The Upside of Unrequited

Cover for The Upside of Unrequited
Molly – who is Jewish, fat, and has an anxiety disorder – has had twenty-six crushes and zero kisses. When her twin sister finds a girlfriend, she tries to set Molly up with a new guy.

The Upside of Unrequited
US | UK

Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love. No matter how many times her twin sister, Cassie, tells her to woman up, Molly can’t stomach the idea of rejection. So she’s careful. Fat girls always have to be careful.

Then a cute new girl enters Cassie’s orbit, and for the first time ever, Molly’s cynical twin is a lovesick mess. Meanwhile, Molly’s totally not dying of loneliness–except for the part where she is. Luckily, Cassie’s new girlfriend comes with a cute hipster-boy sidekick. If Molly can win him over, she’ll get her first kiss and she’ll get her twin back.

There’s only one problem: Molly’s coworker, Reid. He’s a chubby Tolkien superfan with a season pass to the Ren Faire, and there’s absolutely no way Molly could fall for him.

Right?

Practical information

Author: Becky Albertalli
Publisher: HarperCollins (Balzer & Bray)
Publication year: 2017
ISBN: 9780062348708
Age category: young adult
Disabilities portrayed: anxiety disorder, mental illness
Genres: contemporary, romance

Accessible formats


audiobook available

Author

Becky Albertalli

Becky Albertalli is the author of William C. Morris Award winner and National Book Award longlist title, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (now a major motion picture, Love, Simon); the acclaimed The Upside of Unrequited; and the New York Times bestsellers Leah on the Offbeat, What If It’s Us (cowritten with Adam Silvera), and Yes No Maybe So (cowritten with Aisha Saeed). Becky lives with her family in Atlanta.

Molly’s experiences were very strongly inspired by my own experiences growing up. Like Molly, I was this chubby, anxious Jewish girl who had a lot of crushes but got no action. Unrequited love was probably the defining experience of my adolescence, and I always felt really alone with that. For a long time, I honestly thought I was the only person I knew who had never kissed anyone in high school. Only later did I find out how wrong I was about that.
(Creek Secrets, November 2017)