Author: Becky Albertalli
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: Balzer + Bray via Edelweiss
Goodreads
“I don’t entirely understand how anyone gets a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. It just seems like the most impossible odds. You have to have a crush on the exact right person at the exact right moment. And they have to like you back.”Review by Nara
What does a sixteen-year-old girl have to do to kiss a boy? Molly Peskin-Suso wishes she knew. She’s crushed on twenty-six guys…but has kissed exactly none. Her twin sister Cassie’s advice to “just go for it” and “take a risk” isn’t that helpful. It’s easy for her to say: she’s had flings with lots of girls. She’s fearless and effortlessly svelte, while Molly is introverted and what their grandma calls zaftig.
Then Cassie meets Mina, and for the first time ever, Cassie is falling in love. While Molly is happy for her twin, she can’t help but feel lonelier than ever. But Cassie and Mina are determined to end Molly’s string of unrequited crushes once and for all. They decide to set her up with Mina’s friend Will, who is ridiculously good-looking, flirty, and seems to be into Molly. Perfect, right? But as Molly spends more time with Reid, her cute, nerdy co-worker, her feelings get all kinds of complicated. Now she has to decide whether to follow everyone’s advice…or follow her own heart.
If there's one thing The Upside of Unrequited taught me, it's that Becky Albertalli's books are made of adorable. When the relationships get going, they really get going, and it's hard to stop yourself from smiling from the cute banter.
I have to admit, The Upside of Unrequited is not as good as Simon. But then again, that's a pretty much impossible act to follow, so I couldn't really expect it to be. Because I'm an oblivious idiot, the first time I was reading the book I somehow missed the glaringly obvious Simon cameo haha. I just wasn't expecting there to be one! So when they mentioned the name Simon I was like, hmm not sure who that is, whatever. Of course the second time I read it I was just like wtf Nara how did you miss that haha.
The novel focuses mostly on protagonist Molly Peskin-Suso and her twin Cassie. It's about their relationship and the friendships (/more than friendships) that they develop with others and how that affects their relationship. It's not just about romance, but about the strength of love between family and I loved seeing how the dynamics between the two shifted throughout the novel.
Molly is not the easiest of characters to like- she is insecure and indecisive and makes many mistakes. However, this does also make her quite easy to empathise with, as well as making her a more realistic character overall.
Well, Becky Albertalli has definitely won herself a place on my list of auto-buy authors. If you give her books a chance, I have no doubt that she would be quite likely to make your list too.
Incredible
RatingsOverall: 9/10
Plot: 4.5/5
Romance: 4/5
Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
