Becky Albertalli is a blossoming author. Seriously, watch this space, she is well on her way to becoming one of the biggest YA writers around.

Her first novel, Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda, is being adapted into a movie and gave Albertalli her start amongst the YA audience. This month she's releasing The Upside Of Unrequited and so far it has been gathering some fantastic initial ratings and reviews. I've not read Albertalli's first book but Simon does get a few handy mentions and I can imagine that fans are going to love that aspect of it.

Molly is a twin, a teenager and girl who is uncomfortable in her own skin. Her grandma goes on about her size and it doesn't help that none of Molly's crushes develop into actual relationships. Her friends and sister are determined to set her up with a new guy they meet - Hipster Will - and Molly goes along with the ride, not giving herself a moment to consider whether or not she really likes him.

I loved the confidence behind the LGBT characters - Cassie, Mina, Nadine and Patty as the most obvious mentions. It shows that just because a character is LGBT, it doesn't mean they have to be hiding in a closet, single or embarking on their first relationship and being judged by every other character and I hope it helps LGBT readers who are struggling by letting them know it's possible to be in a happy, healthy situation. I also like that it didn't focus on 'first relationships' exclusively because this added realism and depth which ultimately made the story easier to connect with. In regards to the LGBT characters, I thought it was great to show that in some instances they'd dated other people and in some cases they hadn't. It sounds dumb and minor but you'd be surprised how many writers overlook that bisexual, gay teens and so on, often have more than one relationship in their lives.

Reid was by far my favourite character. He's Molly's work colleague and something about his voice and the way he was described made him so real to me. I honestly believed I had a mate called Reid and the day I finished the book I genuinely missed him. Maybe it works because lots of people have a Reid of their own in their lives. I definitely know who mine is...

Even though Molly wasn't my favourite protagonist ever I really enjoyed the writing style that surrounded her. The way her thoughts, anxieties and happy moments were portrayed were so vivid. The stream on consciousness was funny in all the right places and cropped before it became boring. That balance taught me a lot about my own writing. Fellow authors will relate when I describe reading a book that makes me feel bad about my own. Like how can I reach this level of awesome?!

A beautifully crafted and important story, The Upside Of Unrequited is a must read for fans of YA and romance.

fun and quick read, I found it a little hard to get into at first but found myself enjoying it more as i went through. Nice to see different styles of family dynamics in contemporary books and representation

It's 00:27 and I've literally just finished reading The Upside of Unrequited and I can tell you this: it had all the feels. My heart was crushed but it also soared because of how amazing Albertalli's writing is...

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.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie's orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly's cynical twin is a lovesick mess. 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?

For me, the character of Molly is so relatable. When I was younger, I used to crush on so many people - just ask my best friend - I crushed on so so many people throughout high school, it was crazy. Unlike Molly, I have had long relationships but I could still relate to how Molly felt when she thought no one would want her because of her weight (I feel the exact same way), and I could relate to how Molly always felt left out when she was around other couples.

For me, The Upside of Unrequited is on the same level as Simon v The Homo Sapiens Agenda and even thought SVTHSA had a better storyline, I feel like the diversity within TUOU put it on the same level as Albertalli's debut. At least 50% of the cast was diverse. There were lesbian Moms, Cassie who is a lesbian, Molly who is heterosexual, Mina who is pansexual and Korean-American, black side characters, Jewish main characters, a main character that suffers from anxiety, and white characters. I mean, how awesome is that diversity? Sure, the main character - Molly - is heterosexual, but she's described as overweight which challenges other young adult books where the female protagonist is always described as gorgeous.



"When you spend so much time just intensely wanting something, and then you actually get the thing? It's magic."

- Becky Albertalli, The Upside of Unrequited





What was also amazing about this book was that it was around the time when gay marriage was legalised in the U.S.A and I loved it when Nadine drove Molly to the White House to see the building lit up in the LGBT flag. I thought it was such an amazing moment. And I also loved how we witnessed a lesbian wedding as that is something that we never see within young adult books. Another thing that I absolutely loved was that when given the opportunity *slight spoiler ahead* Molly didn't choose the 'attractive hipster guy', she chose the geeky, slight overweight Reid and she defied all expectations. She chose someone who made her feel comfortable with herself and who made her laugh - which I think is really important.

I know that I've just rambled on about the diversity within the book but please, how could I not? It was amazing to see this kind of representation in a YA book. I also loved the sisterly relationship between Cassie and Molly. Even though there is seven years difference between my sister and me, I could still relate to the turmoil that Cassie and Molly went through and I recognised a few of the arguments that they had. It was nice to see a sister relationship development arc be one of the main elements of a book instead boys being the main focus.

Overall, this book was amazing and considering that they're doing a film of Simon v The Homo Sapiens Agenda, I would love to see The Upside of Unrequited get a movie deal as well. I think it would be brilliant to bring the diversity to the big screen. Yet another fantastic book from Albertalli and I can't wait until she graces us with her next book. I'm eager for it already.

Disclaimer: this book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Released 11th April

I wasn’t expecting to like this book as much as I did, because usually I have a lot of problems with a hyped books. But this, actually, was a real gem. It was so refreshing to read a so diverse book compared with other young adult books, or other genres in that matter.

The greatest thing about diversity in this book, was that author didn’t make a huge deal out of it, instead she concentrated on Mollys first romance.

Speaking about romance, it was so cute and so well written. The dilemmas, questions, doubts and wishes of Molly were so realistic, that, in mu humble opinion, most of young adults can relate to.

The other thing, that was one of the biggest pluses for me, was the relationship between parents and children. Finally, there is a young adult book, were parents isn’t portrayed like some kind of animals without any feelings, judgmental creatures or something like that. It was so great to red a book were mothers and daughters were more like friends.

I think it’s a book that every teenager should at least try to read.

A really sweet story, that features some very likable characters (a lot of whom are also minorities who seem to be in the story for more than just "ticking boxes" which is fantastic!).

This is the kind of book you have to read when you need something fast and cute.
I adored all the characters in this novel, and they were so relatable and I loved read what they were doing with their lives.
Molly and Reid gave me so much feels, and I really liked that she was the main character, because her voice was very unique and made me relive some of my experiences when I was 17.
I wish I had this type of books when I was growing up, because I would have felt more understood.
I kinda laughed a lot, especially when the Grandma was involved. She was a bit tactless, but that reminded of my own Grandma a lot!
A positive note: there's a lot of diversity in this book and I love this, especially because it felt so natural, not like it was placed on purpose to receive positive feedbacks about its presence.
I've enjoyed more than Simon VS the Homo Sapiens Agenda.

I have so much love for this book.

- Packed full of interesting and fleshed out characters
- So much diversity in both race and sexuality
- Mental illness handled so well, an MC with anxiety who is not just about that illness.
- Friendship between a group of girls who are there for each other
- Family that's very much part of the story and realistic with all it's flaws
- A really cute romance (I could have done without the complication of two boys at first, but I'll forgive it for not turning into a true love triangle).

THIS BOOK IS SO DAMN CUTE OMG. if the upside of unrequited isn't on your tbr yet then what are you doing?!?!?! i just want to say that i haven't read simon vs yet, and i really need to. the upside of unrequited is the first book i've read by albertalli and it definitely won't be the last.

the upside of unrequited had a very nice pace to it. i was never once bored. the writing style is absolutely beautiful. the dialogue was so realistic too. so many contemporary books that i've read have really unnatural or just extremely cringey dialogue, which certainly wasn't the case with the upside of unrequited.

the characters were also phenomenal. they were so relatable, not to mention diverse (both as poc and lgbt+), and a fat protagonist?!?! it's so great to see more realistic books with accurate portrayals of marginalised groups.

this book is definitely one of the best books that i've read all year.

I was worried that I wouldn't love this book, 'cause I thought I'll be comparing it to Simon vs. the Homo-Sapiens agenda. At first I did, but after a few chapters, I started to get lost in The Upside of Unrequited. The book is extremely diverse and realistic, which I loved very much.
Becky's writing style is fantastic, unique and fascinating.

The characters were really realistic and likeable. My favourite one was Molly, who is a really smart, sarcastic and funny girl, but a bit insecure about herself.

It was an 'all the feels' book and I loved every word of it.
Can't wait to read more from Becky Albertalli!
I will recommend The Upside of Unrequited to the Hungarian publisher of Simon vs. the Homo-sapiens agenda :)

5 Stars

Anyone who knows me knows that I don't read a lot of contemporary fiction, often preferring a heady dose of magic to reality. However, there are a handful of contemporary fiction writers that are autobuy for me, and Mrs Albertalli is just one of those writers. I picked up 'Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda' last year at YALC and read the entire book in one sitting, falling in love with just how well Albertalli writes youth, especially those who live their teenage life towards the fringes, not popular but not exactly friendless either.

Her latest protagonist, Molly, falls into a similar segment of society. She's well liked, has a happy home life, but is plagued with clinical anxiety and shyness which keeps her dreaming rather than acting upon any of her crushes. In Molly's mind it is safer to pine from afar than risk the bitter sting of rejection. But watching her skinny twin, Cassie, fall in love, Molly begins to feel that she is being left behind, and begins to wonder whether she is the only barrier between herself and such happiness.

'I've had crushes on twenty-six people, twenty-five of whom are not Lin-Manuel Miranda'

(I feel you, Molly)

This book was ridiculously cute and ridiculously relatable. I'm twenty three and I still feel the same nervous jitters when I come across someone I like and begin to wonder whether they could like me too. I think it will mean a lot to some teenagers readers to see a fat girl in a contemporary romance, to reassure young readers of all genders that being fat doesn't mean they aren't beautiful or deserving of love.

'There's this awfulness that comes when a guy thinks you like him. It's as if he's fully clothed and you're naked in front of him. It's like your heart suddenly lives outside your body, and whenever he wants, he can reach out and squeeze it. Unless he happens to like you back.'

Without spoilers, the flirtation between Molly and her love interests was adorable. Hipster Will and Nerd Reid are definitely guys that I have met and dated. I'd also like to thank Albertalli for inserting the ??? into attraction. Sometimes those we come to love have things about them that are odd or a little off-putting at first but you come to accept as you grow to know them. It's not something that is discussed often in romance, especially not teen romance!

I'd also like to put it out there that any scene about Molly's mothers or their impending wedding made me tear right up. The world is a cold and cruel place to the LGBTQA community right now and this book was filled with the warmth and comfort that I have been craving. It also made me so happy to see bi women in relationships with women still being referred to as bi. It's all too easy for authors to erase a character's bi identity in a relationship and I felt all fuzzy to see that not happening here.

So, my loves: relatable non-cookie-cutter lead, a distinct lack of instalove, diversity, accurate depictions of anxiety, nerdom, oreos and arts and craft.

Dislikes? I don't know what you expected me to put here because I loved it all.

'The Upside of Unrequited' is out on both sides of the Atlantic on the 11th of April (not long now!) and I seriously recommend you all go and pick it up (and 'Simon' if you haven't already read it!).

Many thanks to Penguin Random House for a copy in return for an honest review. All quotations were drawn from an advanced review copy and may be subject to change in the final novel.

I am definitely going against the grain with my review of The Upside of Unrequited, but here me out. I enjoyed the novel, but did I like it as much as Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda? Sorry, but no.

It’s probably unfair to compare these books to each other, but The Upside of Unrequited sort-of works as a companion to Albertalli’s first novel, so I couldn’t help but contrast the two. In Simon, we were introduced to a wide-range of fantastic characters, all individual and emphatically real. In Upside, the characters felt a little two-dimensional for my liking. They just didn’t do it for me.

The Upside of Unrequited follows seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso, who has had twenty-six crushes (twenty-five if you don’t include Lin-Manuel Miranda) and each of those crushes has been decidedly unrequited. Her twin sister Cassie tells her to woman up and just date someone already, but Molly is terrified of rejection. That may have something to do with her issues with weight and her intense anxiety, for which she takes Zoloft. So she is careful. But then, Cassie falls in love and Molly feels as though she and her sister are drifting apart. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend’s best friend is a cute hipster boy who may or may not like Molly. Molly might just be able to win her sister back, right? The only problem is Molly’s co-worker, Reid. He is a chubby Tolkien and Game of Thrones fan and not at all Molly’s type. Except that he is.

Before I dissect the characters, let me explain how ecstatic I was at the level of diversity in this novel. All books should aspire to be as diverse, but what makes this novel stand apart is how normal Albertalli made it out to be. Of course diversity is normal, but these days, you would be hard-pressed to find an author – I don’t mean an #OwnVoices author – who understands this. So many authors freeze at the mere mention of diversity, or, when they’re called out, either try to justify their actions, or make a mockery of diversity by adding a few gay or POC background characters to be like, “Hey, look at my books, such diversity.” I won’t name names but I’m sure you can think of a few authors.

In The Upside of Unrequited, there was so much diversity there was almost an overload (I mean that as a compliment). Molly was fat and Jewish, Cassie was a lesbian, one of their mothers was bi while the other was gay and a POC, and Cassie’s girlfriend Mina was Korean and pansexual. And while I was so happy to see such diverse characters in a YA novel, none of the characters (aside from Molly) felt realistic. It is one thing to feature so many diverse characters, another to never address that diversity. Of course one could say that was Albertalli’s intent: diversity is a normal part of life – we don’t have to always address it. But this is a YA novel that focuses on LGBT people, mental health, sexuality, religion and race – how could you not address it?! What is that old saying? Ah yes – quality over quantity.

I sort of feel like the odd one out here, because everyone I know – including reviewers I trust – seem to love this book, but I was let down by the characters. They were all lacking the definitive, complex personality of a real person. To me they read like characters on a page, superficial attempts at realism, whereas in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda the characters were real people to me. I could connect with them. I didn’t connect with one single character in Upside, not even the protagonist.

Molly was a conundrum. There were times I almost felt something for her, but her inability to stand up for herself grew tiring. I totally understand that her anxiety prevented her from behaving like a typical seventeen-year-old would, but that didn’t stop me from growing annoyed. It wasn’t even until about 60% of the way through the novel that I started to like Molly. Her continual self-deprecating personality incensed me, but occasionally, she would stop thinking only about herself and put herself in someone else’s shoes. It was these rare moments where I could connect with Molly and her situation. I know every teenager feels like high school is the peak of their lives and they must go through full, wide-ranging experiences of adulthood by the age of seventeen, but it is not so. I think my eyes rolled to the very back of my head when Molly said, with complete sincerity, “I know I’m a late bloomer,” all because she did not have a boyfriend at the wise-old age of seventeen.

I didn’t particularly like Cassie. I found her quite selfish and, frankly, uncaring. She didn’t take anybody’s feelings into account and often spoke first and thought later. That didn’t mean she was a bad character, just an irksome one. Her relationship with Mina developed off the page, so the degree in which they cared for each other surprised me, because I didn’t see it happening: the reader was just told about it, after the fact. I read a review of this book where the reviewer thought the novel would have been stronger if we had two POVs: one from Molly and the other from Cassie, so we could also see Cassie’s relationship develop, and I have to agree. Cassie went from sharing everything with Molly, to not even telling her when she and Mina became official. Why the sudden change? Getting into Cassie’s head would have helped the book.

The central reason why I didn’t enjoy this book was the plot. What plot? It felt quite stagnant and, to be honest, quite boring. Not much happens. With Simon, you have the blackmail storyline, Simon’s quest to find out the identity of his pen-pal and the up-coming school play, mixed in with Simon’s emails to Blue. There was a lot happening and Albertelli balanced each storyline perfectly. I didn’t get that same feel with this novel. The plot was really very simple and, while that is usually not an issue with me, paired with Albertelli’s writing, the story didn’t go anywhere.

I have to admit I was disappointed in Albertalli’s writing. It wasn’t very different from her style in Simon, but I think her writing suffered due to her choice of protagonist. Molly’s inner monologue was very much: No one will ever like me, except I think this guy likes me, I’m the last virgin in the world, oh I think Mina is still a virgin too, I don’t like Reid he’s too nerdy, omg he looked at me, I have a crush on him, but I like Will, and oh Will smiled maybe I should be with him instead. There was too much contraction and teeniness for me. The writing was very simple and derivative. I wasn’t wowed like in Simon. I was let down. Also, can you even call it unrequited love when Molly never told any of her twenty-six crushes that she liked them? (I don’t think you can).

While I love coming-of-age stories, The Upside of Unrequited lacked that certain something that I found in Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. The plot was uninteresting, the diversity was apparent but not discussed in detail, and the characters were superficial. The elements Albertalli attempted to include – issues regarding sexuality, mental health, and even race – did not mesh well together. They were mentioned and then never fully explored. If this book were 100 pages longer, I am confident Albertalli could have fixed the issues I found. The book could have been a strong forerunner of what it means to write a successful and timeless diverse novel. Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Utterly adorable, swoonily romantic but also very real. God this book is so warm and good hearted it makes me happy...if you liked Simon vs the Homo Sapiens, you will eat this up with a spoon.

OK, so this was disturbing.... I AM MOLLY!!!! yes i'm pushing 40, but I am so like Molly. She acted just how I felt at her age.

Slightly geeky. Slightly awkward. Comfortable in her own skin (overweight) but not confident with it. No idea how to talk to boys. A grandma who manages to make you feel REALLY uncomfortable! Biting her tongue rather than speaking up and causing all kinds of problems because of it!

Absolutely brilliant.

This was so well written and so believable. And the diversity was amazing. We had lesbians, bi-sexuals, homosexuals, pansexuals, white, black, mixed race, Korean, homophobes as well as a main character on medication for mental health issues (and not afraid to mention it) all in one book. And the most awesome thing was it didn't feel forced at all. It felt so natural and so real. I could imagine going to Molly's house and fitting right in, no matter who I was. THAT is how I would love the world to be.

The story ambles along at a gentle pace, and you are watching Molly, Cassie and their group of people grow up in front of you. Finding and losing love. Falling out and making up. watching the world change around them - Molly and Cassie watching their mums getting married with the legalisation of gay marriage in the US.

It was just amazing. I really don't know what else to say!

Becky Albertalli, we loved Simon. We love Molly, we want more!

ENGLISH REVIEW:

Center of this story are Molly and her family. It's a Jewish family (and that aspect also makes it an #ownvoices story) with two mums and three children: the twins Molly and Cassie and two-year old Xavier. The best part is that at least 60% of this family are queer (Xavier is a bit too young to say anything about that yet): one of the mums, Patty, is bisexual, while the other mum, Nadine, and Cassie are lesbian. Nadine and Xavier are also black – as is Abby, Molly's cousin and our link to Becky Albertalli's previous book, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda". (She specifically doesn't have a big role in this book, but she turns up every now and then.)

"The Upside of Unrequited" is a beautifully positive book. That's not to say it doesn't deal with serious or sad issues. Hating queerness, sexism, fatshaming and racism are all addressed. Not all in Nadine's family accept her being lesbian. Friends of Mina's (Cassie's love interest, a pansexual, American-Korean girl) may generally be nice, but they're also sexist douchebags who think penetrative sex is the only "real" sex. Patty's mother has it in for Molly for being fatand continuously makes her feel bad about her body. The good thing is that all of this is questioned and called out. Just not always as harshly as I hoped it would be – for example, Cassie is trying to set up her sister with one of Mina's friends even after they their sexist comments. It became a bit gross after a while.

What I really liked about the book was how relatable Molly was. Relatives making seemingly harmless comments about your weight and really hurting you? Check. Her worries about intimacy and relationships, partially caused by her insecurities due to her weight? Definitely check. Her shyness that makes it almost impossible for her to have the conversations she wants to have? Well damn.
So much better, then, that Becky Albertalli goes all the way and has Molly realise that she is beautiful. That she doesn't have to get thinner and change any other way or needs to have a boyfriend to be lovable or desirable.

The books doesn't manage the avoid all clichés – there's a bit of a love triangle and good ol' misunderstanding to create drama the story didn't actually need. But all that pales in comparison to the characters and their love for each other. And I don't just mean Cassie and Mina, or Molly and Reid. Those are fantastic as well and great romances – they're based on friendship and all the more exciting thanks to it. Not to mention believable – there's actual chemistry here! But I'm also talking about the love between Cassie and Molly as sisters, the love in their whole family. The love between friends. Sure, there can be setbacks and problems – but that doesn't have to be the end of the world or destroy everything.

After reading "The Upside of Unrequited", I just felt really good. Whether you are fat or queer or shy or confused or uncertain – all that is okay. It's fine and you are loved. Not despite it, but just like that.
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GERMAN REVIEW:

Im Zentrum der Geschichte stehen Molly und ihre Familie. Es ist eine jüdische Familie (in dieser Hinsicht ist es auch ein #ownvoices-Buch) mit zwei Müttern und drei Kindern: den Zwillingen Molly und Cassie, und dem zweijährigen Xavier. Das Lustigste ist, dass mindestens 60% der Familie queer sind (Xavier ist da noch etwas zu jung, um eine Aussage zu treffen): Eine der Mütter, Patty, ist bisexuell, während die andere Mutter, Nadine, und Cassie lesbisch sind. Außerdem sind Nadine und Xavier Schwarz – ebenso wie Abby, Mollys Cousine und unsere Verbindung zu Becky Albertallis vorherigem Buch, "Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda". (Eine wirkliche Rolle spielt sie im Buch nicht, sie taucht aber ab und an auf.)

"The Upside of Unrequited" ist ein wunderbar positives Buch. Was nicht heißen soll, dass es nicht auch um ernste und traurige Themen geht. Queerfeindlichkeit, Sexismus, Fatshaming und Rassismus – all das wird angesprochen. Nicht alle in Nadines Familie respektieren, dass sie lesbisch ist. Freunde von Mina (Cassies Love Interest, ein pansexuelles, amerikanisch-koreanisches Mädchen) mögen generell noch so nett sein, sie sind aber auch sexistische Vollpfosten, die glauben, penetrativer Sex wäre der einzig "richtige" Sex. Pattys Mutter hackt beständig auf Molly rum, weil sie fett ist und sorgt dafür, dass sie sich schlecht fühlt. Das Gute ist, dass all das in Frage gestellt und widerlegt wird. Nicht immer so rigoros, wie ich mir wünschen würde – beispielsweise versucht Cassie, ihre Schwester mit einem von Minas Freunden zu verkuppeln und das selbst nachdem sie sich daneben benommen haben. Nach einer Weile war's ein bisschen ekelig.

Was mir ganz besonders am Buch gefiel, war, wie sehr ich Mollys Sorgen nachvollziehen konnte. Verwandte, die angeblich harmlose Kommentare über dein Gewicht von sich geben, die aber deutlich mehr anrichten? Check. Ihre Sorgen und Fragen rund ums Thema Intimität und Beziehungen, unter anderem durch die Unsicherheit, die sie wegen ihres Gewichts hat? Sowas von check. Ihre Schüchternheit, die es ihr unmöglich zu machen scheint, mit anderen die Konversationen zu führen, die sie führen will? Aber hallo.
Umso schöner ist es, dass Becky Albertalli den ganzen Weg geht und Molly realisieren lässt, dass sie schön ist. Dass sie nicht dünner werden oder sich anders verändern oder einen Freund haben muss, um liebens- oder begehrenswert zu sein.

Ganz ohne Klischees kommt die Geschichte nicht aus – wir haben ein bisschen was von einem Liebesdreieck und das gute alte Missverständnis muss gegen Ende Drama erzeugen, das nicht unbedingt notwendig war. All das verblasst aber vor den Charakteren und ihren Liebesbeziehungen. Und damit meine ich nicht nur Cassie und Mina, oder Molly und Reid. Wobei die auch fantastisch sind, weil diese Romanzen endlich mal wieder auch Freundschaften basieren und sie damit umso mitreißender und vor allem glaubhafter sind – das Ganze hat Chemie! Aber ich meine auch die Liebe zwischen Cassie und Molly als Schwestern, die Liebe innerhalb der ganzen Familie. Die Liebe zwischen Freundinnen. Bei allem kann es mal bröckeln und Probleme geben – aber das muss nicht das Ende der Welt sein und alles zerstören.

Nach dem Lesen von "The Upside of Unrequited" hab ich mich einfach gut gefühlt. Ob du dick bist oder queer oder schüchtern oder durcheinander oder unsicher – das ist alles gar nicht schlimm. Es ist in Ordnung und du wirst geliebt. Nicht nur trotzdem, sondern einfach so.

Before I even picked up The Upside of Unrequited I was quite nervous to read it. I loved Becky Albertalli's debut novel, and I didn't want to find myself comparing the two. But despite the two stories existing in the same world, they ended up feeling very separate. And although I didn't like it as much as I loved Simon, I found that Upside was cute and relatable in a whole different way.

Molly has had plenty of crushes, but never any relationships. And this book captures really well how terrifying that is. At an age where everyone is doing one thing, it can feel like there's something wrong with you for not being the same. I'm amazed that more books aimed at teens don't deal with stuff like this, because reading about Molly's experiences was something I needed to have read about when I was younger.

"Even if he likes me, I'm not sure he'd like me naked. I hate that I'm even thinking that. I hate hating my body. Actually, I don't even hate my body. I just worry that everyone else might."

I'm also really glad to see an author deal with body issues and an anxiety in the way that Becky Albertalli did too. Molly takes Zoloft (or Sertraline as it's called in the UK), but her anxiety doesn't make her 'different' or 'special'. She's also fat, but she doesn't hate her body, or even want to change it. And I think those things are so so important and need to be written more about. Because often our own fears aren't centred around what we believe, but the thought of what others might believe. Self loathing isn't a necessary part of the teenage equation.

This book was also a truckload of diversity which was pretty awesome. Molly and her twin Cassie are sperm donor babies to two mums (one is a Jewish bisexual woman and the other is a black lesbian woman). Plus Cassie is queer and dating a girl who is Korean and pansexual. So as I said - a truckload of awesome diversity.

But as much as I love diversity and as much as I could relate to Molly's experiences, I didn't really connect with her voice. What she said was relatable, but the way she said it didn't feel real to me. The words and the writing felt really disjointed most of the time, and would go on tangents that didn't really feel relevant. And ultimately that made it really hard to click with, especially for the first half of the book. Also, a lot of the time the story felt as though nothing was directing it - kind of like when you trip and your limbs go everywhere. The story lacked any drive and so I didn't really care as much as I would have wanted to.

Nevertheless, The Upside of Unrequited is still a really good book, and I'm glad I read it. It is something I needed when I was younger, and possibly something I needed even now at nineteen. I will still recommend it to people, not for the writing, but for the messages it holds.



Diversity Note: Fat protagonist who has anxiety, with multiple LGBT+ and/or POC supporting characters

An ebook copy was provided to me in exchange for an honest review.

I received this in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. Thank you to the author, Becky Albertalli, and the publisher, Balzer + Bray, for this opportunity.

Molly and Cassie are sixteen-year-old twin sisters, as close as they were in the womb, and as unlike in looks as they are in personality. Molly is introverted and has had crushes on twenty-six (going on twenty-seven) guys whilst she has kissed exactly none. Cassie is fearless and kisses girls like its going out of fashion.

Everything they thought they knew about themselves and each other is about to change when Molly finds Mina, Cassie's perfect girl. Their childhood plans of marrying best friends might soon become a reality when Mina's hot best friend, Will, seems to be interested in Molly, too. But is this even what Molly want, anymore? And if it isn't, then when did she change and how does she decide on a new path for her future?

Coming-of-age contemporaries don't get much more perfect than Albertalli's debut, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, so this book had big boots to fill. Whilst I can safely say I really enjoyed reading this, it didn't blow me away like its predecessor.

What Albertalli does brilliantly is create a cast of characters that I can't help but empathise and relate to. Over the course of her novels, I find myself vying for every one of them and genuinely emotionally invested in the outcome of their teen plights. She manages to suck me in to a world and a time, so close and yet so removed from my own, within paragraphs of the book starting and it saddens me to say goodbye when I close the final page.

Her diversity must also be commended, as every book is filled with different sexualities and POC, which are in unfortunate short supply in YA fiction.

All that being said, I found this didn't have such a big emotional impact as 'Simon'. This was sweet, touching and moving... just not on the same scale as I have experienced from this author before. It feels wrong to compare two books, but I could not help to do so in this instance. Whilst this was a truly lovely read it wasn't quite as captivating, but still made me believe in the power and prowess of this writer.

Great voice. Great story about feeling like you're being left behind as your friends and siblings grow on to have relationships, sex and all those things that happen in your late teens. Lovely story.

This was a brilliant book. Awesome female characters. Great queer representation. 5/5

I had high expectations for this book after reading some rave reviews and I'm pleased to say it lives up to those expectations!

I saw so much of myself in Molly that it was occasionally quite uncomfortable, but her story had so much truth in it and will really appeal to girls who are sick of reading YA characters who don't represent them at all. Molly was believably anxious and self conscious and TOTALLY relatable - especially her crush on Lin-Manuel Miranda. We ALL feel you there Molly.

This book is packed full of diverse and entertaining characters in a way that doesn't feel preachy, but I didn't fully buy the way Molly and Cassie's parents spoke to them - I thought that dialogue felt pretty forced. A small niggle in an otherwise flawless representation of a family that transcended labels.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House UK Children's for letting me have an ARC of this book!