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The Upside of Unrequited (Simonverse, #2)

Becky Albertalli

Start date: June 16, 2019

Finish date: June 30, 2019

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What Members Thought

Apr 24, 2018 Avigail rated it really liked it

Shelves: physical-book, 2018

After reading Simon Vs. the Homo-Sapiens Agenda I felt like I want to read more from Becky Albertalli. This book didn't disappoint me at all. It took me 2/3 of the book to see the connection between this book and Simon Vs. the Homo-Sapiens Agenda (Abby is Molly & Cassie's cousin). It is a book that everyone should read it, because of the diversity, because of the relationship between siblings, friendships, and family. Because of the first love and how people react and act during those relationsh ...more

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Aug 10, 2017 Michael rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, young-adult, read-in-2017, summer-reading-2017

While Molly Pescan-Suso has experienced 26 crushes in her life, she's rarely acted on them. Entering the summer before her senior year, Molly yearns to find the right person to share a first kiss with and possibly take things from being a crush to actually being her significant other.

Now, Molly has two possible new crushes on her radar -- the popular guy Wil and the fantasy t-shirt wearing, Reed. Which one, if either, will Molly chose makes up most of the drama and teen angst of The Upside of Un While Molly Pescan-Suso has experienced 26 crushes in her life, she's rarely acted on them. Entering the summer before her senior year, Molly yearns to find the right person to share a first kiss with and possibly take things from being a crush to actually being her significant other.

Now, Molly has two possible new crushes on her radar -- the popular guy Wil and the fantasy t-shirt wearing, Reed. Which one, if either, will Molly chose makes up most of the drama and teen angst of The Upside of Unrequited.

Becky Albertalli caught my attention last year with the funny, entertaining and thought-provoking Simon vs the Homo Sapien Agenda. And while Simon has an Easter egg cameo in this book, overall Upside ranks as one of the more disappointing stories I've read lately. Much of my frustration with the novel comes from its first-person narrator, Molly. Albertalli tries her best to make Molly self-deprecating about her lack of romantic experience, chalking a lot of it up to a lack of confidence because of her body type. Molly's own self-image isn't necessarily the most positive as she repeatedly refuses to believe that anyone else would find her attractive, despite there being signs from that two potential crushes might be interested in more than just being an unrequited object of her affection.

I get what Albertalli is trying to do with Molly and giving us the perspective of someone who is an outsider, looking in at what the "popular" kids (including her own twin sister) are doing. But it felt like Unrequited was getting a bit redundant and hitting all the expected romantic comedy touchstones for Molly instead of giving us an authentic journey for her. In the end, it feels only like Molly comes out of her shell because a boy likes her and not because she realizes that she has inherent worth as a person regardless of her external appearance.

Albertalli fills Upside with a diverse group of characters, many of whom feel one-dimensional. Too many of them feel like they're summed up by one or two characteristics instead of being fully realized characters.

It all adds up to a disappointing sophomore effort by Albertalli. Maybe my expectations were too high for this one. But I can't help but feel like this one had potential that it never quite lived up to. ...more

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Aug 08, 2017 Lesa Divine rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2017, read-it, library, botm-selection

I enjoyed Molly's story. About a teen twin girl that's also on the heavy weight size that just want a boyfriend that wants to be kissed and loved. She's had numerous of crushes but they never knew she liked them because she won't never put herself out there to see if they felt the same way.
Her sister starts dating a girl name Mina. Mina and her sister Cassie is Keen in getting Molly hooked up with Mina friend Will. He's cute to Molly but if course she don't think he feels the same way about her. ...more

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Oct 03, 2023 Heather rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library, ya, contemporary-romance, family, lgbtq, curvy-heroine

Oh the teenaged angst! But in a really sweet way.

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Sep 03, 2018 Jen Ifer's Inklings rated it liked it

Shelves: audio-books, library, read-in-2018

3.5 stars. It was cute.

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Mar 08, 2025 KayLynn Zollinger rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: romance, young-adult, uno-2025, lgbtq

Really really cute. Simon and crew from book one made small reprises here, which of course was awesome. Most of this book, however takes place with Abby's cousin in a totally different venue. Molly and Reid were perfectly adorable. Molly and her twin, Cassie, find themselves growing up and slowly growing apart together. It's bittersweet. Two big thumbs up.

Quotes:
And suddenly, I can picture it: Cassie and me, twenty years from now. Married. To Mina. To Reid. Or not. Maybe we’ll marry people we ha ...more

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