myntop's profile picture

myntop 's review for:

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
5.0

This book was so excellent! From the title, I was expecting a fun and quirky YA romance. I wasn't prepared for the depths this story would go to.

First we are introduced to Molly who is suffering from anxiety, has never been kissed, and pretty much seems like she doesn't feel like she is good enough for anyone or anything. We go on to learn that she is a fraternal twin and has a bit of an inferiority complex when it comes to Cassie. But that's not the only issues this book addresses. ...

I was ecstatic to discover that while there is a romance theme going on in this book, the sisterly theme almost trumped it. The process of growing up and somewhat growing apart as siblings and how to deal with that was most prevalent in this book and I think it's an overlooked issue that teens often face. Siblings, cousins or even really close friends all deal with growing up in different ways and sometimes losing the closeness they had before. Especially when one or both finds a significant other. There is a way to balance these things, but it's so hard, especially in the first case of romantic love.

There is also a body image message to be learned here. From the grandmother projecting her own disappointments onto her granddaughter, to the very common problem of teen girls not liking their own bodies, or fearing that others won't like them because of their body shape or size. I love that this book focused on people falling for people not due to their looks but for how they make each other feel and what kind of a person they are. This is how it should be.

I was so superbly impressed with how deep this book really was and encourage all of my reading friends to try it out!