The Upside of Unrequited – Becky Albertalli
*Perfect for fans of Rainbow Rowell and Jennifer Niven, the second book in the Simonverse and famed author of book and movie Love, Simon!
Don’t forget to email your latest fave to taylor.raymond@travelnurse.ca to have it featured in our monthly book club. :)
Summary
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?
Tay’s Thoughts:
By the time I realized this was teen fiction I was invested in the life of this “unlovable” girl and whether or not she was going to end up alone. Putting into perspective what happens between siblings, even inseparable siblings, when you grow up and find someone else to confide and share your adventures with this book brings to light things you don’t even realize when you’re in high school. It was interesting how the author created characters that exceed your expectations while simultaneously hitting so many unflattering stereotypes.The ending is both unexpected and everything you would expect from the end of the first chapter. Honestly it was a quick and easy read and it leaves you with a warm glowy feeling as well as so many open ended questions. Definitely recommend if you just need to waste some time or need to listen to something as background noise.
