This is book two of my June Library Book Haul. Maybe I should just start calling them that from now on. My first trip to the library brought me Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda and I decided to pick up another book by Becky Albertalli.
Make sure to check out last week’s review of Piecing Me Together by Renee Watson.
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 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?
Review
First things first, the amount of secondhand embarrassment I suffered from this book should be unlawful. Even though Molly’s home life was very different from mine, I could relate to a lot of what she said and did. Especially in terms of boys. I’m pretty sure I had twenty-six crushes by the time I was seventeen, too.
The character development had some back and forth for a bit, but overall, you could really see the growth in Molly, Cassie, and a few supporting characters (I’m talking about you, Grandma).
The whole story takes place in the summer time, so there’s only so much that you can do in that time period. But, the story felt like it went at a natural pace, it didn’t feel rushed at all.
There’s a ton of LGBT+ representation in this book, which is pretty much Becky Albertalli’s thing. I actually read this during Pride Month but I didn’t get the review out in time. Still a great year-round read.
If you haven’t seen the review for Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda, please be sure to check that out. We actually see a little bit of Simon, and a lot of Abby, throughout The Upside of Unrequited. It was a nice touch, but you don’t have to read the other book to be able follow along.
In the end, I really LIKED this book, I just didn’t love it.
What’s a book you really liked?
Have you read The Upside of Unrequited? What were your thoughts?
What are you currently reading?
What should I pick up on my next trip to the library?
Let me know in the comments, let’s chat!
Rae's Reads and Reviews 
3 thoughts on “The Upside of Unrequited”