I just want to throw all the heart-eyed emojis to this book because IT’S SO ADORABLE AND THE FEELS ARE #REAL. Though I liked Simon just a bit more compared to do this because of the whole crew and oreos and geeky and cute stuff there but this book still lived up to the author’s debut! It’s like the best friend that understands and will feed you cookie-dough to heal all your unrequited feelings.


For someone who’s always on the look-out for one of her crushes, I could totally relate with Molly because she has like 26+ crushes and not even one of them likes her back or so she assumes.

Molly feels like everyone’s growing up and exploring new things except for her. Her twin, Cassie, found this amazing girl and is discovering the depths of being in love leaving Molly on this endless cycle of crushing hard on someone and not being liked back. Here’s the thing, Molly isn’t the most confident girl on block, she doesn’t put herself out there in fear of being rejected. She’s fat but this is not a story of her learning to love her body, because she already does—this is a story of growing up and that oh-so sweet joy of first love.

The characters here are very diverse and representations are well-done. Every character has their own quirk and a personality that made them shine. As usual, I loved the dialogues here, the conversations flowed flawlessly. It was fun to read and felt very realistic. Like I said, the feels that this book gave were SO REAL, I could really see the events happening in real life!

I loved that it explored the sisterly love between Molly and Cassie, they’re twins and they had each other’s back since birth but life happens. Growing up it’s inevitable to not feel like you’re drifting away from your closest friends and even your own sister, you still love them but you might have different priorities now. I love how it sends a message that people might come and go but your sister will always be your sister even if she’s not your favorite person anymore.

The family dynamics is also a delight, both Moms were very present in the story. The support of Molly’s two Moms to her and Cassie was one of the best I’ve read in YA. They were very open to one other, there were a lot of awww-family moments as well as some family drama! I just adore books with great family aspects.

Going back to Molly, her character development deserves all the thumbs-up emoji in the world! She knew herself and limits very well, and the way she put herself and heart out there and found that it wasn’t so bad to let loose from time to time was again, written realistically. She’s just overall, a #RELATABLE heroine! Oh, she likes DIYs and crafts and Pinterest stuffs too! I love that one scene where one of their friends has a problem and they listened to her while making some paper/magazine beads, #crafty indeed.

I sometimes feel like everyone is having these amazing high school experiences except me, like I’m missing out on something. Well this book reminded me that growing up is hard, and there are times when we’ll feel insecure and unsure of ourselves. But there’s no specific time on when we’ll experience certain things, we move on our own phase! We may feel like there’s a million things we haven’t but don’t worry, we’ll get there! Just you wait. That being said, I think this book sends a powerful message to all young adults out there, and I really wish that that it’ll reach and empower more lives.

So finally, for the romance which I won’t spoil because there’s like two guys here. I know what you’re thinking, she never had a boyfriend and has like 26+ crushes and now two boys are pinning for her? Well, the story isn’t like that at all! JUST READ TO FIND OUT, but I promise you that the romance is fast-paced but insta-love did not happen.

I’ll just describe the two prospects, first is this cool hipster dude, Will. He’s really charming and funny, plus Cassie’s girlfriend is his bestfriend so it would be perfect if Molly dated him. On the other hand, Reid is the co-worker with immaculate white sneakers. I swear, I spent a good amount of time wondering how on earth does he manage to keep his white sneakers super clean while also wearing them everyday??? Anyways, he’s in love with Chocolate Mini Eggs and wears nerdy t-shirts. It’s really not that hard to guess who’s it going to be, and Molly clearly have her eyes on…

So there goes my review for The Upside of Unrequited, if it isn’t clear that I enjoyed reading this well, surprise I did! And I absolutely recommend this to anyone who had unrequited feelings for someone a.k.a every single one of us. (I’m definitely assuming here!) Becky Albertalli did it again, and yes there’s a cameo of Simon and his friends in some scenes so if you loved that book I’m sure you’ll enjoy this too!

Thank you so much Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an eARC of this book.

Let me tell you one thing: I suck at writing reviews but it’s Becky Albertalli and I want everyone to see that she’s gorgeous and one of my favorite writers and I wouldn’t mind reading a phone book written by her because seriously.

If you are a fat girl and actually like your body the way it is but still know that sadly not everyone can mind their own business and you know that fat girls can have a HEA and you feel that there are not enough books about you - say no more. This book is gorgeous. This book is for you. This book is perfect. Read this book.

EVERYTHING YOU READ NOW IS A SPOILER:

What I love about this book:

- a brilliant brilliant brilliant and smart fat main character called Molly who actually deals with anxiety and panic attacks (and takes medication because of it)
- with a gay gay gay gay twin sister, not fat
- both are sperm donor children to two moms who are so fucking supportive I wish they were real
- the two moms are about to GET MARRIED BECAUSE GAY MARRIAGE JUST GOT LEGALIZED
- they actually are Jewish
- Molly was named after Becky’s grandmother, isn’t that sweet? 
- the gay twin sister falls in love with a Korean girl
- SIMON APPEARS VIA SKYPE CAN WE DISCUSS THIS I AM IN LOVE
- FEMINISM. 
- Molly flicks someone off for going all ”for a fat girl you’re cute.” Man what a dick
- Geektalk. Actual geektalk
- There is a love triangle without being a proper love triangle AND IF THAT’S NOT WHAT PEOPLE WANT IDEK EITHER.
- Molly works in a shop called Bissel & for every person knowing the German accent I have they know bissel is an actual word I use which makes this store so precious to me



What I hate about this book:

- it has an end. It’s awful that this book actually has an ending. Why can’t I wake up and read 50 pages and be like ”omg the book is still ongoing, this is perfect”


Becky has no idea how much I actually love her for writing a book about Molly, a person with a voice I will think of until the day I die. And watch my descendants like a TV reality show while cheering them on. I don’t know Becky’s grandmother but I know that I would be so very very proud if I was her grandmother.

To date, Molly Peskin-Suso has had over twenty crushes, zero of which she has acted upon. For a fat girl, the rates of heartbreak and rejection seem far too high, and Molly has got pretty well accustomed to the novelty of quietly liking someone, anyway. However, when her twin sister — who may well be her actual polar-opposite — meets and falls for Mina, things between the two begin to change, as Molly learns secondhand what it is to be vulnerable with someone and to tread the murky waters of a first time relationship. There's also the fact that Cassie wants to throw Hipster Will into the mix and make Molly's potential crush number twenty-seven not just a crush. Then there's work colleague Reid, dorky and Tolkien-obsessed. But surely she can't fall for someone with sneakers that white? Can she?



Becky Albertalli doesn't just set the bar for inclusivity in contemporary YA, and books as a whole. No, in 'The Upside of Unrequited', Albertalli depicts exactly what shouldn't just be aspired towards, but achieved. Every. Single. Time. In terms of diversity. 'The Upside of Unrequited' portrays a colourful variation of sexualities, relationships, race and body sizes, and in such a positive and uplifting light, too. Too often exploration of sexuality and same sex relationships are used as a plot device for shocking and heartbreaking story arcs, so it was refreshing to see Molly's parents, two mum's, Nadine and Patty, set in the backdrop of such an accepting society, along with Reid's own mums and Cassie's relationship with Mina. It made my heart ache for a point in the not too distant future (fingers crossed) where it's seen as completely normal to be in a relationship with whoever you want, no matter what you look like, how you identify, or what takes residence between your legs. The atmosphere lingering off the pages was so incredibly pure and kind that it seems mad we're not already there yet.

The ensemble of characters were also such a strong aspect throughout the story. I had moments (the most frequent of which) where I completely loved their quick wit and back-and-forth between one another — Cassie and the Grandma were particularly hilarious. But I liked that I didn't always agree with Cassie, too. That sometimes she could be cruel and petty, that Mina was a little judgemental of Reid, and their problematic comments on people you marry vs. the people you have sex with. It's a sure sign of a talented writer when you can offer up different levels and sides to characters that make you both love and question them at the same time, and I think Albertalli really achieved that; particularly with Cassie who was unapologetic about bodily hair and putting boys in their place, but who also clearly still had some growing up and learning to do for herself.

And Molly. Oh, Molly. The ways in which I related to you knows no bounds, both when I think back to me at seventeen and even me now as a twenty-two-year-old. Molly, our glorious protagonist, worries about toeing the line between crush and the potential for something more. She worries a boy won't be able to see beyond her chubby body, or even see her body in the first place and think it's nothing less than wonderful. She worries about rejection and taking those first steps, especially when everyone has seemingly kissed and bonked within an inch of their lives at her age. I've had these worries and I have these worries. Because making the choice to give yourself over to someone and not know the outcome a minute down the line on whether they'll say yes or no is scary. And let's not even consider how you and your new fella might fair up in the next year. The next three? Five? Ten? Rejection is scary and so is navigating being with someone, coming to terms with the fact it's not just you you have to worry about but this other separate entity. It petrifies me and I think this was dealt with so well through Molly's character — even if she did end up having a smashing first kiss and first boyfriend at seventeen. Lucky for some.

I loved 'The Upside of Unrequited'. It's a close-to-the-heart, colourfully engaging and inclusive contemporary.

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso is always careful. She’s the complete opposite to her twin sister Cassie, who is always trying to bring her out of her shell. The pair are used to doing everything together, along with their best friends Olivia and Abby, but when Cassie meets Mina and falls head over heels Molly can do nothing but watch them drift apart. It doesn’t help that while Molly has had crushes on exactly 26 different boys, she’s never actually kissed one and is suddenly feeling the pressure to catch up with her friends. Mina has a cool, hipster friend called Will who would be the perfect guy to start dating – then the four of them could stick together. There’s just one problem, Molly seems to be falling for her slightly nerdy co-worker Reid and doesn’t know how to stop it. 
This story is a classic coming of age teen drama, that I think a lot of young women will relate to. The feeling of being happy in yourself but at the same time not understanding any of your emotions is something every teen and young adult can empathise with. Molly’s struggle to identify what she really wants, and her desperation to keep her bond with Cassie is very touching and you can’t help but really root for Reid who doesn’t care that his trainers are too white – he knows who he is and he likes it. A difficult thing to do as a teenager. If you enjoy real-life teen fiction, young love, and scrolling through Pinterest then this could be the book for you!

I'm really surprised to see so many positive reviews of The Upside of Unrequited from GR members who thought Holding Up the Universe was problematic. To me, this is more of the same. This might be the author who brought us the wonderful and hilarious Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, but these characters contained none of the charm that Simon & Co. possessed.

To summarize why I didn't like this book in two points:

1) I felt absolutely no connection to any of the characters. It seemed like the author put a lot of effort into creating a diverse cast, which is great, and yet she forgot to develop their personality, charms and quirks, so that they became defined by their marginalization.

Molly is the most well-developed character and even that is not saying much. Who is Molly? What are her passions and interests? What does she care about aside from obsessing over her crushes and the fact she hasn't been kissed? I couldn't tell you.

2) There isn't a compelling story.

In fact, it's the same old story I have never liked: an insecure (plain/overweight) virgin longs to finally be kissed by a boy. Everyone else around her is “cute” or “hot” and she feels inadequate. She finally finds her worth when it turns out that a boy likes her.

I don’t know if this kind of book is supposed to be empowering for bigger girls, but it felt insulting. The protagonist - Molly - is a self-proclaimed "fat girl" who always has crushes but never dates and/or kisses guys because she fears rejection. The story arc follows her journey to gaining self-confidence, which here occurs when her latest crush reciprocates her feelings. Is this a good message? Because, honestly, it makes me cringe.

    It’s so many things. It’s everyone knowing you’re attracted to a guy who wears electric-white sneakers. It’s that little twinge of shame you feel when someone thinks he’s not cute. Even though he is cute. He’s actually really fucking adorable. I actually really fucking like him, and none of the other stuff should matter. 


And I just... didn't like her. Whining over the most ridiculous first world problems like the fact that she doesn’t want to admit she likes a nerdy guy who wears LOTR t-shirts? Girl, get over yourself.

I will say that the book has a lot of diversity - skin color, sexuality, gender identity, religion, body size, mental health - but you don't get brownie points or a pat on the back for this anymore. Diversity is just a necessity, not something a book should win an award for. Beyond this, the story and characters were extremely lacking for me. Molly's inner narrative went in tiring circles as she thought about herself, kissing boys, and back again:

    My ego. I don’t have an ego. If I had such a giant ego, why would I have such a hard time believing Reid actually likes me?
    Except, if I’m totally honest, I do believe it. Reid likes me. And I like that he likes me. But I’m not used to this game. It’s this totally new way of seeing myself. Like I’m some hazily lit dream girl from a movie. I’ve never been that girl before.
    I really like being that girl. So, maybe I am some kind of egomaniac. 


I liked Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda so much that I will happily check out the author's future work, but this one obviously did not work for me.

In 2015 Becky Albertalli published her debut novel Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda which took the book community by storm and was a lot of readers favourite book of that year. Sadly I still haven’t read the book but when I saw she had a new book out I knew I had to read it immediately.

Seventeen year old Molly has had exactly 26 crushes and not one of them has been reciprocated. She is incredibly shy and has a fear of being rejected so her crushes never go any further than her admiring from a distance. Molly’s twin Cassie is totally different, she is confident, outgoing and oh yeah…slim! Molly desperately wants a boyfriend and to be loved but her insecurities and anxiety get in the way. Cassie starts dating a uber cool girl (Mina) from a different school who also has hot friend and could be potentially crush number 27.Cassie and Mina are trying to set up Molly with her hot friend, however Molly gets a part-time job at a local homeware store where she meets Reid. Reid is geeky and not Molly’s usual crush type but working together brings them closer…will Molly find love? or will it be unrequited.

I really enjoyed this book, it had so many great things going for it. It was adorable,hilarious and very relatable. Lets talk about how diverse this book is…I mean wow. Molly is an overweight Jewish girl with 2 mothers and her twin is also a lesbian. This was just jam-packed with diversity which I really appreciated but at times I felt it was a little bit forced. It seemed there just too much and felt like it was added just to be recognised as a diverse author (please don’t hurt me Alebertalli fans). I haven’t read her debut novel so I have no comparison and wasn’t sure what to expect.

I loved Molly and felt she was totally relatable, she is overweight and scared of being rejected. I think a lot of girls feel the same way as her and it must be very hard to have a twin that is the opposite. The writing and storyline was very genuine from how Molly felt her world was shifting because her sister now had a girlfriend and they were both uncertain on how to deal with these changes in their lives.

It really does have a cute romance in this book, I was rooting for Molly and it’s like that saying ‘When your waiting ages for a bus and then two come along at once’ this is Molly’s life. Another thing that I really liked about this story was that even though we knew Molly was overweight, there was no mention as to how many stone/kilo’s or dress size she was. I thought this was very respectfully done as there will be impressionable teens reading this and I would hate for them to start comparing themselves. The positive thing was that Molly was happy in her skin and she didn’t diet and her family didn’t fat shame her(apart from her grandmother).

This book had a great representation of teenagers today(No John Green pretentiousness)and the parents were great too.

There were references to Game of Thrones and other nerdy stuff which made this book just that extra bit special to me.

Oh and just to let you know Simon from her previous novel makes an appearance in this book, it’s small but he is there.

This book is pretty amazing and I will be picking up Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda in the near future. I recommend this book if you love contemporaries and relatable/awesome characters.

I rated this 4 out of 5 stars

Becky Albertalli’s story about a young girl named Molly, who’s constantly falling in and out of love, is delightfully written and I’d also like to add that her penchant (as I understand it) for diverse characters is spot on in today’s climate. It’s refreshing to read about a family dynamic that’s both something originally new and still manages to convey the modern-day family that often consists of more than one “correct” version. 

Molly’s a seventeen-year-old girl who’s never been kissed and has never had a boyfriend. What she has had though are multiple crushes and thus she’s avoided experiencing rejection. Molly doesn’t see this as a problem, she’s careful… that’s all. When her womanizing and somewhat cynical twin sister Cassie suddenly falls madly in love, Molly can’t deny that she’s lonely and longing for connecting with someone of her own. Maybe having a boyfriend will even help her reconnect with her sister, as well as gifting her with her first kiss. Luckily (or maybe confusingly) for her, two boys pop up catching her attention. Who will she choose? The cute hipster boy Will who’s best friends with Cassie’s new girlfriend or her coworker the charming nerd boy Reid. And will she have the guts to put herself up for potential rejection?

Some scenes in this book had me cringing, not in a bad way, but in the way that I was acutely embarrassed on behalf of a character. That's some really good writing and makes me very keen to read her Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda!

The Upside of Unrequited is a very relatable, well-written story full of important beautiful messages. If you enjoyed Becky Albertalli's first novel, Simon vs. the Homo sapiens Agenda, you will fall in love with her second novel. There is a fantastic amount of diversity. The story is just so excellent. You will fly through it. You will be laughing out loud. And it would absolutely bring any reader out of a slump. The romance is adorable. The Harry Potter references is so fun. I highly recommend you check out your next favorite read today!

Okay, so I liked  this book. It's most definitely better than a lot of other YA contemporaries I've read but was it a ground-breaking, earth-shattering ball of amazingness? Ahem, NO. Basically, the whole book summarised : Molly keeps on whining about not having had any boyfriends and then finally meets a guy and falls in love and they end up together. 

I read Albertalli's previous book Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda whenever it came out (I think last year?) and loved it, but then again, I know that if I were to read it again now, I probably wouldn't love it as much. 

What I absolutely loved about this book was its writing, pace and length. Because of my ongoing board examinations, I cannot remember the last time I finished a book in less than a week. This book though? Took me three days. That's almost a miracle for me. It is extremely readable and the pages just fly by. You can most definitely finish this book in one sitting. It's tone is very light and the writing is just TOO GOOD. It's so easy to read and fresh and light and fluffy and amazing.

Which brings me to the next point : the fluff. It's a cute book, and if cute books are what you primarily read, you'll love this book so much. The whole deal about having crushes and first relationship/kiss is very, very cute and Albertalli portrayed it so well in here. Also, Albertalli tackles it very aptly, and a high school romance is shown as a high school romance - nothing more nothing less. The book very realistically portrays what having a crush and falling in love at seventeen feels like, and doesn't try to dramatize anything at all by an over-the-top love affair. It's real, believable and cute. 

I really liked the diversity in here. There's so many different, different types of diversity thrown in, and it all comes out to very well. I liked the two side-character relationships (which are diverse) so much more than the main relationship portrayed in the book. Also, all the side characters individually too were just amazing (I loved them more than the MC). 

One of the main issues discussed in the book is how often when people enter into romantic relationships, they forget the other parts of their lives like family, siblings and friends and I'm so glad this was discussed in the book. Relationships overshadowing everything else in your life when you're young is so common and I loved how the author dealt with that in the book. 

Another thing I really liked was the bonding of the twin sisters in this book, Molly and Cassie. It was amazing, and though they have ups and downs, I really loved their relationship. 

Now for the things I didn't so much like. I didn't like the main character. She constantly keeps whining about being fat. She acts as if being fat is her only problem. She talks about how she's seventeen and never dated anyone, and that's probably because she's fat. In spite of admitting that she's been called pretty before, she still thinks about her 'fatness' being the reason of her not getting boys. 

Okay firstly, basing the whole book on the sadness of this seventeen year-old girl not having had boyfriends is too much. I mean, I get that most people date by that age, but I have quite a few friends (I'm seventeen too) who haven't dated ever and that's okay. I don't think there's any particular age-milestone about these things, everything will fall into place and everyone will eventually enter into relationships. I just didn't like Molly's attitude towards the whole thing. 

She kept saying about how she was seventeen and how she hadn't even kissed a guy yet and it hit me, what about the seventeen year-olds reading the book who haven't kissed anyone? Wouldn't they feel bad, reading Molly's thoughts? I have so many friends who haven't even hugged someone of the opposite sex, and sometimes that's how life is. I just really disliked how Molly made the whole not-having-dated-even-at-seventeen thing a reason to feel sorry for yourself. Again, my opinion about this is completely personal : maybe I'd have felt completely different had I been a seventeen year-old who hasn't yet been in a relationship but I look at my friends who haven't yet dated and they're fine. Their lives are amazing. It's cool. 

Also, the fat thing. Oh why? Being fat doesn't really affect your romantic life that much. Like, it doesn't. I know quite a few people who might be considered fat but they're happy with their lives and their relationships. The more you grow, the lesser body fat matters. I remember back when I was 15, I entered this phase where I hated my body, but phew I'm long past that. Even now, on some days I end up wishing I had a perfect body  but it's not a constant thing. But Molly really talked too much about her being fat, I got really irritated.

All in all, this is a cute, fluffy book. I did have issues with it, but a lot of people might not have the same issues. I highly recommend this to any contemporary lover or anyone who's interested in this genre. Go check this out! If you are a skeptic contmporary reader (like me) looking out only for the stellar books, then probably stay away from this one, because it ain't too special either.

My Rating

3.25/5 stars

Molly, and her twin sister Cassie, are just reaching that age where you start to figure things out about life. Well, mostly about love, lust and keeping your friends when those things come along. Molly has been a bit of an underdog as far she’s concerned though when it comes to love. She considers herself a bit of a wallflower, a little bit chubby and a little bit uncool compared to confident Cassie. And given that she’s a serial crusher, you’d think she would have been a bit more successful by now if she put herself out there. So on the surface you’re probably expecting this book to largely be quite shallow and vapid. But it isn’t; it’s so much better than that. 

Molly is little bits of lots of young people rolled into one. She is hilarious, self-deprecating but not in a serious way, and she has all of the insecurities most young people (and older ones!) have throughout their lives. Do I look fat in this? Is everyone else progressing whilst I’m standing still? Do families grow apart as people start to couple up? Am I only the virgin in the world? And these ideas and concepts are really nicely woven into the story to make Molly incredibly relatable and likeable. Her twin sister Cassie, incidentally, really irritated me for being a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde. One minute she was Molly’s biggest advocate, and the next she’s completely blinded by her gorgeous new girlfriend and is pushing Molly away. But you know, that is the reality of some relationships, and some families, so as much as I disliked Cassie, I loved the brutal honesty of the situation that this author captured; that’s what’s so clever about this book.

There are also lots of ideas in here that really deserved a whole book dedicated to them. The book has elements of LGBTQ, gay marriage, racism, sperm donation, some twin theories, bullying, struggling with weight and some massive exploration into what it means to be a family and to have your first love. I love that this author handled each of these well, with elements of humour which made the book hugely enjoyable for me. Equally the pacing is tremendously fast so you’ll never find a dull moment despite not an awful lot actually happening. However, because all of these ideas are thrown into the mix it almost feels a bit like the author is trying too hard to make this story be different, to make sure it includes lots of different injustices, and this seemed a bit too deliberate for me at times. I think it would have been more powerful to focus more deeply on just a few of these interesting ideas, rather than have a sprinkling of them all. 

This book certainly deserves praise for encouraging people to be who they want to be, to throw away other people’s ignorant opinions and to embrace their inner weirdness. For this I absolutely recommend it.

This is a really cute book with a fat Jewish protagonist being medicated for anxiety, a pansexual twin sister with her own f/f romance and two mums in an interracial relationship, one of whom is bisexual. Molly has a great voice with plenty of laugh-out-loud and heartwarming moments.

There’s a lot to love in this book, from the creative swearing, cute infants, to Molly’s utterly relatable internal monologue about everything from planned one-liners that aren’t as funny when spoken aloud, to more serious topics such as her self-consciousness about her body. This is dealt with a lot in relation to her grandmother, who projected her own body insecurities onto Molly. Well-meaning, but misguided, and I was glad to see that addressed in the text.

Molly’s twin sister Cassie, however, I really couldn’t stand most of the time. While she would occasionally stand up for Molly or try to have her best interests at heart, so much of the time she was being cruel for no reason and would then turn around to dismiss Molly’s feelings out of hand. It was extremely frustrating to read. Molly wasn’t perfect, but I honestly feel Cassie wasn’t held accountable as much as she probably should have been.

There are two love interests in the book, but one of them was really a non-entity to me. There was no point where I genuinely believed he was a possibility and, honestly, the fact he was there annoyed me more than anything. I really liked the other love interest, though.

I don’t know if this has made it into the final retail copy, but there are a few iterations of words such as “crazy” being used in the book, which I understand is an issue for some readers, so tread carefully and hopefully someone who reads the final copy will say something if it’s in there.

I’m giving this book a four-star Goodreads rating, more because I can objectively see that it’s quite a good book, even though I wasn’t terribly drawn in by most of it. The love triangle was a little irritating but there were a lot of issues discussed, from sex to body-shaming to biphobia and beyond, and Molly’s voice was so strong that it was still a good book.

In the Upside of Unrequited we follow Molly, the slightly nerdier and slightly heavier twin to her sister Cassie. Also straighter: Cassie is gay. And on the look out for a girlfriend. This is how the story begins, with Molly in a club bathroom talking to a cool Asian girl with an even cooler t-shirt and introducing her to Cassie, which unwittingly starts a series of events that Molly could never have predicted.


Cassie and Molly have always been the closest of twins, but now that Cassie has a girlfriend Molly is seeing less and less of her. And worse, she’s started to say things like ‘you won’t understand until you have a boyfriend’, which Cassie knows is a sore spot for Molly. You see Molly has had a lot of crushes, twenty six to be exact, and she’s been out with zero of them.

Not that this is going to stop Cassie and her new girlfriend Mina from trying to set her up with Hipster Will, one of Mina’s friends. Will is cool and suave and even seems to like Molly, but then suddenly there’s Reid- the nerdy, slightly chubby guy from work and Molly doesn’t know what to think anymore.

The Upside of Unrequited is an ode to the modern family, Molly is biracial, Jewish and she has two mothers. The sheer amount of diversity in this book made my heart soar, THIS is a real family that exists somewhere out there- gay, biracial and chubby characters all in one book! I’ve noticed recently that we get a lot of books with one gay character, one chubby character, one PoC character but these qualities are so rarely combined in to one character- which is insane because in reality we are so much more complicated then one or two labels!

It’s also a bit of a time capsule. Without spoiling too much in one scene Molly and Cassie find out gay marriage has been legalised, and then much later that night Molly and her mum go on a impromptu road trip to see the White House all lit up in rainbow colours. Even thinking about it now is making me teary eyed- this legalisation means so much to Molly’s family (just like it did to millions of people in the US) and I’m so glad this moment of complete joy has been captured in this book.

I did have a bit of a disconnect to some aspects of the book, I didn’t feel too much emotion over Molly and Cassie’s relationship and at the start I had trouble keeping track of names (I got the hang of it after a while though). I loved the romance, but it didn’t quite make it to Simon vs the Homo Saipan’s Agenda levels of butterflies, which is a shame. I’m so looking forward to seeing what Albertalli does next!

I’m giving the Upside of Unrequited 3.5 stars out of 5. I had a lot of fun, but it was slow to start and I felt it didn’t quite make me feel all the intended feels.

I had such high expectations for this book after completely falling in love with Simon vs The Homosapien's Agenda last year and although this book wasn't quite as good, it was still absolutely amazing and did not disappoint in the slightest!

The characters in this book were some of the most relatable I've read about in a while, mainly because they were flawed, and had insecurities. They felt like such real and deep people which was something I really liked. There were times where I did dislike some of the characters and the way they acted, and they made me so frustrated but that kept me reading and wanting to know if they ever sorted their shit out. 

I want to marry Reid. 

LOVED the LGBTQ aspect of this book and how it wasn't a big deal, it was just part of their characteristics, just like the colour of their hair or eyes. A very diverse read that I really did enjoy, especially the fact family played such a huge role in this book.

If you know how much I loved Becky Albertalli's first book, Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, then you'll realise how much I was looking forward to reading more from Becky. I think this book has a lot to live up to as Becky's debut was so well loved. Now, for me, it wasn't quite as good as Simon but it was pretty damn close. This book cements Becky as one of my favourite writers in the YA genre. Like Simon, this book is so diverse which I absolutely adore. Yet, its diversity didn't feel contrived in any way. It's not throwing these characters in just for the sake of it, they make sense. I love that! 

The Upside of Unrequited centres around a character called Molly. Molly lives with her mums and her twin sister Cassie. Cassie is confident and has a girlfriend. Molly is introverted and suffers with anxiety. Molly feels like she's being left behind whilst her sister, cousin and friends move on in their love lives. Molly has always had crushes, but wasn't entirely sure if anyone would love her. She's shy and overweight- she doesn't want anyone to see her naked. There are two guys that Molly is interested in...or thinks she's interested in. It's all a little confusing for her. Throughout the course of the story, we see Molly grow so much. She has to make some decisions and decide whether to let someone in. 

The romance in this book is incredibly cutesy. At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to buy into it, but it didn't take me long to be sucked into it. I adore Becky's writing. It's so easy to devour. Her character development is 10/10. Her stories are so positive, so diverse and incredibly relatable. You don't need to read Simon to enjoy this book, but I do highly recommend both books!

Becky Albertalli, a clinical psychologist turned author, is mostly known for her debut novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (2015). Sticking with the theme of homosexuality, Albertalli has launched her second novel with the hope that it will be as popular amongst the LGBT community. The Upside of Unrequited is written from a female heterosexual point of view, however includes a wide range of characters with other sexual preferences. 

The narrator, Molly, is only seventeen, but desperately wishes she could have a boyfriend. Endlessly teased for the number of crushes she has had – currently standing at 26 – Molly has never experienced a boy liking her back. Her twin sister, Cassie, on the other hand, has no problem attracting a girlfriend, and quickly hooks up with the beautiful Mina. Cassie and Mina are determined to set Molly up with a friend named Will, however Molly has her eye on someone else. 

Molly and Cassie have always been close, but Cassie’s surreptitious behaviour involving anything to do with Mina, starts to put a strain on their relationship. As Molly gets torn between two boys, she begins to realise that having crushes on other people is far easier than getting someone to like her back. 

Whilst Molly and Cassie focus on their relationships, their Mums (the twins were born via IVF) are celebrating the passing of the law that states gay people can marry their partners. Despite having been together for 20 years or so, they are planning on a big wedding, adding more stress to Molly’s life.

Albertalli uses her background in psychology to reflect the emotions, thoughts and feelings of her characters with great efficacy. She writes in a way that normalises homosexuality, although one does begin to question the authenticity in the gay to straight ratio. It is refreshing to read a Young Adult novel where homophobia is less of an issue.

As with most Young Adult romance novels, The Upside of Unrequited includes the dreaded love triangle – that tedious, unnecessary element. Teenage romance is always farcical and unrealistic, with more eye rolling on the reader’s part, than swooning and such forth. This book was no different, and it was difficult to remain engaged with or even care about the storyline.

Personally I think I may be going off Young Adult literature, and therefore am not the best person to judge the narrative. As a piece of writing however, I was not as impressed as I have been by other authors’ talents. Occasionally, sentences felt stilted, often broken down into several where only one would suffice. 

If you are looking for a romantic novel with a happy ending and a diverse character selection, then you will probably not be disappointed with this book – if you are a teenager that is. Beware of occasional use of strong language and sexual references, which are inappropriate for younger readers. Despite the attraction to the LGBT community, The Upside of Unrequited will only be successful amongst a small amount of readers.

Un-popular option to start I didn't actually like all that much( Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda) I couldn't understand the hype. So When this came on Netgalley and I requested, It was to see if Becky Albertalli was a good writer. YA is a hard genre, There is a lot of crap out there.

My option on this book, Good. Things I really liked:
- Larger MC
-A pansexual character who is also Korean-American. 
- Varying different sexual preference side characters
-The main character has two mums!!! THIS. THIS.THIS
-Multiple black side characters
-Main MC has anxiety and talks about her use of prescription medicine a lot with ease. She does shy away from the fact SHE Cants REALLY drink on it. There isn't a heap of drama with that.
-The want from the main MC to be loved, have a boyfriend and explore her sexual needs even if it makes her shy.
-The sister relationship, Was really well written. 
-In line with this the teenager behaviour- being mean and irrational and moody. Well Done
-Dealing with change, growing apart. This was really well done.

Things I didn't like:
- Just because I had read it recently I couldn't help but compare it to Fangirl which I preferred. 
-Mollys lack of communication
- I just always felt off with it and wasn't desperate to read it.



A 3 Star kind YA Novel.

When I saw it was available to request on Netgalley I knew I had to grab my chance, I didn’t like Simon vs. the homo sapiens agenda (I didn’t even finish the book) but I really wanted to try out this one.

Thank God my request was accepted because I loved every single page.

This book is full of great characters like seriously: multiple lesbian characters, pansexual character, bisexual character, gay character, Jewish main character, Molly and Cassie have 2 mums, mental health, AND SO MUCH MORE

I adored Molly. She’s so intelligent, funny and full of great ideas and also very insecure about herself and her body BUT she’s so full of love.

I really fell in love with this book, I’m definitely going to buy a psychical copy so I can re-read it asap.

Please go buy and read the best book I have read so far in 2017, I promise you, you won’t regret it.

I enjoyed this book, but I can't say I loved it. For me, I really struggled to connect with the characters at first, and it was difficult to tell whether it was a character-exploration or plot-driven novel until a good 2/3rds of the way through. It was, however, littered with light-hearted and profound quotes, and by the end I not only related to half the characters (although remaining a little unsure as to who the other half were, and how they were all related), but I was connected with the main characters as well. Unfortunately, I was a little thrown again by two small scenes towards the end, one of which felt out of character, and the other of which was just a little pet-peeve in terms of content, but the final chapters brought everything together well. A nicely-written book to add the YA collection exploring high-school-age relationships, well-deserving of its place in the published world.

This is the first Becky Albertalli book I've read, and I'm surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There was so much hype surrounding Becky's books that to begin with I didn't see what all the fuss was about...but then I got totally pulled in by all the cuteness and pretty much loved it by the end.

I loved that it included such a diverse cast of characters. Her parents? An interracial female couple, one lesbian and the other bisexual, and one of them is Jewish so the MC and her siblings are also Jewish (and the love interest too). Her sister is a lesbian who dates a Korean-American pansexual. The main character is fat and has anxiety, so it has body and neuro diversity too. I can't say whether or not all of it is good representation, because not all of those identities represent me, but nothing stood out to me as being badly done.

Basically, I loved the diversity part of it, and I loved that it wasn't made into a huge thing... first and foremost, the book felt like it was a cute coming of age romance, it didn't stray into Issue Book territory (those have their place, but they should not be the only representation of diversity) even when it was calling out ignorant comments or stereotypes.

Her anxiety bothered me a little bit...but not because it was done poorly. I think it was well done and I love that her taking her meds was just casually mentioned and not made into a big thing, and I love that it showed that you don't have to be defined by that. But, I'm one of those people that's pretty susceptible to second-hand anxiety so her anxious thought process wasn't always fun to read about (although, because she's taking her meds, she her anxiety doesn't flare up too bad in the book).

I hope some people read it and understand a bit better how anxiety can mess with your thought process though, because I've seen anxious characters dismissed as annoying/clingy before in reviews of other books because it's never acknowledged that it's anxiety, so it was nice to see that represented in the book.

The romance in the book was predictable but cute. It's one of those stories where the reader knows from very early on how it's all going to play out (literally nothing surprised me) but it takes the character most of the book to catch on. I kind of hated the Will stuff for that reason, but Reid was great, he was such a little ball of adorable and I loved his relationship with Molly (and I really appreciated the fact that the romance wasn't used to "fix" her).

And I really really loved that family was such a focus of the story. Especially that it showed cousins who were also friends -- growing up, one of my cousins was also one of my best friends and it was an interesting dynamic and it's one I don't see explored often but I wish it was.

Overall, I really liked the book. I'd rate it 3.5 stars out of 5 (or 4, because I'd round up).