

Before I dissect the characters, let me explain how ecstatic I was at the level of diversity in this novel. All books should aspire to be as diverse, but what makes this novel stand apart is how normal Albertalli made it out to be. Of course diversity is normal, but these days, you would be hard-pressed to find an author – I don’t mean an #OwnVoices author – who understands this. So many authors freeze at the mere mention of diversity, or, when they’re called out, either try to justify their actions, or make a mockery of diversity by adding a few gay or POC background characters to be like, “Hey, look at my books, such diversity.” I won’t name names but I’m sure you can think of a few authors.

In The Upside of Unrequited, there was so much diversity there was almost an overload (I mean that as a compliment). Molly was fat and Jewish, Cassie was a lesbian, one of their mothers was bi while the other was gay and a POC, and Cassie’s girlfriend Mina was Korean and pansexual. And while I was so happy to see such diverse characters in a YA novel, none of the characters (aside from Molly) felt realistic. It is one thing to feature so many diverse characters, another to never address that diversity. Of course one could say that was Albertalli’s intent: diversity is a normal part of life – we don’t have to always address it. But this is a YA novel that focuses on LGBT people, mental health, sexuality, religion and race – how could you not address it?! What is that old saying? Ah yes – quality over quantity.

I sort of feel like the odd one out here, because everyone I know – including reviewers I trust – seem to love this book, but I was let down by the characters. They were all lacking the definitive, complex personality of a real person. To me they read like characters on a page, superficial attempts at realism, whereas in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda the characters were real people to me. I could connect with them. I didn’t connect with one single character in Upside, not even the protagonist.

Molly was a conundrum. There were times I almost felt something for her, but her inability to stand up for herself grew tiring. I totally understand that her anxiety prevented her from behaving like a typical seventeen-year-old would, but that didn’t stop me from growing annoyed. It wasn’t even until about 60% of the way through the novel that I started to like Molly. Her continual self-deprecating personality incensed me, but occasionally, she would stop thinking only about herself and put herself in someone else’s shoes. It was these rare moments where I could connect with Molly and her situation. I know every teenager feels like high school is the peak of their lives and they must go through full, wide-ranging experiences of adulthood by the age of seventeen, but it is not so. I think my eyes rolled to the very back of my head when Molly said, with complete sincerity, “I know I’m a late bloomer,” all because she did not have a boyfriend at the wise-old age of seventeen.

I didn’t particularly like Cassie. I found her quite selfish and, frankly, uncaring. She didn’t take anybody’s feelings into account and often spoke first and thought later. That didn’t mean she was a bad character, just an irksome one. Her relationship with Mina developed off the page, so the degree in which they cared for each other surprised me, because I didn’t see it happening: the reader was just told about it, after the fact. I read a review of this book where the reviewer thought the novel would have been stronger if we had two POVs: one from Molly and the other from Cassie, so we could also see Cassie’s relationship develop, and I have to agree. Cassie went from sharing everything with Molly, to not even telling her when she and Mina became official. Why the sudden change? Getting into Cassie’s head would have helped the book.

The central reason why I didn’t enjoy this book was the plot. What plot? It felt quite stagnant and, to be honest, quite boring. Not much happens. With Simon, you have the blackmail storyline, Simon’s quest to find out the identity of his pen-pal and the up-coming school play, mixed in with Simon’s emails to Blue. There was a lot happening and Albertelli balanced each storyline perfectly. I didn’t get that same feel with this novel. The plot was really very simple and, while that is usually not an issue with me, paired with Albertelli’s writing, the story didn’t go anywhere.

I have to admit I was disappointed in Albertalli’s writing. It wasn’t very different from her style in Simon, but I think her writing suffered due to her choice of protagonist. Molly’s inner monologue was very much: No one will ever like me, except I think this guy likes me, I’m the last virgin in the world, oh I think Mina is still a virgin too, I don’t like Reid he’s too nerdy, omg he looked at me, I have a crush on him, but I like Will, and oh Will smiled maybe I should be with him instead. There was too much contraction and teeniness for me. The writing was very simple and derivative. I wasn’t wowed like in Simon. I was let down. Also, can you even call it unrequited love when Molly never told any of her twenty-six crushes that she liked them? (I don’t think you can).

While I love coming-of-age stories, The Upside of Unrequited lacked that certain something that I found in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The plot was uninteresting, the diversity was apparent but not discussed in detail, and the characters were superficial. The elements Albertalli attempted to include – issues regarding sexuality, mental health, and even race – did not mesh well together. They were mentioned and then never fully explored. If this book were 100 pages longer, I am confident Albertalli could have fixed the issues I found. The book could have been a strong forerunner of what it means to write a successful and timeless diverse novel. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Utterly adorable, swoonily romantic but also very real. God this book is so warm and good hearted it makes me happy...if you liked Simon vs the Homo Sapiens, you will eat this up with a spoon.

OK, so this was disturbing.... I AM MOLLY!!!! yes i'm pushing 40, but I am so like Molly. She acted just how I felt at her age.

Slightly geeky. Slightly awkward. Comfortable in her own skin (overweight) but not confident with it. No idea how to talk to boys. A grandma who manages to make you feel REALLY uncomfortable! Biting her tongue rather than speaking up and causing all kinds of problems because of it!

Absolutely brilliant.

This was so well written and so believable. And the diversity was amazing. We had lesbians, bi-sexuals, homosexuals, pansexuals, white, black, mixed race, Korean, homophobes as well as a main character on medication for mental health issues (and not afraid to mention it) all in one book. And the most awesome thing was it didn't feel forced at all. It felt so natural and so real. I could imagine going to Molly's house and fitting right in, no matter who I was. THAT is how I would love the world to be.

The story ambles along at a gentle pace, and you are watching Molly, Cassie and their group of people grow up in front of you. Finding and losing love. Falling out and making up. watching the world change around them - Molly and Cassie watching their mums getting married with the legalisation of gay marriage in the US.

It was just amazing. I really don't know what else to say!

Becky Albertalli, we loved Simon. We love Molly, we want more!

ENGLISH REVIEW:

Center of this story are Molly and her family. It's a Jewish family (and that aspect also makes it an #ownvoices story) with two mums and three children: the twins Molly and Cassie and two-year old Xavier. The best part is that at least 60% of this family are queer (Xavier is a bit too young to say anything about that yet): one of the mums, Patty, is bisexual, while the other mum, Nadine, and Cassie are lesbian. Nadine and Xavier are also black – as is Abby, Molly's cousin and our link to Becky Albertalli's previous book, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda". (She specifically doesn't have a big role in this book, but she turns up every now and then.)

"The Upside of Unrequited" is a beautifully positive book. That's not to say it doesn't deal with serious or sad issues. Hating queerness, sexism, fatshaming and racism are all addressed. Not all in Nadine's family accept her being lesbian. Friends of Mina's (Cassie's love interest, a pansexual, American-Korean girl) may generally be nice, but they're also sexist douchebags who think penetrative sex is the only "real" sex. Patty's mother has it in for Molly for being fatand continuously makes her feel bad about her body. The good thing is that all of this is questioned and called out. Just not always as harshly as I hoped it would be – for example, Cassie is trying to set up her sister with one of Mina's friends even after they their sexist comments. It became a bit gross after a while.

What I really liked about the book was how relatable Molly was. Relatives making seemingly harmless comments about your weight and really hurting you? Check. Her worries about intimacy and relationships, partially caused by her insecurities due to her weight? Definitely check. Her shyness that makes it almost impossible for her to have the conversations she wants to have? Well damn.
So much better, then, that Becky Albertalli goes all the way and has Molly realise that she is beautiful. That she doesn't have to get thinner and change any other way or needs to have a boyfriend to be lovable or desirable.

The books doesn't manage the avoid all clichés – there's a bit of a love triangle and good ol' misunderstanding to create drama the story didn't actually need. But all that pales in comparison to the characters and their love for each other. And I don't just mean Cassie and Mina, or Molly and Reid. Those are fantastic as well and great romances – they're based on friendship and all the more exciting thanks to it. Not to mention believable – there's actual chemistry here! But I'm also talking about the love between Cassie and Molly as sisters, the love in their whole family. The love between friends. Sure, there can be setbacks and problems – but that doesn't have to be the end of the world or destroy everything.

After reading "The Upside of Unrequited", I just felt really good. Whether you are fat or queer or shy or confused or uncertain – all that is okay. It's fine and you are loved. Not despite it, but just like that.
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GERMAN REVIEW:

Im Zentrum der Geschichte stehen Molly und ihre Familie. Es ist eine jüdische Familie (in dieser Hinsicht ist es auch ein #ownvoices-Buch) mit zwei Müttern und drei Kindern: den Zwillingen Molly und Cassie, und dem zweijährigen Xavier. Das Lustigste ist, dass mindestens 60% der Familie queer sind (Xavier ist da noch etwas zu jung, um eine Aussage zu treffen): Eine der Mütter, Patty, ist bisexuell, während die andere Mutter, Nadine, und Cassie lesbisch sind. Außerdem sind Nadine und Xavier Schwarz – ebenso wie Abby, Mollys Cousine und unsere Verbindung zu Becky Albertallis vorherigem Buch, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda". (Eine wirkliche Rolle spielt sie im Buch nicht, sie taucht aber ab und an auf.)

"The Upside of Unrequited" ist ein wunderbar positives Buch. Was nicht heißen soll, dass es nicht auch um ernste und traurige Themen geht. Queerfeindlichkeit, Sexismus, Fatshaming und Rassismus – all das wird angesprochen. Nicht alle in Nadines Familie respektieren, dass sie lesbisch ist. Freunde von Mina (Cassies Love Interest, ein pansexuelles, amerikanisch-koreanisches Mädchen) mögen generell noch so nett sein, sie sind aber auch sexistische Vollpfosten, die glauben, penetrativer Sex wäre der einzig "richtige" Sex. Pattys Mutter hackt beständig auf Molly rum, weil sie fett ist und sorgt dafür, dass sie sich schlecht fühlt. Das Gute ist, dass all das in Frage gestellt und widerlegt wird. Nicht immer so rigoros, wie ich mir wünschen würde – beispielsweise versucht Cassie, ihre Schwester mit einem von Minas Freunden zu verkuppeln und das selbst nachdem sie sich daneben benommen haben. Nach einer Weile war's ein bisschen ekelig.

Was mir ganz besonders am Buch gefiel, war, wie sehr ich Mollys Sorgen nachvollziehen konnte. Verwandte, die angeblich harmlose Kommentare über dein Gewicht von sich geben, die aber deutlich mehr anrichten? Check. Ihre Sorgen und Fragen rund ums Thema Intimität und Beziehungen, unter anderem durch die Unsicherheit, die sie wegen ihres Gewichts hat? Sowas von check. Ihre Schüchternheit, die es ihr unmöglich zu machen scheint, mit anderen die Konversationen zu führen, die sie führen will? Aber hallo.
Umso schöner ist es, dass Becky Albertalli den ganzen Weg geht und Molly realisieren lässt, dass sie schön ist. Dass sie nicht dünner werden oder sich anders verändern oder einen Freund haben muss, um liebens- oder begehrenswert zu sein.

Ganz ohne Klischees kommt die Geschichte nicht aus – wir haben ein bisschen was von einem Liebesdreieck und das gute alte Missverständnis muss gegen Ende Drama erzeugen, das nicht unbedingt notwendig war. All das verblasst aber vor den Charakteren und ihren Liebesbeziehungen. Und damit meine ich nicht nur Cassie und Mina, oder Molly und Reid. Wobei die auch fantastisch sind, weil diese Romanzen endlich mal wieder auch Freundschaften basieren und sie damit umso mitreißender und vor allem glaubhafter sind – das Ganze hat Chemie! Aber ich meine auch die Liebe zwischen Cassie und Molly als Schwestern, die Liebe innerhalb der ganzen Familie. Die Liebe zwischen Freundinnen. Bei allem kann es mal bröckeln und Probleme geben – aber das muss nicht das Ende der Welt sein und alles zerstören.

Nach dem Lesen von "The Upside of Unrequited" hab ich mich einfach gut gefühlt. Ob du dick bist oder queer oder schüchtern oder durcheinander oder unsicher – das ist alles gar nicht schlimm. Es ist in Ordnung und du wirst geliebt. Nicht nur trotzdem, sondern einfach so.

General Rating: ★★★★ (4 stars)
Diversity rating: ★★★ (3 stars: POC: Asian, Korean-American, LGBT+: pansexual, bi, gay, minority: Jewish)

I have heard a lot about Simon vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda but I have not yet read it, this book is by the same author and is highly anticipated by a lot of people!
I just feel like writing a bunch of quotes instead of a review, because this book is so very quotable.

My favourite character was by far Molly, she’s just amazing and here is why:

She’s an introvert
“Molly Peskin-Suso: disoriented introvert, alone in the wild.”

“Either way, I am clearly unfit for human company right now.”

She’s an antisocial, socially awkward cinnamon roll.
“We walk up Maple, and I feel tongue-tied. Not even tongue-tied. I mean, my tongue isn’t the problem. It’s my brain. It’s like this: Me: Hey brain. Let’s think of something cool to say! Brain: UHHHHHHHHHHH. Me: Okay, it doesn’t have to be cool. Just something semi-coherent… Brain: UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Me: COME ON, BRAIN, GIVE ME SOMETHING. Brain: *white noise*.”

She’s a chubby girl and is very self-conscious of her body.
“I hate that I’m even thinking that. I hate hating my body. Actually, I don’t even hate my body. I just worry everyone else might. Because chubby girls don’t get boyfriends, and they definitely don’t have sex. Not in movie – not really – unless it’s supposed to be a joke. And I don’t want to be a joke.”

Reasons not to love Molly.

She is very determined to get a boyfriend, for the sake of having a boyfriend. And I don’t like that. I think that the story is very much focused on her wanting to have a significant other, and I think that I would have loved it much more if it wasn’t.
That’s it.
The other characters are great too, and I really liked the dynamics of the group of friends. And despite that I didn’t like the whole idea that Molly needs to have a boyfriend or at least kissed someone, I did really like the romance in the book. I think that this book talks about topics that are very important, such as sex and sexual orientation, family, relationships, and more.

The writing style was funny and relatable and overall I really liked this book. It didn’t mesmerise me as much as I’d expect, but that is probably because I’m a little tired of the idea that you’re not good enough if you haven’t had a boyfriend at a certain age. I would like to give you my sincere apologies for this very short, messy and incoherent review, but I did really love it I just don’t know how to express it.

I give this book 4 stars because it was very relatable, funny, cute, realistic and also very diverse! At least half the characters are either POC, LGTB+, or are part of a minority or a combination of those. I would definitely recommend this book!

Before I even picked up The Upside of Unrequited I was quite nervous to read it. I loved Becky Albertalli's debut novel, and I didn't want to find myself comparing the two. But despite the two stories existing in the same world, they ended up feeling very separate. And although I didn't like it as much as I loved Simon, I found that Upside was cute and relatable in a whole different way.

Molly has had plenty of crushes, but never any relationships. And this book captures really well how terrifying that is. At an age where everyone is doing one thing, it can feel like there's something wrong with you for not being the same. I'm amazed that more books aimed at teens don't deal with stuff like this, because reading about Molly's experiences was something I needed to have read about when I was younger.

"Even if he likes me, I'm not sure he'd like me naked. I hate that I'm even thinking that. I hate hating my body. Actually, I don't even hate my body. I just worry that everyone else might."

I'm also really glad to see an author deal with body issues and an anxiety in the way that Becky Albertalli did too. Molly takes Zoloft (or Sertraline as it's called in the UK), but her anxiety doesn't make her 'different' or 'special'. She's also fat, but she doesn't hate her body, or even want to change it. And I think those things are so so important and need to be written more about. Because often our own fears aren't centred around what we believe, but the thought of what others might believe. Self loathing isn't a necessary part of the teenage equation.

This book was also a truckload of diversity which was pretty awesome. Molly and her twin Cassie are sperm donor babies to two mums (one is a Jewish bisexual woman and the other is a black lesbian woman). Plus Cassie is queer and dating a girl who is Korean and pansexual. So as I said - a truckload of awesome diversity.

But as much as I love diversity and as much as I could relate to Molly's experiences, I didn't really connect with her voice. What she said was relatable, but the way she said it didn't feel real to me. The words and the writing felt really disjointed most of the time, and would go on tangents that didn't really feel relevant. And ultimately that made it really hard to click with, especially for the first half of the book. Also, a lot of the time the story felt as though nothing was directing it - kind of like when you trip and your limbs go everywhere. The story lacked any drive and so I didn't really care as much as I would have wanted to.

Nevertheless, The Upside of Unrequited is still a really good book, and I'm glad I read it. It is something I needed when I was younger, and possibly something I needed even now at nineteen. I will still recommend it to people, not for the writing, but for the messages it holds.



Diversity Note: Fat protagonist who has anxiety, with multiple LGBT+ and/or POC supporting characters

An ebook copy was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

The Upside Of Unrequited, the sophomore novel by author Becky Albertalli, introduces us to Molly, a twin and chubby girl who has never had a boyfriend before. But things change when her twin sister Cassie meets Mina, a Korean-American girl.

Because Mina? She introduces Will into Molly's world. Will isn't the only boy who enters Molly's world, though. There's also Reid, whose parents own the shop were Molly is working for the summer.

As the summer progresses, feelings start developing and things get complicated on more than one front.

Plot

I thought The Upside Of Unrequited was a nice story about how falling in love and starting a new relationship can change your existing relationships with the people closest to you. And while I did enjoy reading this book (I actually finished it in one sitting one night), I don't feel like there was a lot happening throughout.

We join our cast of characters at various parties throughout the story, we join Molly at her summer job where she spends time with Reid and then finally we have the wedding. And that's really all that happens plot-wise and that's not enough for me, to be honest.

Writing

Becky Albertalli has a writing style that makes it easy to follow along with her story and definitely factors into how much you end up enjoying this novel. And while I did like the first person point of view that the author chose for this book it also made it difficult to get to know the other characters more - they felt really flat to me.

One thing I really enjoyed about the way this particular book was written is the fact that at times it felt like Molly was speaking directly to me as a reader which isn't something I have come across often in the books I've read up until now.

Characters

As I just mentioned, I don't think we got a chance to really get to know most of the characters apart from what Molly was telling us which was obviously tainted by Molly's feelings about them and wasn't from a neutral point of view - I would've preferred that at times. Cassie was usually busy being Mina's girlfriend and neither Will nor Reid got developed much as characters which ultimately lead to me not caring about who Molly would ultimately end up with.

The one character I did feel we got to know well enough was Molly, which is a given since she was the narrator of this story and we were inside her head. And I have to say I often found myself nodding along to a lot of the things Molly was thinking about herself, her body and what it would be like to be with someone. My teenage self was full of all of those thoughts too.

In a way, it was really interesting to be reintroduced to all of those thoughts and compare that to how I am feeling about those things nowadays.

Something else I want to mention in relation to the characters in this story is the fact that we got to see two different female/female relationships represented. I can't speak to how well it is done, though as I am not a part of the LGBT+ community myself. I would much rather have someone speak to this who is part of the community.

Enjoyment

I did really enjoy reading The Upside Of Unrequited! It was a light hearted and sweet story that at times actually had me laughing out loud and definitely kept me entertained the whole way through!

As I was reading this book I did realize that I may not be the right audience for this book, considering I'm in my late 20s already. But while my age might be off, I could still see myself in the character as we share other aspects.

Had I read this book in my late teens, I would have definitely enjoyed this a lot more. But I am glad that I read it now. I have experiences now that I didn't have then and my mindset about my body and the way I view it has changed and I am very grateful for that.

Taking everything into consideration, I ended up giving this book a 3-star rating!

I received this in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Becky Albertalli, and the publisher, Balzer + Bray, for this opportunity.

Molly and Cassie are sixteen-year-old twin sisters, as close as they were in the womb, and as unlike in looks as they are in personality. Molly is introverted and has had crushes on twenty-six (going on twenty-seven) guys whilst she has kissed exactly none. Cassie is fearless and kisses girls like its going out of fashion.

Everything they thought they knew about themselves and each other is about to change when Molly finds Mina, Cassie's perfect girl. Their childhood plans of marrying best friends might soon become a reality when Mina's hot best friend, Will, seems to be interested in Molly, too. But is this even what Molly want, anymore? And if it isn't, then when did she change and how does she decide on a new path for her future?

Coming-of-age contemporaries don't get much more perfect than Albertalli's debut, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, so this book had big boots to fill. Whilst I can safely say I really enjoyed reading this, it didn't blow me away like its predecessor.

What Albertalli does brilliantly is create a cast of characters that I can't help but empathise and relate to. Over the course of her novels, I find myself vying for every one of them and genuinely emotionally invested in the outcome of their teen plights. She manages to suck me in to a world and a time, so close and yet so removed from my own, within paragraphs of the book starting and it saddens me to say goodbye when I close the final page.

Her diversity must also be commended, as every book is filled with different sexualities and POC, which are in unfortunate short supply in YA fiction.

All that being said, I found this didn't have such a big emotional impact as 'Simon'. This was sweet, touching and moving... just not on the same scale as I have experienced from this author before. It feels wrong to compare two books, but I could not help to do so in this instance. Whilst this was a truly lovely read it wasn't quite as captivating, but still made me believe in the power and prowess of this writer.

Great voice. Great story about feeling like you're being left behind as your friends and siblings grow on to have relationships, sex and all those things that happen in your late teens. Lovely story.

This was a brilliant book. Awesome female characters. Great queer representation. 5/5

I had high expectations for this book after reading some rave reviews and I'm pleased to say it lives up to those expectations!

I saw so much of myself in Molly that it was occasionally quite uncomfortable, but her story had so much truth in it and will really appeal to girls who are sick of reading YA characters who don't represent them at all. Molly was believably anxious and self conscious and TOTALLY relatable - especially her crush on Lin-Manuel Miranda. We ALL feel you there Molly.

This book is packed full of diverse and entertaining characters in a way that doesn't feel preachy, but I didn't fully buy the way Molly and Cassie's parents spoke to them - I thought that dialogue felt pretty forced. A small niggle in an otherwise flawless representation of a family that transcended labels.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children's for letting me have an ARC of this book!

The Upside of Unrequited is pretty much a perfect book. I have not a single complaint, I loved everything from the writing to the characters to the story to the beautiful and extremely strong feels!

I was practically enchanted by The Upside of Unrequited - and I think one of the reasons was because I just understood Molly so very well. How she was a serial crusher, but never dared to completely put herself out there and try to see if the guy liked her back. From the safety of distance, she could crush and feel the butterflies, but make sure she'd never get hurt. And while I didn't think of it that way when I was her age, now, I think that may very well have been what I was doing, too. I was crushing on guys for various reasons, but I never went any further than finding out what their name was.

All the different relationships were so realistically depicted, and The Upside of Unrequited showed that a good YA can have parents present, and that two moms can be more awesome than a more traditional family. That twins can be similar in some ways and extremely different in others. There were strong friendships, strong family relationships, and new and old friends who got to meet as well. The vibe of getting to know oneself is one that Molly, especially, shared throughout the story, and I really loved to be with her for that self discovery.

Questioning change, understanding the necessity of it, while also seeing how tragic it can be is another very strong theme of The Upside of Unrequited. When we're on the cusp of adulthood, there are many changes, and some of them are really good while others are really scary. Both Molly and Cassie felt and tasted those changes, and they reacted to them differently. But they also reacted to them in quite similar ways. They both saw their own point of view first, then, with some help, they managed to take a step back an see things from the other's perspective as well.

The story is from Molly's point of view, and it's written mostly in first person perspective, past tense. There are a lot of dialogues, and text messages with emojis, too, to make everything more realistic. All the characters are well fleshed out, and I just feel both so happy and a bit nostalgic and sad at the same time now. The Upside of Unrequited is definitely a must-read, an amazing YA novel that can truly appeal to all ages. Open your mind, and let this fabulous family take you on a small journey of self-discovery, which might also be a trip down memory-lane.

After reading <i>Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenga</i> I had high hopes for Albertalli's new title and she didn't disappoint. Some genuine laugh-out-loud moments are scattered throughout this heart-warming novel. As a narrator, Molly is so relatable and authentic in her emotions and her fears. It's hard not to be rooting for her, even when you wish you could shake her!
The cast of characters is wonderfully diverse and Albertalli's tip of the hat to the 2015 Supreme Court Ruling on same-sex marriage in the US was a personal highlight. A joyous and fun read for readers aged 14+

This book was sweet. Maybe too sweet. Definitely too sweet. It's a nice, quick read but I like my stories to have more tension than this. I felt there wasn't any conflict really, or certainly not enough to keep me invested.

There wasn't a single character I didn't like. The LGBTQIA+ rep was great. It was the first time I saw written "pansexual" and "asexual" on te page. We also saw some characters from Becky's first book SIMON VS and it was great!
(I'll add the blog review soon)

Becky, I will read all of your books, always!

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda made me squeee, it was adorable and funny and my love for it keeps growing whenever I think about it.

And this book, THIS BOOK. I loved Molly, she reminded me of, well, me. I've found myself in her shoes on many an occasion, and her character felt so truthful and so vulnerable and I was utterly taken with her. And cutie Hipster Will, and Cassie, and oh boy Nadine and Patty are the epitome of cool. And Reid, I'll just sit here and squeee about him and his adorableness.

This book was wonderful! Yet again Becky's writing was honest and funny and super addictive, and I can't fault this book!

When I saw this book on Netgalley, I knew I had to request it. I absolutely adored Becky Albertalli’s first book: Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda. I was delighted when I was approved. After I finished Etched in Bone by Anne Bishop, I knew I wanted something cute to read. So I thought it was the perfect time to pick this up. I was not ready for the emotions this book would stir up in me, though.

This is the story of Molly and her family. Molly has a twin sister, Cassie, two moms, Nadine & Patty, and a little brother called Xavier. She also has a grandma called Betty -and I can’t decide whether I like her or not. They are Jewish, although not orthodox I believe because they do eat bacon. Cassie and Molly were conceived through the use of a sperm donor, so Patty could get pregnant. And their little brother Xavier was conceived with the same sperm donor and Nadine.

I think this family is wonderful for several reasons. First of all, they are so wonderfully diverse. Patty is bisexual. I’m not sure whether Nadine is too, or whether she identifies more as lesbian. Cassie, Molly’s twin, is gay. Patty and Nadine are an interracial couple, which is why Xavier also has a different skin color than Cassie and Molly do. There was this one part where Nadine said that everyone always assumed she was the nanny when she went out with Cassie and Molly when they were children. Because they don’t share the same skin color. I can’t imagine how much that would hurt. That everyone assumes your children are not yours. Second, I love the portrayal of a good family life. This is truly a wonderful family. They are supportive, kind and honest. They are the kind of parents people look up to. And it’s also mentioned that Molly has anxiety, and that she’s been taking medication for a year now.

This family takes shit from no one. And they are hilarious. A quote, to prove it:

She’s never liked him, ever since he asked if Cassie was actually queer, or if she was trying to emulate our moms. He actually used the word emulate. I don’t even want to remember that particular stretch of awkward silence. Actually, I do. It was kind of amazing.
Aside from all that wonderfulness, the reason I adored this book so much was Molly. Recently, I read and reviewed Radio Silence. And I mentioned it was the only contemporary I’d read so far to which I could actually really relate. It’s not the only one anymore. I think if you combine Molly and Frances (from Radio Silence), you’ll have created me. I could have cried for this girl, because I recognized so much of myself in her.

Molly is a plus-size girl. She frequently has crushes on people, but has never had the courage to say anything. While I can’t entirely relate to her journey, I can relate to her feelings and emotions so well. How she is too afraid to say something ridiculous to a crush, so she just says nothing. How she’s afraid they won’t like her, because she’s not a skinny girl. How scared she is of rejection. Her struggle with self-love and body positivity. How you over-analyze other people’s gestures and looks. Girl, I understand you. My heart actually hurt for this girl, because I know who she is. I know what it’s like. I was so invested in her story. So proud of her by the end of it. Molly is a wonderful person, and I want her to be my friend.

Here's a quote to illustrate Molly being plus-size, and not taking shit

“Okay, I just gotta say it.” The guy touches my arm. “You are fucking gorgeous for a big girl.” I stop short. “It’s a compliment!” I look at him. “Fuck you.”
I also loved the sister dynamic in this story. Cassie meets a girl in the beginning of the book, and quickly falls in love with her. She’s spending so much time with Mina, that Molly feels left behind. I haven’t experienced this with a sister, but I have with friends. On the one hand, you want them to be as happy as possible, and to spend time with the person they love. But you also miss them so much. And I love to see that side explored more. Because Molly does like Mina. And she also says that she is happy for Cassie. But it’s a double feeling, because you’re also sad?

Obviously, I can’t end this review without talking about Reid. I am in love with Reid. He honestly sounds like the most perfect person to ever live. He wears Middle Earth shirts. He loves Cadbury Mini Eggs. He’s a bit shy, but the kindest person ever. He has cute brown hair and hazel eyes. He loves edible cookie dough with vanilla ice cream. Sign me the hell up, because he sounds amazing. He’s also so kind to Molly. I like that she actually felt comfortable around him, and that he made her feel beautiful. I know, I know, we shouldn’t need a guy to know we are beautiful. But let’s not lie: it’s nice. I also liked that at the end, they discussed how normal it actually is to not have a partner in high school. That there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it.


I can gush endlessly about this book, because there are so many aspects of it I absolutely adore. I love the family dynamics. I love the friendships. I love the fact that there is a little drama but it’s not endlessly drawn out -because high school did have drama, just not as exaggerated as it usually is in books. I love Molly, because I truly understand her. I love Cassie and Mina’s relationship. I love Nadine and Patty’s relationship. I love Reid. I love how the whole thing with Will was resolved. I loved the mini Simon cameo. I love how artistic Molly is, and that her whole focus isn’t on college. I love the many aspects and facets of diversity in this book.

I just, love it. I will definitely buy a copy of this for my shelf because I have a feeling I will want to re-read it one day.

I have no idea where to begin this review for THE UPSIDE OF UNREQUITED because I just simply loved it and I want everyone to pick this book up.
Quite honestly I'm not even sure if I would have picked this book up if Netgalley didn't give me the opportunity to do so. I normally don't pick up much contemporary and really don't request it for reviews BUT I had heard so much great stuff about this already, especially about its diversity, that I thought I would just give it a shot. Getting accepted to review this was one of the best things that ever happened to me and I am so thankful.
I loved how cute and fluffy but at the same time realistic this book was. This is exactly what I need from a YA contemporary romance!

Let's talk about some of the diversity in this book. It is so much that I will not even be able to mention it all and that is exactly how I want all books to be. I am SO HAPPY about this. The main character, Molly, and other side characters are Jewish (and it is #ownvoices). There is a pansexual side character who is also Korean-American. There are multiple other queer side characters. Molly has two moms. She has anxiety and while it is mentioned, especially as Molly is on medication, it is never like she IS her mental illness.
Also Molly is overweight and I also absolutely loved how this was portrayed.
As I said, I'm pretty sure that's not everything but there was so much diversity I wasn't even able to keep track of it.
The feminism in this was also great! So many myths about “womanhood” and the concept of virginity etc. where just completely destroyed in this book. MORE OF THAT PLEASE!

All of the characters in general were absolutely wonderful and I loved the different dynamics in the relationships we see. First of all let's talk about the family dynamics in general. Molly is a twin and this story is a lot about the dynamic between her and her sister Cassie and how hard it can be to maintain a close twin-relationship when other important people come into your life. I really loved how realistic this aspect was and how both character came to terms with it and developed through that.
One of my favourite aspects was ACTUAL CARING PARENTS. Yaaay. I know we all keep making jokes about parents in YA and how, if there are even any, they rarely care and let their kids do whatever. In The Upside of Unrequited it was exactly how I wish it was portrayed more often. Molly's moms were caring and loving, they let their kids have lots of freedom but they were also strict were they had to be and never feared to talk about topics that were a little uncomfortable. In general you could just tell that they were an actual part of Molly's and Cassie's life and that is just wonderful to read about.
But I also loved the friendships and romantic relationships. I really felt like we had some super realistic portrayals in this area as well. When you are 17 you will sometimes be jealous of your friends, be it for their looks, their friendships, their relationships, whatever. That doesn't mean the friendship is over and you can't talk to each other anymore. It is a normal, in my opinion even healthy part of friendships, especially in that age, as long as you acknowledge it. I loved how Albertalli wasn't trying to gloss over these harsher thoughts that can occur in even the strongest friendships.

Finally I just wanna say that I found Molly a wonderfully relatable characters. And no, characters do not have to be relatable to be likeable. And in this case I am sure I would have liked Molly just as much if I hadn't been able to relate to her BUT this just made this reading experience even greater than it already was and I just wanna mention it although this is obviously something very personal/subjective.
I often say how I have problems to relate to characters in fiction. I never know why that is. Maybe because sometimes characters are described as bad ass and confident and beautiful and they know what they are doing or where they are going. And then there's other characters that are described as broken and insecure. And I always feel like I'm in between and that was how Molly kinda felt to me? It's really hard to describe but just the way Molly saw herself but then also how she thought OTHER PEOPLE saw her was so fascinating to me and I could just resonate with so many of her thoughts. Some things she said and thought really spoke to my 17-year old self. Some things she said and thought really spoke to my current, 24-year old self. And that felt absolutely wonderful. Her thoughts sometimes were so real, so emotional, so pure and I couldn't help but actively nod my head, grin to myself or maybe even tear up a little. Molly is a character that has a big place in my heart from now on!

I don't really reread contemporary but I'm already craving to get back to this story at some point. My original rating was 4-stars because I have become a horribly picky 5-star rater. But I have realized while writing this review and also while reading the description again (where I did a *happy sigh*) that this is definitely a 5-star read for me! And it is going on my top books of 2017 list. I am really quite in love with this book right now.

I'm going to start off by saying Becky Albertalli knows how to write a great book! This book was so fricking cute and just a real feel-good book. Although it was cute, it also dealt with quite a few things so it had quite a bit of substance too.

The characters were fantastic. I felt like all of them were very real and fleshed out. The characters were also super diverse which was wonderful. They weren't diverse just for the sake of it either. Molly was a great protagonist. She was also 16 year old me! Like she was so relatable because I had very similar thoughts to her but the one difference was Molly didn't hate her body while I did. It was great that Molly didn't hate her body, it was so freaking nice to read! She was just afraid of what others would think of it. Like can we get more books about fat girls who 1) don't hate their body, 2) don't have an eating disorder and 3) are just out there doing things that other skinny YA protagonists are doing?! That stuff is refreshing!!! Anyways, I loved all of the characters. My favourite was probably Reid because he was so adorable! Can I please find a Reid for myself? Nerdy, cute and chunky... sign me up! Part of what made this a feel-good book was the fact that the characters were a real breathe of fresh air. I mean a pansexual character??!! YAAS QWUEEN!

The story was pretty simple really but it didn't matter because it was all about Molly and the people in her life. This little slice of her life was the story. I also thought the romance bits were so adorable and I'm hard to please when it comes to YA romance. This book was not as funny as Simon vs. but it was still really enjoyable. I found this book very entertaining and I read it all in one day. The writing was great. Albertalli completely sounded like 17 year old fat girl just like she sounded like a 17 year old gay boy in her debut novel. She is phenomenal at getting into these characters and whacking out relatable stuff. Honestly, if Albertalli keeps writing like this, she's going to write some more really incredible novels.

ALSO Simon from Simon vs. was in this for like 2 very quick scenes and I loved it. He's so funny and he was hilarious in his little cameos!

I would recommend this book and I would read more by Becky Albertalli. We need more diverse books like this!

* I received a copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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"I do wonder, sometimes, what people think when they see me."

"I wish there were a secret signal you could use to communicate: HELLO. I AM OFFICIALLY COOL WITH SILENCE."

"If someone says I’m sad, or asks me what’s wrong, or tells me not to cry, it’s like my body hears: NOW CRY. Like a command, even if I’m not actually sad. But maybe there are always tiny sad pieces inside me, waiting to be recognized and named. Maybe it’s like that for everyone."

"He grins. And then he hugs me. It’s kind of a one-armed, sideways, squeezy hug. It’s over before I can process it, but now my insides are one big shaken Coke bottle."

"I hate hating my body. Actually, I don’t even hate my body. I just worry everyone else might."

"Because chubby girls don’t get boyfriends, and they definitely don’t have sex. Not in movies—not really—unless it’s supposed to be a joke. And I don’t want to be a joke."

"There’s something magical about twinkle lights on tree branches."