Hey, guys! After reading Becky Albertalli's first book, Simon vs. the Homon Sapiens Agenda, I was excited to read her next book, this time starring a girl! I enjoyed it more than I thought I would, but it wasn't quite as mind blowing as Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.
The Cover:
The Cover:
It's a fairly simply cover, but I think it embodies a bit of the personality of the book, with the emoji and the bright blue background. I like it but am not blown away. A- cover
Official Description:
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.
My Review:
I enjoyed reading The Upside of Unrequited. It was an easy book to get into, something you could definitely pick up and read casually (just whenever you have spare time).
I liked the characters for the most part. They spanned a wide variety of different "types" of people, from hipsters to nerds to party animals, which is refreshing. Everyone is represented. The main characters were well developed, with their own personalities which felt realistic. One character, Will, fell short for me. He seemed more like an idea than a person, but I think that may have been the point anyway. Either way, the characters were cute and easy to route for.
However, one of the character points of Molly is that she is fat. I have no problem with that, in fact, great. But, the way that it is written, Molly constantly thinks about it. Sure, it is to show she has low self-esteem, but it started to feel a bit like a broken record. While the story is supposed to be a body-positive kind of story (again, great! We need more.), the number of times her weight is mentioned is enough to make anyone feel self-conscious.
Really the main issue I had with The Upside of Unrequited was how dated it was. It kind of felt like a parent showing you the latest internet joke they found, which you saw three years ago. This book has a lot of references that I thought were from six months ago, which is bad, considering I read an advanced copy. Every time I came on one of these "hip references", I was sucked out of the story. By the time this book is a year old, it is going to be incredibly outdated.
The Upside of Unrequited seemed realistic though. In the interactions with friends and family, as well as how the characters thought, it felt organic. I'm sure situations just like this one have happened before and will again. It doesn't require the leaps of faith some contemporary fiction does.
Overall, I would recommend The Upside of Unrequited if you like teen romance books. It is sweet, cute, and a fun, easy read!
Phrase:
Cookie Dough
*Note: I read this book as pre-release (and uncorrected proof) at Yall Fest this year*
If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
Simon vs. the Homon Sapiens Agenda
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BookshelfSecret
The Cover:
It's a fairly simply cover, but I think it embodies a bit of the personality of the book, with the emoji and the bright blue background. I like it but am not blown away. A- cover
Official Description:
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.
My Review:
I enjoyed reading The Upside of Unrequited. It was an easy book to get into, something you could definitely pick up and read casually (just whenever you have spare time).
I liked the characters for the most part. They spanned a wide variety of different "types" of people, from hipsters to nerds to party animals, which is refreshing. Everyone is represented. The main characters were well developed, with their own personalities which felt realistic. One character, Will, fell short for me. He seemed more like an idea than a person, but I think that may have been the point anyway. Either way, the characters were cute and easy to route for.
However, one of the character points of Molly is that she is fat. I have no problem with that, in fact, great. But, the way that it is written, Molly constantly thinks about it. Sure, it is to show she has low self-esteem, but it started to feel a bit like a broken record. While the story is supposed to be a body-positive kind of story (again, great! We need more.), the number of times her weight is mentioned is enough to make anyone feel self-conscious.
Really the main issue I had with The Upside of Unrequited was how dated it was. It kind of felt like a parent showing you the latest internet joke they found, which you saw three years ago. This book has a lot of references that I thought were from six months ago, which is bad, considering I read an advanced copy. Every time I came on one of these "hip references", I was sucked out of the story. By the time this book is a year old, it is going to be incredibly outdated.
The Upside of Unrequited seemed realistic though. In the interactions with friends and family, as well as how the characters thought, it felt organic. I'm sure situations just like this one have happened before and will again. It doesn't require the leaps of faith some contemporary fiction does.
Overall, I would recommend The Upside of Unrequited if you like teen romance books. It is sweet, cute, and a fun, easy read!
Phrase:
Cookie Dough
*Note: I read this book as pre-release (and uncorrected proof) at Yall Fest this year*
If You Liked This Book, You May Also Like:
Simon vs. the Homon Sapiens Agenda
If you're looking for a good book, check out my Suggestions Page!
Happy Reading!
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