The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli (Penguin Random House UK, Children’s
Penguin)

Review copy provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Genres: Romance, Teen, Young Adult, Coming-of-Age

RATING: 4/5

The Story

Molly is on the cusp of womanhood, though she doesn’t feel like it. She’s never been to a house party, never had alcohol, and never kissed a boy. That’s not to say she hasn’t wanted to; in fact, she’s had 26 unrequited crushes in her 17 years. But no matter what advice her twin sister Cassie has for her, Molly never has the courage to speak to boys. In fact, the only one she can speak to is the nerdy guy at the store where she works, but she doesn’t crush on him so that doesn’t really count, right? When Cassie begins dating Mina, Molly is pushed into a circle of friends she’d never normally hang out with, and she makes a pact with herself to let go of control and be daring. Speak to the boys. Especially Will, who might be the coolest guy Molly’s ever been friends with.

The Upside of Unrequited is a delightful look at the trials and tribulations of an almost-adult. It’s never easy to find love, but that doesn’t mean it won’t find you, in the most unexpected of places.

 

The Review

What strikes me most about this novel is that it made me remember. I’m 25, which I admit is not very old, but 17 still feels like a lifetime ago. Molly’s story reminded me about that time in my life, where everything was more emotional, more dramatic, more important. When I look back on my memories I don’t know whether to laugh or cringe, but I expect both is in order. Becky Albertalli has managed to successfully inhabit the teenage voice without being patronising, minimising or childish. Molly was someone I could relate to, and I understood her struggles.

As well as being a great example of how to write for teenagers, about teenagers, The Upside of Unrequited also reads like a love-letter to nerds. Being a self-proclaimed nerd myself, it’s nice to see them win every once in a while. Pinterest lovers will enjoy the crafty side to Molly’s personality, whilst LOTR geeks like myself will also find nods to their particular brand of interests.

The novel centres around Molly’s quest for love, but it also has a strong vein running through it concerning sisterhood, and the problems which can arise between siblings during young adulthood. All siblings grow apart a little as they transition from teenager to adult, but with twins this experience can be even more difficult. Molly and Cassie clearly have a very close relationship, but they are also distinct characters with their own ideals and aspirations. Albertalli handles this with care and realism. I completely feel for Molly when she feels that Cassie is drifting away, but I also totally understand Cassie’s desire for more independence.

I’m very impressed with this novel. What could have been a by-the-numbers story of a teenager wanting to find love is actually a thoughtful and accurate portrayal of what it is to be a teenager in today’s society. I think The Upside of Unrequited can give hope to those who feel like they’re always going to feel alone and unloved. There’s someone out there for everyone. I’ve also got to add that I love the subtle way Albertalli promotes LGBT relationships in this novel. Because it is such an important issue, I think that sometimes authors can shove it in your face a little too much.  With The Upside of Unrequited, all the LGBT relationships just seem right. There are no ‘token gays’. It’s just real life.

The Upside of Unrequited is released on 11th April 2017.

Becky Albertalli can be reached via her website, tumblr, instagram and twitter.

So this is a very cute book, like super cute. 

Imagine a rom-com, with very little conflict and lots of teen drama, but so much better because not everyone is white and not everyone is straight.

The Upside of Unrequited was a very realistic and lovely insight into an alternative family lifestyle that's loving and just as normal as any other. It's also a very complicated look at the self-esteem of teenage girls and how new romance can be affected by that. I very much related to main character Molly now, more so than I would have when I was as a teenager (skinny and in a long term relationship), but I still find that appealing and it's what makes Molly so lovable.

It's great to read a book where LGBT people are happy and living a happy life. It's possible, but many LGBT books concern themselves with so much drama and death and suffering. While I understand there has to be some drama within a book to actually have a plot, I found it refreshing that it didn't ruin everything in it's wake.

Becky Albertalli has a real gift for crafting emotive yet funny stories with believable characters. I loved the way in which Upside was connected to Albertalli's previous book, Simon Vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda, which is a real YA favourite of mine, and a book loved by all my students who've read it. The appearance of characters from that book in Albertalli's second novel is really welcome, but doesn't detract from the story being told here, which is so sweet an gloriously diverse that it has plenty of appeal of its own. Molly, the main character, is an interesting choice of narrator, with her sense of stasis as everything changes around her, but she develops so beautifully throughout the book that it's impossible not to love her. Like Simon Vs before it, Upside is a book that is stone-cold guaranteed to warm hearts and be clutched lovingly at the end. 
I'll be writing a full (and very glowing) review on my blog for the publication date, as well as talking the book up to my teen students in the meantime.

Advanced copy received via NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

This is the story of Molly (and her many crushes) on the path to finding a love life.

I really wanted to read this one because I was pretty sure I could empathise with the main character; because really who hasn’t ever had a crush or been subject to unrequited love in their time.  And this didn’t disappoint.  I could easily identify with many of the feelings Molly experienced during the course of her story.

Molly was a lovely character.  She was inexperienced, a little shy and very body conscious as are lots of people, but had some great friends and family around to support her.  Even a well-intentioned Grandma who I really liked!  The only character I didn’t like all that much was Molly’s twin, Cassie.  I thought she was selfish and didn’t consider Molly at all especially considering how close they were supposed to be.  I don’t even care that Cassie was embarking on her own new relationship.    Her actions were just wrong although sadly very reflective of real life.      

As soon as I met Reid in his Middle-earth tee I knew I liked him.  Then when we met him in his Game of Thrones tee I knew I loved him and that was the ship for me.  Hipster Will was just never going to be my thing.  Of course you’ll have to read it to see who wins out in the end.

One of my bugbears with reading contemporary is references to popular culture, I just feel it dates a book so quickly.  And there were many references used in this story.  I didn’t actually realise Facebook was still so popular, but apparently so. I should probably say I do have a severe (and very unfounded) dislike for all things Facebook so you should probably take that minor criticism lightly.  Though seriously Cassie, that move with the status update was a really sh*tty thing to do which just reinforces my view.

I genuinely think this is a story for today.  It could not be more diverse if it tried.  There was an abundance of richly diverse characters that had depth and made the setting very realistic and believable.  It all came across as natural and effortless, just how it is (mostly) in life today. This is a huge credit to Albertalli’s writing.  After Simon Vs and now this, she clearly has her style on point for today’s YA contemporary market.

My only negative comment about this story was how the downside of unrequited could have been explored a little more. I was never unsure about how the story would end so would have also liked to have been surprised maybe.  But all in all it was a very sweet story.

This book made me so happy, I loved it from the first to the last page. 

It's everything contemporary YA romance should be. The characters are relateable, Molly is unreal, I lost count of the amount of times I agreed with her and related to her so perfectly even though we have very different lives. I usually hate love triangles, but I felt like Molly knew what she wanted all along and was just a bit confused down to peer pressure more than anything- not the usual love-triangle-hell that I generally dislike in YA. 

Cass and Mina are so adorable, as are Nadine and Patty. 

Reid is perfection and is definitely going on the book boyfriend list. 

The most important relationship of all is between Molly and Cass, I love reading about twin relationships and the incredible bond that they share. I love that there was a struggle between them here but ultimately they love each other too much for anything to get in the way. I really enjoyed the discussion about their lives going in different directions and how scary it was for both of the girls that wouldn't always be together for the rest of their lives. It was an incredibly well written relationship and I love them both very much.

This really is a character driven book, it's about how everybody is affected by everything in a family/friendship group and it's perfectly crafted. Becky Albertalli tells this beautiful coming of age story so well, with references to popular culture all over the place (who doesn't have a crush on Lin-Manuel Miranda?), as well as political discussions- mostly about the same sex marriage bill in the US & homophobia (with the awesome Grandma Betty) and the adorable fluff that comes with teen romance.

Also, I loved all the different layers of diversity that go on in this book. Different sexualities are explored perfectly and there's a genuinely wide range- bisexuality, homosexuality, heterosexuality, pansexuality and there is reference to a trans character too. I loved how casually all of this was dealt with, it didn't feel preachy at all. It was just normal, real life. Which of course it is- the way the diversity of love was written in this book was completely perfect. 

I'm not convinced I've ever read a contemporary fiction book about a Jewish family and I loved that too. There are also characters of colour, who I feel were well represented too. 

It's possibly the most diverse YA I've read and this only made the book even better.

I lost count of the number of times I hugged this book! Utterly heartfelt, sweet and funny, I defy anyone not to fall for Molly. This book is so needed and perfectly captures how it feels to be a teen who is still figuring out love. I loved it!

I loved this, so much. Molly is the most relatable character I think I've ever read about. This is up there with Dumplin'. 

Also, I feel Known:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C31NJOQWMAAcz23.jpg:large

This book was hilarious and honest from page one. There is something so endearing about being 17 and the questions you have about life and love, and this novel conveyed this perfectly.

The story isn’t simply focused on romance, but so much more. It’s about growing up, family, sisterhood and equality. How growing up can sometimes mean growing apart but not always. The family unit Molly had were always strong and supporting and the fact that she has 2 moms is not a big deal to any of the characters in the book which is so great!

Molly was a great protagonist, she is realistic and definitely has a few flaws. Her low confidence really affects her but she has major positive character development throughout the plot. 

The romance elements of this book were so sweet, I loved the slow burn romance but the sweetest has to be the relationship between Molly’s 2 moms. It is definitely a relationship you would want to settle down in.

One of the most surprising factors in this book was the mention of a couple of characters from Simon Vs the Homosapien agenda, it was really awesome to get a snap shot into their lives’ a couple months after that time line.

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone looking for a different type of contemporary romance.

I enjoyed this book SO, SO MUCH. 

Molly is a seventeen year old girl who's never been kissed. She has never been rejected, but she's never rejected anyone either. She's never given anyone the opportunity. And I think a lot of us have been there. But she decides she needs to be brave and this is the whirlwind story of what happens when she does. 

This book is diverse and wonderful. It tackles a lot of self-doubt and self-confidence issues in an unapologetic way that feels honest and real and makes my heart squeeze. The way Molly untangles the relationships around her and realises they're a million different things all at once, unspooling threads, is beautiful and poignant and her acceptance of the way things WILL change - for better or worse - is a perfect culmination of the story. 

Also: Molly's crush on Lin-Manuel Miranda. Join the club, babe. 

Huge thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children's for providing me with an ARC of this book.