Review: The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Release date: April 11, 2017
Author info: Website | Twitter
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 336
Format: Egalley
Source: Publisher provided for review through Edelweiss
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love—she’s lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because no matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness—except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. Will is funny and flirtatious and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And if Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back. 

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker Reid. He’s an awkward Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

I fell in love with Becky Albertalli and her books immediately when I read Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda earlier this year. The book is just infused with charm and joy, and it was such a treat to read--so needless to say, I was pumped to know she had a second book coming out so soon after my first experience. And The Upside of Unrequited is sure to please any Becky fan--or any fan (casual or serious) of contemporary young adult fiction.

Who can't relate to a bunch of crushes you don't tell anyone about? (I, at least, can!) And Molly is such a fun, easily relatable girl in all ways. She feels awkward about her chubbiness at times, but she also loves herself! She voices all the kinds of fears I think teenage girls feel, and she's just the kind of character I'd have loved to read about at that age.

And I loved, loved, LOVED her romance with Reid! They're so comfortable with each other, friends first, and once Molly makes up her mind in that direction, so fun. That's one of my few complaints, actually. Molly is so indecisive, and I kind of hated that another love interest was even around. Like, we didn't need another guy to substantiate the romance? I would've just liked to have alllll the Molly and Reid, honestly.

While I didn't run around like a crazy person after reading this from the adorable (like I did with Simon, but that's a rarity!), The Upside of Unrequited is still wholly adorable and absolutely worth all your time! For many teenagers, I think there's a lot they could take away that would make them feel understood--and that's actually more important than being adorable in the long run. Gimme alllll the Becky Albertalli, please!

About the author:

Becky Albertalli is the author of the acclaimed novels Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat. A former clinical psychologist who specialized in working with children and teens, Becky lives with her family in Atlanta. You can visit her online at www.beckyalbertalli.com.