The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

I don’t often read contemporary books. When I do, I like them to be easy and fun. I don’t read realistic fiction just because of that–it is just too realistic. I like reading for escapism. I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before. When I do find a contemporary book I like, however, I tend to become obsessed with it. Like, head over heels in love.

            Becky Albertalli is an author I’ve loved for so long. I read her debut novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda last year, and I adored it. Go read it for yourself and you’ll see what I mean. Just recently Albertalli’s second novel hit shelves. The Upside of Unrequited is just as fun as Simon vs. was but there was something lacking. I’m not quite sure what it was, but I just didn’t love it as much.

            Do you remember those Nickelodeon shows that were always set in the same sort of “universe?” That’s kind of what Becky is doing with her books. You’ll see a lot of crossover characters from Simon in Upside, and I think that bogged it down a little bit. I had a hard time keeping up with all of the characters because the families were so big.

            Molly’s had twenty-six unrequited crushes. This is a book about her getting her first boyfriend. I think a lot of people can relate to this concept. My only complaint is that some of the relationships don’t feel very realistic. While Albertalli does a great job portraying these relationships after they happen, the way they actually get there is kind of off-putting. Especially with Cassie and her new girlfriend, Mina, it seems like it took them no time at all to start dating and at the beginning of the book they were complete strangers. Molly’s relationship was a little better developed but there was still something off about it.

            The pros of this book outweigh the cons though, and I’m grateful. There was wonderful LBTQIA representation. The main character, Molly, has two moms and Albertalli handles her sister Cassie’s relationship is really well done (after she starts dating Mina). I thought the family dynamic was so important with this book. In a lot of young adult novels the parents are either scarcely there, or non-existent. Families exist, so I always thought this was pretty unbelievable. There were so many tender moments between Molly and her family. I really loved the family dynamic in this book; I thought it was so important.

            One of the major complaints I have was the fact that it had too many characters. I had a hard time keeping up with who was related to who and so forth. Other than the fact that I was reading this at the same time as finals (which was not the best idea, I know), I think I probably could have read this in a couple of hours. If you’re looking for a book to get you out of a reading funk, I’d recommend picking up either of Becky Albertalli’s books. It doesn’t matter which one you read first, but I enjoyed Simon vs. infinitely more, so I’d recommend that one first. Especially since you get to see all of the characters cross over from her first book into Upside, I really enjoyed seeing how all these characters were related to each other.

            So, those are my thoughts on The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli. While it’s cute and fun, there was something missing for me. I still recommend her books though, especially if you’re looking for great diverse representation.