Book review: The Upside of Unrequited

The Upside of Unrequited tells a tale that the readers of YA have read several times. It definitely talks about first love and teenage angst. But what makes this novel by Becky Albertalli such a hit both among young and new adults? Read my review to know more.

Have you read The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli? Did you enjoy the diverse characters or you had the problems that I did? Which is your favorite Becky Albertalli book? Let us talk. Click To Tweet

About The Upside of Unrequited

The Upside of Unrequited book review

Book Name: The Upside of Unrequited

Author: Becky Albertalli

Genre: Fiction – Young Adult Romance

Characters: Molly and Cassie Peskin-Suso, Reid, Will, Mina

Setting: Washington DC, The USA

Plot Summary of The Upside of Unrequited

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso has never had a kiss and has about 26 crushes that she has never made the move upon. She is shy, awkward and conscious about her body. Her fraternal twin Cassie, her best friend, is just the opposite.

Things change when Cassie falls in love with Mina. Molly is forced to get out of her aloofness and make new friends. Mina’s best friend Will takes a liking to her and he is about to become Molly’s 27th love interest when she meets Reid, her nerdy co-worker.

With Cassie moving further apart from her, Molly is forced to handle having the attention of two guys alone. To top it, her parents are finally tying their knots with the legalization of gay marriages in the USA and she has more on her plate than ever.

Will Molly and her awkward self, be able to pull this off? Will Will become her 27th unrequited love (did you see what I did there?) or is it someone else? You will have to read the book to know more.

Book review of The Upside of Unrequited

The Upside of Unrequited deals with several themes that are relevant in today’s world – peer pressure, body image, teenage love, and rejection.

I loved the writing. The style of the author is definitely quirky and cheerful that kept me hooked until the end.

One thing that The Upside of Unrequited has been continually praised for is the diverse representation of minorities, interracial and LGBTQ couples and families. The characters are diverse, of course, well thought out but still are too perfect to be relatable, except maybe for Molly.

Molly’s flawed, funny, socially inept characterization would be relatable to everyone who has had that phase. I like how family and sisterhood was important to her.

I would have loved Molly except that for the fact she had one goal in her life – finding and kissing her boyfriend. And all of a sudden she gains her self-worth when she finds herself a guy. Erm.. definitely something we don’t want books to reinforce of the kids today.

Bottom line

Despite the predictability in the plot, as one might find in most of YA romances, Becky Albertalli’s writing wins the book for me, I could not put the book down even for a minute before I could finish it.

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Have you read The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli? Did you enjoy the diverse characters or you had the problems that I did? Which is your favorite Becky Albertalli book? Let us talk.

30 Comments

  1. Zoe @ Stories on Stage

    I completely agree! This is such a relatable and amazing book and I’m so glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. 🙂 Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous review! <3

    Reply
  2. Olivia-Savannah

    I’ve heard a lot of great things about her books – especially the one that is going to be a movie soon as well. But I do have this one on my kindle and just haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. I’m glad to see that you enjoyed it so much and that you could get addicted to reading it!

    Reply
  3. Marta @thecursedbooks

    I really hoped she wouldn’t go down the route where she presents a fat character that only seems to have one purpose in her life – to get a boyfriend. I just hate that trope because really, fat people have other things going for themselves. But I might try it out, at some point, because I really loved Simon Vs.
    Lovely review!

    Reply
  4. shanayatales

    I keep hearing so many great things about this book, and the author, but haven’t yet gotten to any of her books. I might pick up Simon first, but adding this to my TBR as well.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I am yet to read Simon and Homo Sapiens. It is on my list too.

      Reply
  5. Camilla @The reader in the attic

    I read it and find it really releteable. It thouces a lot of things that I lived and I live now too. Honestly I didn’t see Molly getting with a boy and gaining self-worth as one. I think she’s still on her path and that was the whole story, with the happy end, that helped her. But she still has to do a lot. Her whole story really told many of my past thoughts when I was a teen.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Yes Molly was totally relatable. But I somehow felt a bit like her whole life was about kissing a guy.

      Reply
  6. Evelina @ AvalinahsBooks

    Haven’t read this one, not big on teenage romance 🙂 but everyone seems to have loved it. Good review!

    Reply
  7. Marjie Mare

    You always have the best books. I have to add that one in my must-read books.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Thanks for saying that Marjie. You made my day.

      Reply
  8. Rose

    I have this book in my pile to read right now.

    Reply
  9. Megan @ Ginger Mom

    You have a great review here. Not sure I am interested enough in the characters to pick it up but I really enjoyed your thoughts on it 🙂

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I love receiving your replies on my blog, Meg. They make my day <3

      Reply
  10. Caroline

    Unrequited love. Ahhh….. the teenage years. This sounds like a good one. 🙂

    Reply
  11. Anky Singh

    It has been on my tbr for some time now! Gotta read it asap!

    Reply
  12. Katie @ Book Ink Reviews

    As long as it keeps me entertained, I don’t mind if I can predict the plot. This one sounds good!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      That is exactly the mindset I was when I read this one. The writing kept me hooked.

      Reply
  13. Lexxie @ (un)Conventional Bookviews

    I loved this story so much! It’s one of my favorites of 2017. I had so many crushes I never acted on when I was Molly’s age. And that’s just one of the reasons why I related to her so much.
    I can’t wait to read more of Albertalli’s books. Great review!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I can understand why Molly is such a popular character. She was funny and relatable!

      Reply
  14. Mandi Schneck

    I’m listening to this on audiobook right now and loving it!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Ah.. I need to try that audiobook.

      Reply
  15. empressdj

    This sounds like a delightful read

    Reply
  16. Lara @ Words With Lara

    I loved Simon Vs, but I still haven’t got around to reading this one. I’m glad you enjoyed it so much!! I really need to pick this book up. Great review 🙂

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      It is definitely one of the good books I read this year.

      Reply
  17. Jenn @ Bound to Writing

    I’ve been hearing a lot of great things about this book. I’ve had it on my TBR list for awhile now, but thinking I need to actually buy it so I can read it sooner. Great review!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I am sure you will love it Jenn. It is just that kinda book.

      Reply
  18. ioana @dragonwaffles

    I really liked this book because it’s so cute and fluffy and diverse! The writing is also great and it’s so funny mate. But I agree that it had some issues. Great review ❤!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      The writing kept me hooked too. It was un-put-down-able.

      Reply

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Gayathri

Gayathri

Gayathri has been reviewing books since 2010. When she is not reading books or creating online content, she works as a writer and a digital marketer. Head over to meet me!