The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli
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| Rating: 4/5 |
This book was really sweet and cute and so easy to read, I read the ebook form of this in one day on my phone when my family and I were stuck in a holiday cottage with no wifi and signal for a weekend - which was a nightmare by the way, a living nightmare. Anyway, I'm glad I had this book to keep me company, because it's just the sort of book I was in the mood for and I would highly recommend it as a cutesy romantic read; however, this also incorporated elements of conversations we need to have sometimes - especially seen with Molly and Cassie's grandmother and the dickhead that is Evan Schulmeister.
Becky Albertalli's writing style is easy and it flows well, I had no problems with any of her descriptions and she seemed to know what she was going on about. I know you could label her as a 'cheesy' writer - but honestly we all need some cheese in our life sometimes. I also quite liked the pacing of this, as even if I had been home with wifi when I read this I think I would have got through it a good pace without slowing down and getting bored.
The book follows Molly as our protagonist, who at first I wasn't sure I liked. She seemed too fixated on getting a boyfriend and that whole 26 crushes thing was weird so I wasn't sure on her, but then she grew on me in such a great way and I started to identify with her fears and anxiety so much more than I though I would have originally. Molly is sweet and confused, and the inner conflict and doubts she faces are so real to teenagers - whether you're a guy or girl, and the author did such a great job at saying it's okay to have those doubts but not to let them stop you. Molly is just one of us and that's fantastic, however her fixation on guys could be toned down just a little.
Right, I'm really sorry for the change of tone but I don't like Cassie. I can't stand the way she treats her sister - she's such an asshole sometimes. She just seems really self centered and a really shit sister in some cases and I just can't, she pissed me off. I also think as a sister, and one who is meant to be as close as Cassie is to Molly you would have thought she would have been more caring and understanding of some of her problems and emotions, and maybe you could argue her method was trying to push her outside her comfort zone but it just didn't feel right. However, I really liked their parents and thought their family unit was really cute, and I felt for all of them (expect that bitch Cassie).
I am going to briefly mention Ried because I think he's lovely, even though I understand there are more important things to discuss. It was really nice to see a friendship build into a crush that built into a relationship between these two, with ups and downs teenage couples face in real life. Also, how could you not like Reid? He's just adorable, he's so nice and passionate and you can tell he really cares for Molly before they're together.
ALSO shall we talk about the diversity in this book? Holy shit the diversity was incredibly. The diversity in this book is phenomenal, and it's done in such a great way because none of it feels forced or there for the sake of being forced. It's also great to be able to like and support a book with such a diverse cast, and an author who doesn't try to shoehorn it in - we all can think of a few that do that.. I'm not going to list what was included because I think that would take up too much time and space, and quite frankly I don't think there's any point because I'm not sure you can fault her for anything. So, if you're looking for a book with wide ranging diversity this might be a book for you.
Now, I also think it's important to talk about the discussions raised in this book because they were important. Whilst I don't hate Molly and Cassie's grandmother because her heart was always in the right place - even if that translated very poorly with what she said, her character raised so many discussions we still have and that are very important. Also, the character of Evan Schulmeister is a great example of what women and young girls often face in romantic relationship, and the discussions the girls had after this were great. As well as this, even though it wasn't discussed in so much detail the idea of sex and where it fits in in young people's lives were great, because we saw how each coupled approached it and worked best for them which I applaud.
I really enjoyed this as a read, and at first Molly was slow to grow on me but I ended up really liking her. Also, the reality of teen romances were so well portrayed in this book with the struggles you can face as 'the third wheel/single best friend'; and not to mention, all the relationships were just adorable - even the parent's relationship was fucking brilliant. The thing that drags this down to a four stars for me was even though I enjoyed the character of Molly, she never truly lost that blinding fixation of being in a relationship, and I'm not sure putting her in a relationship - even if it was a very cute one, was the best way to resolve this. Also, I can not give a star to Cassie, just nope.
NOTE: I don't know if you guys have heard but Cape Town is going through perhaps the worst drought in a century, and are expected to reach Day Zero in the Summer without any significant rainfall. Day Zero is when the percentage of water in Western Cape's Six Dam falls below 13.5% (the water becomes undrinkable at 10%) and the taps are shut off. You can find some data here.
I have donated to Water for Paws which provides water for shelter animals during the drought, who obviously will not be a priority otherwise, and if you can spare anything please try to donate as this is a very serious issue. If I find anywhere else to donate I will add the links below:
Water for Paws
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