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arogers159's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to absolutely love this, I really did. But it just wasn't quite there for me, you know? I didn't feel a particularly strong connection to the characters, I mean, they were likable, I just didn't connect to their story or their lives. It was just a fun read, just not something that will stay with me for long.
wiske's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
allymcrory's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
lisamchuk's review against another edition
4.0
This is the main character I needed to read about twenty-some years ago when I was 17. I’m glad there is such strong fiction available for such diverse readers these days. I hope the target YA audience finds themselves in these characters and hold hope for their futures.
shaynalambert's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very sweet book with a whole lot of heart. I found myself really identifying and caring for Molly and wanting her to get the things she wanted. The conflicts in this story are very quiet and interpersonal, which is a nice change of pace from a lot of YA. And the scene where Molly’s moms get engaged gave me goosebumps. So sweet! I definitely recommend. I can relate to being the girl who crushed really hard and never felt worthy to be crushed back. I def recommend!
faeriesparks's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
Amazing, brilliant; I loved it! It's not quite 5 stars for me (I don't know why, I just doesn't feel like 5 stars personally) but this is definitely a new favorite.
Praise bless, Molly, the main character. At first I didn't think I'd connect to her as much. But as the story progressed I actually did connect to her more and more. Until her feelings and situations took me back to my school days and I literally felt anxious reading certain parts. My heart hurt for Molly - SO MUCH - and I even cried.
Amazing, brilliant; I loved it! It's not quite 5 stars for me (I don't know why, I just doesn't feel like 5 stars personally) but this is definitely a new favorite.
Praise bless, Molly, the main character. At first I didn't think I'd connect to her as much. But as the story progressed I actually did connect to her more and more. Until her feelings and situations took me back to my school days and I literally felt anxious reading certain parts. My heart hurt for Molly - SO MUCH - and I even cried.
charspages's review against another edition
2.0
If I could live in the Simonverse, I would. Within a heartbeat. Bye-bye, Germany, hello, Creekwood!
Don't get confused by the two stars: they're two shining, glitzy gold stars, each and every one well-deserved. I am in awe of Becky Albertalli, and Upside has reaffirmed my love for her stories by the hundreds.
What ultimately let me down about this book were my own expectations.
I was told by so many people that I was just bound to love this book, that I'd love it even more than Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (which is, honestly, my favorite book.) Needless to say, my expectations were all set at this will be the best book ever. I didn't consider for even a single second that I wouldn't enjoy this book half as much as I enjoyed Simon.
While I enjoyed it - I think Becky Albertalli could publish her grocery lists from the past seven years and I'd enjoy it- it was nowhere near Simon.Part of the blame goes to my impossibly high expectations for this book - I assumed it would be my new favorite without ever having read the blurb - but the other half just lies in the book itself. And, I’m not going to lie, I’m a little sad I didn’t like Upside as much as I wanted to.
PLOT: 1 / 5
My biggest problem with TUOU was this: I couldn't tell you what happened even if I tried. Trying to summarize this book's plot proves difficult because there wasn't one.
Don't get me wrong, I love little every-day-scenarios that show characters just being themselves at home, with friends, just a boat load of cutesy domestic happiness, but to me it felt like this story consisted only of those ordinary moments. The storyline is essentially: Molly's twin gets a girlfriend, Molly wants to have a boyfriend, Molly crushes on two boys, Molly gets a boyfriend. Simple.
While the story in itself was cute and relatable, I found its plot disappointing. There were no high stakes, no catalyst, no real goals except for getting a boyfriend. After reading Simon, this was a little disappointing, because I expected more difficulties and obstacles to occur (like, you know, being blackmailed. Or having an impossibly cute online boyfriend whose identity you don't know.)
For large stretches, I even found my mind wandering, mildly disinterested in a plot that was about as gripping as a Sunday-afternoon walk with your grandparents.
CHARACTERS: 3 / 5
Becky Albertalli is a master at creating believable, realistic, and likable characters. From her protagonist Molly Peskin-Suso down to the very last secondary character, they're all quirky, life-like people.
For some reason, though, these characters did not make a space for themselves in my heart as much as Simon, Bram, Abby, and Co., did. I enjoyed Molly's narrative voice, I found her likable and, most of the time, I could relate to her — but I wouldn't defend her with my life (like I would Bram Greenfeld.)
It also took me a while to get into the book because there is an unusual amount of characters. At first, I kept getting confused - Cassie and Olivia and Mina and Will and Reid - because most of the side-characters seemed to have the same level of importance, which made it a little difficult to distinguish between them. I also would have loved more distinct voices for the secondary characters, such as Will. I couldn't tell you what he likes or what his character traits are for the life of me.
WORLD BUILDING: 4 / 5
Becky Albertalli understands the perfect balance between description and action, peppering her scenes with little descriptive markers here and there. As usual in contemporary fiction, the setting itself didn't play an essential role in the story, but contrary to other books in this genre that I've read, I could imagine myself in the places. Whether it was the Peskin-Suso house or Bissl, the shop where Molly works, I had no problem picturing myself next to her.
I admire Albertalli's ability to convey such sense of atmosphere and setting with very little, but poignant descriptions.
DIVERSITY: 5 / 5
Becky's forte are, undoubtedly, books that are more diverse than your average YA-novel - which is wonderful. Seriously, every time I read one of her novels and I see how effortlessly she represents marginalized groups I just want to hug her. The world needs more authors like Becky Albertalli, in this regard especially.
As in Simon, she did not limit herself to including LGBTQ+ characters, though there were quite a few in The Upside of Unrequited as well.
Patty and Nadine Peskin-Suso, Molly's moms, are a lesbian couple, for example, and Molly's twin sister Cassie is in a relationship with a pansexual girl. On top of that, there are also characters of color, such as Cassie's girlfriend Mina, who is South Korean, or Molly's and Cassie's mom Nadine, who is African-American.
Like the little cherry on top of a perfect representation-cake, many of the major characters are also Jewish, like Molly and her family, or her co-worker Reid.
Albertalli knows how to be inclusive and wonderful without making it seem try-hard or like she’s only bargaining for diversity-cookie points.
Another important (and underrepresented!) topic that Albertalli includes is fat-shaming, seeing as her protagonist, Molly, is plus-size. There is one particularly uncomfortable scene where Molly's grandmother comments on her weight, pestering her to lose a couple pounds. That moment broke my heart because it portrayed the micro-aggressions of body shaming so accurately and earnestly.
Overall, the story sends a positive message, though, because Molly realizes she's beautiful and is called beautiful by others without losing weight. She's fat, she's beautiful, and those two co-exist in this novel in a way that they usually don't in media.
In regards to diversity, Becky Albertalli has outdone herself again.
WRITING STYLE: 5 / 5
I LOVE Becky's style so much. Her phrases, her choice of words, it's all so on point.
She's capable of portraying teenagers perfectly, giving them a realistic voice, while simultaneously using beautiful phrases. Furthermore, her style is easy to read and just all-around enjoyable.
Out of the hundreds of books I've read in my lifetime, I've yet to encounter another author who comes even close to Becky's skill of capturing teenage thoughts without making them look shallow or stupid.
OVERALL RATING: 2 / 5
While I definitely enjoyed this book, I did feel a little disappointed. I went into Simon with super high expectations and came out loving it much more than I thought was possible. While I had similar expectations for Upside, those were, sadly, not quite met (read: not met at all.)
I liked the characters, but I didn't love them. (Except for those Abby, Nick, and Simon cameos? They honestly had me smiling so much I had to put the book down for a bit.)
I felt they were likable and relatable enough, but they didn't stick with me as much as I expected them to. I just didn’t care about them as deeply as I wanted to, and now, two months after finishing the novel, I've already forgotten half of them again.
The story was sweet, though I expected more from the plot; it lacked a distinctive story line for me, which is why Molly’s adventures just fell flat for me.
I loved the world building, and Becky's writing style and diverse cast were - as always - on point. But those factors couldn’t outweigh the less-than-exciting storyline or the deeply average characters.
Even if I didn't like this book as much as I had expected to, I can recommend it to anyone who loves cutesy contemporary stories with a happy end, and I can definitely say that I'm excited to read anything else Becky Albertalli brings to the table in the future.
Don't get confused by the two stars: they're two shining, glitzy gold stars, each and every one well-deserved. I am in awe of Becky Albertalli, and Upside has reaffirmed my love for her stories by the hundreds.
What ultimately let me down about this book were my own expectations.
I was told by so many people that I was just bound to love this book, that I'd love it even more than Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (which is, honestly, my favorite book.) Needless to say, my expectations were all set at this will be the best book ever. I didn't consider for even a single second that I wouldn't enjoy this book half as much as I enjoyed Simon.
While I enjoyed it - I think Becky Albertalli could publish her grocery lists from the past seven years and I'd enjoy it- it was nowhere near Simon.Part of the blame goes to my impossibly high expectations for this book - I assumed it would be my new favorite without ever having read the blurb - but the other half just lies in the book itself. And, I’m not going to lie, I’m a little sad I didn’t like Upside as much as I wanted to.
PLOT: 1 / 5
My biggest problem with TUOU was this: I couldn't tell you what happened even if I tried. Trying to summarize this book's plot proves difficult because there wasn't one.
Don't get me wrong, I love little every-day-scenarios that show characters just being themselves at home, with friends, just a boat load of cutesy domestic happiness, but to me it felt like this story consisted only of those ordinary moments. The storyline is essentially: Molly's twin gets a girlfriend, Molly wants to have a boyfriend, Molly crushes on two boys, Molly gets a boyfriend. Simple.
While the story in itself was cute and relatable, I found its plot disappointing. There were no high stakes, no catalyst, no real goals except for getting a boyfriend. After reading Simon, this was a little disappointing, because I expected more difficulties and obstacles to occur (like, you know, being blackmailed. Or having an impossibly cute online boyfriend whose identity you don't know.)
For large stretches, I even found my mind wandering, mildly disinterested in a plot that was about as gripping as a Sunday-afternoon walk with your grandparents.
CHARACTERS: 3 / 5
Becky Albertalli is a master at creating believable, realistic, and likable characters. From her protagonist Molly Peskin-Suso down to the very last secondary character, they're all quirky, life-like people.
For some reason, though, these characters did not make a space for themselves in my heart as much as Simon, Bram, Abby, and Co., did. I enjoyed Molly's narrative voice, I found her likable and, most of the time, I could relate to her — but I wouldn't defend her with my life (like I would Bram Greenfeld.)
It also took me a while to get into the book because there is an unusual amount of characters. At first, I kept getting confused - Cassie and Olivia and Mina and Will and Reid - because most of the side-characters seemed to have the same level of importance, which made it a little difficult to distinguish between them. I also would have loved more distinct voices for the secondary characters, such as Will. I couldn't tell you what he likes or what his character traits are for the life of me.
WORLD BUILDING: 4 / 5
Becky Albertalli understands the perfect balance between description and action, peppering her scenes with little descriptive markers here and there. As usual in contemporary fiction, the setting itself didn't play an essential role in the story, but contrary to other books in this genre that I've read, I could imagine myself in the places. Whether it was the Peskin-Suso house or Bissl, the shop where Molly works, I had no problem picturing myself next to her.
I admire Albertalli's ability to convey such sense of atmosphere and setting with very little, but poignant descriptions.
DIVERSITY: 5 / 5
Becky's forte are, undoubtedly, books that are more diverse than your average YA-novel - which is wonderful. Seriously, every time I read one of her novels and I see how effortlessly she represents marginalized groups I just want to hug her. The world needs more authors like Becky Albertalli, in this regard especially.
As in Simon, she did not limit herself to including LGBTQ+ characters, though there were quite a few in The Upside of Unrequited as well.
Patty and Nadine Peskin-Suso, Molly's moms, are a lesbian couple, for example, and Molly's twin sister Cassie is in a relationship with a pansexual girl. On top of that, there are also characters of color, such as Cassie's girlfriend Mina, who is South Korean, or Molly's and Cassie's mom Nadine, who is African-American.
Like the little cherry on top of a perfect representation-cake, many of the major characters are also Jewish, like Molly and her family, or her co-worker Reid.
Albertalli knows how to be inclusive and wonderful without making it seem try-hard or like she’s only bargaining for diversity-cookie points.
Another important (and underrepresented!) topic that Albertalli includes is fat-shaming, seeing as her protagonist, Molly, is plus-size. There is one particularly uncomfortable scene where Molly's grandmother comments on her weight, pestering her to lose a couple pounds. That moment broke my heart because it portrayed the micro-aggressions of body shaming so accurately and earnestly.
Overall, the story sends a positive message, though, because Molly realizes she's beautiful and is called beautiful by others without losing weight. She's fat, she's beautiful, and those two co-exist in this novel in a way that they usually don't in media.
In regards to diversity, Becky Albertalli has outdone herself again.
WRITING STYLE: 5 / 5
I LOVE Becky's style so much. Her phrases, her choice of words, it's all so on point.
She's capable of portraying teenagers perfectly, giving them a realistic voice, while simultaneously using beautiful phrases. Furthermore, her style is easy to read and just all-around enjoyable.
Out of the hundreds of books I've read in my lifetime, I've yet to encounter another author who comes even close to Becky's skill of capturing teenage thoughts without making them look shallow or stupid.
OVERALL RATING: 2 / 5
While I definitely enjoyed this book, I did feel a little disappointed. I went into Simon with super high expectations and came out loving it much more than I thought was possible. While I had similar expectations for Upside, those were, sadly, not quite met (read: not met at all.)
I liked the characters, but I didn't love them. (Except for those Abby, Nick, and Simon cameos? They honestly had me smiling so much I had to put the book down for a bit.)
I felt they were likable and relatable enough, but they didn't stick with me as much as I expected them to. I just didn’t care about them as deeply as I wanted to, and now, two months after finishing the novel, I've already forgotten half of them again.
The story was sweet, though I expected more from the plot; it lacked a distinctive story line for me, which is why Molly’s adventures just fell flat for me.
I loved the world building, and Becky's writing style and diverse cast were - as always - on point. But those factors couldn’t outweigh the less-than-exciting storyline or the deeply average characters.
Even if I didn't like this book as much as I had expected to, I can recommend it to anyone who loves cutesy contemporary stories with a happy end, and I can definitely say that I'm excited to read anything else Becky Albertalli brings to the table in the future.
mehsi's review against another edition
5.0
Wow, just wow, just wow. And so much squee! This book was terrific, I loved every bit of it. Becky Albertalli did it again! <3 <3
Let's see if I can all my feels out in words!
This was another one of my most anticipated reads of 2017. I loved Becky Albertalli's first book to bits, and when I heard that she would write a second one, just from the POV of Abby's cousin, I knew I had to get it when it comes out.
And Molly is such a terrific character! At times I was a bit annoyed with her train of thought (she was just sooo oblivious to everything), but quite often I understood how she felt. Especially about the whole being a virgin/never been kissed bit. I know I had exactly the same thoughts when I was her age.
Her list of crushes was interesting, she had quite a few of them. It would have been fun if she had done more than just crushing. Like actually telling her crushes about it.
Her being a pinterest queen and being awesome at crafts made me love her even more.
Now something that I hope I can write correctly, so please bear we with me, a lot of times these days when a book has a lot of important things stuffed in it (in this book there are LGBT characters, people of colour, weight problems, anxiety, family structures different from what a lot of people would say is standard, religion) it feels like the author is just going by a list for the sake of diversity. It just doesn't fit. It just feels unbalanced. But not in this one. It just felt really natural. Like it was just meant to be, and I loved that! I was so happy how the author wrote it. Phew, I hope that came out right, I don't mean anything bad by it, and otherwise just be sure to ask me and I will see if I can explain better.
I loved how Molly and Callie were twins, but didn't look alike. Quite often in books the twins are alike, or at least very close in appearance.
I am not sure if I liked Callie, at times I really liked the girl, she was fierce, brave, but at times I just wanted to shake her around. The way she just blabbed her sister's whole history to a couple strangers, no, just no. Especially if you know your sister isn't comfortable with it.
Then later on, and this will be going in the spoiler tag.
I loved the romance in this one, though I was quickly shipping Reid and Molly. I never really cared for Molly x Will. Will was just too bleh. He never really seemed to care about Molly. I never got the vibe that he actually like liked her. Reid and Molly however had chemistry! I was just squeeing and hoping the two of them would actually notice it.
So I was delighted when she finally saw her true feelings and talked to Reid about them. I had quite a laugh when those two really got together. How Reid was all: We can take it easy. And Molly was like: No, we don't need to do that. :P The moments in the book that they were a couple (since it happened near the end, not enough) were absolutely adorable. The kisses, the hugs. Ahh, sweet! So happy that they got together. Molly was so worried people wouldn't like her because of her weight, but then she found someone who loved her so much and found her gorgeous.
I loved Molly's moms, they were so awesome. Xavier, their little brother, was adorable.
I am still not sure what to think of the Grandma, at times she was pretty awesome, but I didn't like how she reacted to certain things. I was happy with the ending though, now some things at least made a bit of sense.
Of course we also see Abby, mostly through texts, but she also makes an appearance. And we even have a small cameo from Simon (yay, Simon!).
Plus points to the cover, it fits so perfectly well with Simon's book!
Phew, there are more things that I could discuss, but I don't want to make the review too long. There was just so much good in this book. I really enjoyed each and every page. I can't wait to see what Becky Albertalli will write next.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Let's see if I can all my feels out in words!
This was another one of my most anticipated reads of 2017. I loved Becky Albertalli's first book to bits, and when I heard that she would write a second one, just from the POV of Abby's cousin, I knew I had to get it when it comes out.
And Molly is such a terrific character! At times I was a bit annoyed with her train of thought (she was just sooo oblivious to everything), but quite often I understood how she felt. Especially about the whole being a virgin/never been kissed bit. I know I had exactly the same thoughts when I was her age.
Her list of crushes was interesting, she had quite a few of them. It would have been fun if she had done more than just crushing. Like actually telling her crushes about it.
Her being a pinterest queen and being awesome at crafts made me love her even more.
Now something that I hope I can write correctly, so please bear we with me, a lot of times these days when a book has a lot of important things stuffed in it (in this book there are LGBT characters, people of colour, weight problems, anxiety, family structures different from what a lot of people would say is standard, religion) it feels like the author is just going by a list for the sake of diversity. It just doesn't fit. It just feels unbalanced. But not in this one. It just felt really natural. Like it was just meant to be, and I loved that! I was so happy how the author wrote it. Phew, I hope that came out right, I don't mean anything bad by it, and otherwise just be sure to ask me and I will see if I can explain better.
I loved how Molly and Callie were twins, but didn't look alike. Quite often in books the twins are alike, or at least very close in appearance.
I am not sure if I liked Callie, at times I really liked the girl, she was fierce, brave, but at times I just wanted to shake her around. The way she just blabbed her sister's whole history to a couple strangers, no, just no. Especially if you know your sister isn't comfortable with it.
Then later on, and this will be going in the spoiler tag.
Spoiler
So you are OK with not saying anything about your own relationship with Mina until she finds out through FACEBOOK (really, whut?), and think your sister is overreacting, but when she has a relationship and doesn't immediately tell you about it, you get pissed and tell her that it isn't OK to do that? Hypocrite much?I loved the romance in this one, though I was quickly shipping Reid and Molly. I never really cared for Molly x Will. Will was just too bleh. He never really seemed to care about Molly. I never got the vibe that he actually like liked her. Reid and Molly however had chemistry! I was just squeeing and hoping the two of them would actually notice it.
Spoiler
I have to say I wasn't happy with how Molly handled it at times. How she flitted between Reid and Will. I get she was confused, but really, you are not making it better for anyone.So I was delighted when she finally saw her true feelings and talked to Reid about them. I had quite a laugh when those two really got together. How Reid was all: We can take it easy. And Molly was like: No, we don't need to do that. :P The moments in the book that they were a couple (since it happened near the end, not enough) were absolutely adorable. The kisses, the hugs. Ahh, sweet! So happy that they got together. Molly was so worried people wouldn't like her because of her weight, but then she found someone who loved her so much and found her gorgeous.
I loved Molly's moms, they were so awesome. Xavier, their little brother, was adorable.
I am still not sure what to think of the Grandma, at times she was pretty awesome, but I didn't like how she reacted to certain things. I was happy with the ending though, now some things at least made a bit of sense.
Of course we also see Abby, mostly through texts, but she also makes an appearance. And we even have a small cameo from Simon (yay, Simon!).
Plus points to the cover, it fits so perfectly well with Simon's book!
Phew, there are more things that I could discuss, but I don't want to make the review too long. There was just so much good in this book. I really enjoyed each and every page. I can't wait to see what Becky Albertalli will write next.
I would highly recommend this book to everyone!
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
molly12's review against another edition
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0