The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

Reviewed by Susan Z.
Grade 11

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli is a young-adult novel revolving around an insecure girl learning to find her confidence, self-worth, and love. It takes place in the same universe as Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, and is the author’s second book.

Meet Molly Peskin-Suso, a hopeless romantic who’s had a total of 26 crushes-but still no boyfriend. She has a twin sister named Cassie, who she considers the complete opposite of herself. Cassie’s pretty, skinny, outgoing, and has a much more successful love life. One fateful party brings a cute new girl into their lives, someone who’s basically Cassie’s dream girl. There goes confident, in-control Cassie; now she’s the lovesick one. Luckily for Molly, the new girl (Mina) also comes with a cute hipster boy named Will who just happens to be perfect crush material for Molly. And more good news just got dropped on the girls: their moms are getting married and plan on having them as their maids of honor! Everything seems to be going perfectly for Molly; she got her first job, her moms are having a wedding, her twin seems to be really in love, and soon she’ll have her first boyfriend. Except, despite everything seeming to go perfectly, it’s falling apart for Molly behind the scenes. Ever since Cassie started being in a relationship with Mina, the twin sisters have drifted apart. Even though Will is perfect in so many ways, Molly’s coworker, Reid makes her doubt herself. And preparing for a wedding is a lot more stressful than she had anticipated. With so many changes coming into her life all at the same time, Molly has a hard time figuring out what she truly wants. As the book progresses, Molly has to come to terms with the fact change is bound to occur and sometimes, all you can do is accept it.

This was such a good book, for so many reasons. I thought when I first saw this book it was going to be one of those generic romance novels. Girl has many crushes, and in the end, the girl ends up with a boyfriend. Happily ever after! But no, this book has so much more; it’s focused on the main character, who happens to be an insecure girl who’s had many crushes but has never been in a relationship, finding her self-worth, her confidence, learning to love who she is, and to stop being afraid of change.  I think this book is really relatable in that sense--lots of teenagers struggle to find who they really are, but it’s okay to not know and to need time to figure it out. The author also does a really good job of incorporating LGBTQ+ characters without making it their whole identity, and she also has characters that aren’t supportive just like in reality.

I would recommend this to everyone, especially if you liked Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Though this definitely wouldn’t be considered a sequel to that book, it’s in the same universe, and I think if you enjoyed that book, you’ll also really enjoy this one. If you’re a teenager, I would definitely give this book a go; it is a little romanticized but the underlying issues still reflect what many teens also struggle with.