Becky Albertalli

"And it's the end of the world and the beginning of the world and we're seventeen.
It's an awesome thing."

This line is such a perfect summation of what this book is about. This book is about change, particularly at a time where there are really big changes going on, and about trying to navigate it and figure out if it is good or bad. And I feel like Molly, the protagonist, comes to realize that perhaps it can be both at the same time. It can be both the end of something but also the beginning of something. And growing apart from someone doesn't mean it has to be for forever. As molly surmises, "I think every relationship is actually a million relationships."

Becky Albertalli's The Upside of Unrequited beautifully tells the story of a 17 year old girl. Worried about not having a boyfriend like everyone else, worried about how she looks, worried about worrying too much. Trying to put herself on the line, trying to make the change yet trying to keep what she has now. At that age, I felt exactly the same. And that is one of the most beautiful things about this book, it is one of the most relatable books I have ever read. Incredibly so. I even have an anxiety disorder like Molly and I have always been insecure about my weight, particularly in school when people try to use that against you. I also didn't have a boyfriend at a time when it seemed like everyone else I knew did. And I distinctly remember that at that time, when everything was changing and when life just felt really really difficult and like the end of the world my mom would always tell me that when I look back on all of this later I will realize how short of a time I am in school compared to the rest of my life and basically, "this too shall pass." And, I held on to that and made the best of the present and couldn't believe how true my mom actually was. The world didn't end. In fact, I realized it was only the beginning.

Outside even of these more distinct similarities though, I feel like this character is very relatable for people within this age group. Another factor that makes this story feel so realistic is the language itself- the diction. I feel like a lot of times when someone who is no longer a teen tries to go back and remember how a teen talks and feels for a book, they can't get it quite right and it comes out awkward and off. I really didn't get that feeling in this book. Each of the characters seemed well developed and unique and in tune with each other at the same time. Of course I'm no longer part of this age group, so I'm probably not the best judge of it anymore myself, but I still get that off feeling in YA books where teens just seem not quite realistic enough.

Something else to love about this book? Molly's family is actually present and a big part of the story! There are so many YA novels where the family is conveniently not present that it honestly feels unique at this point to have them be such a backbone to the story. And furthermore to have LGBTQ characters represented, and as a family unit, was really awesome and something I have actually not come across before in a book. I loved the parallel story lines of Patty and Nadine, Molly and her twin sister's moms, preparing for a wedding that has finally been made legal where they live and Molly taking her own steps forward. I felt like the whole family moved forward individually and yet together. They all progressed in different ways, and yet all at the same time and trying their hardest to stay connected through all the change.

Also, the romance aspect was just so cute! And I liked that it also carried the message that you know, you don't have to feel bad about wanting to be with someone, you don't have to feel like that just makes you desperate. It's ok to have tons of crushes and it's ok to like who you want to like and not like who you don't want to like. And each of the women represented had relationships as different from each other as the characters themselves were. They weren't all the same, we certainly don't all love the same way, and that is ok. That is more than ok.… (more)

Representation: Asian main character, Jewish main character, side Asian character
Trigger warnings: Racism, antisemitism, sexism, harassment
Read this review for context: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5336250779

6/10, only a few days ago I added this to my list and I hoped that it would be an interesting read, today I finally read this 400-page book and I must admit this wasn't the book I was expecting it to be, what I thought was going to be just a romance turned out to a political, American and preachy kind of book which reminisces of an earlier book I read so where do I even begin? It starts with the two main characters Jamie who is a Jew and Maya who is Asian and has a different religion, immediately there is an election coming up soon and for some reason the book decides to bring up the term "canvassing" and I had no idea what it meant, I had a hunch that it meant campaigning and when I searched it up I was proven correct so there's that. The tensions start to build as the election draws closer and that's where things start to get preachy for starters there is this meme called Fifi the dog and some right-wing extremists used that first on social media and then when they saw stickers that said something along the lines of "Vote Rossum!" they replaced it with a Fifi sticker and that's atrocious enough as it is. I had some thoughts about some irritating aspects of the book such as why did it have to be that drawn-out, tedious and stretch over 400 pages? Why did the book have to shove messages like the fact that discrimination is horrific over and over into my head when I already know that and also it was bothersome that this book aged like milk. There's no mention of social media platforms like Discord but maybe that was more obscure back then compared to right now, Twitter is now called X but it's still called Twitter in the book and Super Mario Odyssey was the hit game in the past but now I don't remember anyone playing it anymore. At least the Nintendo Switch didn't age yet. The situation gets direr when a new law is coming called H.B. 28 which long story short is a racist law and despite all the campaigning efforts the results came in and the Republicans barely won over the Democrats with Newton being the new governor of Georgia. He passed the new law much to the characters' disappointment and this wraps the book up bittersweetly. I couldn't relate to that part since I don't live in the United States of America and politics work differently, where I live there is a Prime Minister, premiers, mayors and other changes. Oh wait, I have one more part I must talk about, the romance and I found more problems with that as well which didn't help the book as a whole, first off are the main characters Jamie and Maya, I could not feel anything for them as they developed an attraction and even then that was put to the side most of the time and I didn't like that Maya had to essentially convert her religion to be with Jamie who is a Jew more. That's a bit overkill and problematic and if you like romances you can try Where the Road Leads Us by Robin Reul.… (more)