“But you know, there’s an upside here. Because when you spend so much time just intensely wanting something, and then you actually get the thing? It’s magic.”

Stars (Out of 10): 9/10 Stars

Favorite Character: Reid

Spoiler Free: Someone could say I’m on a bit of a contemporary binge right now. That someone would be right. I’ve probably more than doubled my contemporaries read so far this year in the past few weeks. And so far I’m loving all of them!

Back in my Simon Vs. review, I said I most likely found another favorite contemporary author. The Upside of Unrequited has just further cemented that point! There is just something about the voice of the characters that I can’t help but love, and the fact that all of Albertalli’s books so far have had happy but meaningful endings is also a huge plus (not that I dislike sad endings, I just love some happiness sometimes!)

In comparison to Simon, this was still quite a different book. We had a female, straight narrator instead, where the insecurity rested in weight rather than sexuality. This led to quite a different tale, with a focus on self-love rather than overall acceptance. However, in both this book and Simon, I absolutely loved the romances + family relationships.

I was less into the plot of this one, as Simon had a whole mystery aspect tied to it that I just loved, but I devoured this book just the same. The narration was just so fantastic that no matter how boring the actual events had been, I still would have probably enjoyed the book thanks to Molly’s narration alone.

I also really loved the characters, and how tied together everything was (which is kinda how it is in real life!) They felt real, from their inner thoughts (for Molly), to their reaction to certain events/changes, to how their relationships developed and changed with one another. The only character I still cannot find myself liking is Cassie, but I’ve explained that more in the spoiler section. Also, can I just say that I audibly gasped when I found out how this book connected to Simon. Vs, I was so surprised! (Even though it was kind of obvious had I been actively looking for it.)

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I cannot wait for the release of Leah on the Offbeat now!

Careful! Spoilers beyond this point!

Spoilers:

Spoiler

The only thing I wasn’t the biggest fan of was how the plot with Cassie, the twin sister, was done. The entire book she is pretty much demonized, since we only get to see Molly’s POV on the situation, and it makes the resolution feel kind of weak. Unfortunately, we as readers do not get the entire past full of love and friendship to combine with the current rough spot, so to us, Cassie just seems overly mean in some situations (such as the painting mason jars scene.)