Review: THE UPSIDE OF UNREQUITED // relatable dorkiness & realistic teen feelings

Title: The Upside Of Unrequited
Author: Becky Albertalli
Page count: 336
Date published: 11 April 2017
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary

Thank you Penguin Random House SA for sending a copy my way (all opinions are my own)

Rating: (4.5 out of 5 stars)

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
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, 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, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?

I’ve been in the biggest contemporary mood (basically anything but fantasy) lately and especially Becky Albertalli. I NEEDED ALL THE DORKINESS AND ADORABLE EVERYHTING because that’s what Becky delivers.

I actually don’t know how to start this but I’m just try to be coherent here. I related so much to many aspects and I loved the portrayal and realistic-ness (is that even a word?) of almost everything. Becky’s done it again!

• You’ve probably already know this but this book is PACKED WITH DIVERSITY. Like it’s everywhere and it’s amazing. It truly is done in the best way and feels so natural and I LOVE IT.
• The relatable-ness of Molly and reactions she has is WHAT A TEEN WOULD FEEL which is literally amazing because one can rarely find that in YA which is silly since it is about teens
• THE! FOOD! I mean like I WANT TO EAT IT ALLLL. THE CAKE APPRECIATION IS REAL YA’LL
• Phones and toilets and normal teen things are present which is like normal? And also the texting felt normal. They were normal teen topics being discussed and it’s GREAT
• There isn’t much of a plot but you’re just so entertained by these characters and it’s just really refreshing to see that
• The Simon apperances were THE BEST and I loved them all! I miss him

• Nadine & Patty: they’re are such awesome mums and I loved them. They’re adorable and such a treat to read about. They’re so cool??
• Mina: I enjoyed her character and she’s very sweet but we also don’t see much of her, she’s just there
• Olivia: I kind of have the same feelings with her. She’s just there and I didn’t connect well with her. She’s a sweet friend but didn’t really have a strong impact on me
• Will: He’s sweet and funny but I never really connected with him. I don’t know I think Becky wrote him like that? I liked him enough but I don’t know. It’s so hard to describe your feelings with these characters. I swear I love the others
• Cassie: I liked her character and what she meant to Molly. But I also understand how you can feel excluded but also what does one do about it? It’s a hard situation. She was also a bit rude at times when she really shouldn’t have been
• Abby: Now I didn’t LOVE her in Simon Vs but I really adored her in this book. She’s such an awesome friend and I love how she is with all the charcaters. She’s awesome
• Molly: I related to so much, especially how she feels about people and about people. I really loved how she is portrayed and how she learns to stand up for herself. She’s just a such a fun character and I love it
• Reid: I want to say he was my favourite character? Like I want a Reid in my life. He’s so fun and adorabley geeky and Chocolate Mini Egg lover and the best thing you could ask for. There was a point where I was confused about something and kinda mad but it was soon gone. He’s just THE BEST

Okay so I know what it feels like to have your closest friend start a relationship and it’s kinda serious and how one feels abandoned? in a way? Like it’s nobody’s fault just the way you feel and there’s nothing much to do about it. So I totally understood Molly’s anger and jealousy but also happiness for her sister and Mina. I understand how you just want to scream at them when it’s not even they’re fault. Arggghh I’m going way deeper than I meant to (!!). I felt Cassie’s reaction to that was uncalled for and unfair and she should’ve been more sensitive to her TWIN’S feelings
I absolutely loved the relationship in the family. Nadine and Patty were so cool and I loved them. I again can also relate to Molly thinking “how can my parents think I’d do that?” Because I also feel a little “innocent”. I just relate to that.
One thing I didn’t like was the portrayal of longing romance in this book. Look, I’ve never had 27 crushes or anything like that. I do understand how you can want a relationship. I mean most want that. But I didn’t like how literally all of the characters were like ‘when you get a boyfriend…’ or ‘you need to get a guy’. Because in my opinion it feels kind of out of place and kind of like why don’t you start talking like that when you find the right person. All her friends kind of pushed that onto Molly which I personally don’t like and feel very nervous and awkward when people around me talk like that. Anyway that might be just me and I may be wrong, I wouldn’t know that much…
Okay I loved the texts and Skype call between Molly and Simon. It makes me miss Simon and I need to read Leah On The Offbeat now! They were adorable and so is Simon and I LOVE IT.
Our first encounter with Molly’s grandmother is a bit off-putting. It kind of rubbed me the wrong way. I liked how it was brought up again at the end.

Also like I took notes whilst reading? Like just thoughts on an app on my phone but like it’s really helpful…

Okay, that reveal with Will threw me off because I totally wasn’t expecting it!
I already mentioned Reid but like he’s adorable. The music game at the supermarket was so funny. I LOVE IT! It’s literally what I want to do in shops. I was a bit upset with him and Olivia and I would totally have felt the same as Molly but its’ sweet when we find out why he was actually hanging out with her. He’s literally the most adorable smol human and I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!! Can I please have him?

This book was so relatable (as you can tell by my hecka long review) and I really loved it. It was everything I expected and I really loved it. Reid is awesome and so is this book. GO AND READ IT!!

HAVE YOU READ THIS BOOK? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? HAVE YOU EVER READ ANY OF BECKY’S BOOKS? I’D LOVE TO KNOW!

xo