The Upside of Unrequited

                Hello happy readers!  I hope you are all excited for your weekend.  I’m working which is no fun but hey making the most of it.  Going to try and get some reading time in and take advantage of the summer time lag.  That said the other day I finished a book by an author I just adore and the book spoke to me and I can’t wait to discuss it with you.  That book is The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli.  I previously read and loved her book Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (which was made into Love, Simon) and I reviewed both here:  Book / Movie. 

Rating:  5 Stars

                Molly has had twenty-six crushes in her seventeen years of life.  Each one has been a secret from the other person and only known to her twin Cassie and her dear friends.  Molly can’t stand the idea of rejection and thus is careful because she’s overweight and finds it impossible anyone would want her that way.  Then her twin who kisses lots of girls and shares the details suddenly meets someone that turns her into a lovesick mess who doesn’t share things like she used to.  Now she is being left behind, unless she can woman up and go for it with funny and flirtatious hipster Will, best friend to her sisters crush.  Maybe she could stay centered with her sister and find her first kiss.  Only she has trouble talking to boys, well accept her new co-worker Reid who is into all things nerd who she couldn’t fall for right?

                So I have to start off with how much I loved this story.  I was so caught up in it from start to finish.  I related to Molly in ways I haven’t related to characters in the past.  She is me.  Her self-conscious fears, body issues, and over thinking fear is totally me for most of my life.  All of my teenage life and most of my adulthood.  I still have moments where I go there.  Seriously most of her thoughts I have had.  It was so surreal.  It also made Molly the most real character out there.  This book is full of diversity in all forms and expressed in such a positive way.  I loved that our MC was overweight and an overweight girl who likes to bake too.  She has all this real fear that anyone can suffer from in crushing on people.  Being rejected is horrible so many people in more than dating understand that.  She has two moms and Molly and her twin were from a sperm donor all of which is discussed and so much more.  I loved the way it was treated as normal because it is. 

“Even if he likes me, I’m not sure he’d like me naked.  I hate that I’m even thinking that.  I hate hating my body.  Actually, I don’t even hate my body.  I just worry everyone else might.  Because chubby girls don’t get boyfriends, and they definitely don’t have sex.  Not in the movies—not really—unless it’s supposed to be a joke.  And I don’t want to be a joke.”

                The characters were all unique and diverse and until I went to write this review I totally didn’t realize that a character from Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda  was in this but yep special guest appearance but I hadn’t read Simon in a while so I didn’t put two and two together until after.  That said I would say read Simon first just in case of spoilers.  Molly was my girl and I enjoyed getting to know Reid, he was kind of everything.  Cassie had her moments for me as I have had friends like her in the past who can mean well but sometimes push too hard or who suddenly disappear into a relationship.  But I loved the dynamic.  That this wasn’t just about relationships with boys or girls but between sisters.  Molly and Cassie are a central part of this and their bond.  The idea of growing apart.  That is just as scary if not more so than being rejected. 

                The Upside of Unrequited is a story about love in all its different forms.  The love you have for family in good and bad times.  The love you have for yourself flaws and all.  And of course the love for someone else.  There were so many amazing moments in this I couldn’t pick one for anything but one of my many favorites was the supermarket games, though I did take mild offense to the “crappy” song picks!  I still have them on my play list!  It made me laugh and full on ugly cry at one point.  Seriously I was going to finish a character I was on then go hang with my bestie and then that chapter just hit me and I had get a few more in to get to a less sad place.  Albertalli has a gift for hitting real emotional chords that is for sure!  I highly recommend her as an author for real authentic and diverse characters.  She gives them a voice, one I wish I had been able to read and enjoy while I was growing up.

                Until next time…

Movie Corner #5

                Hello happy movie fans!  So I have been horrible at reading the last couple weeks because I have just had so many plans and been out and about.  Good news is that means I’ve seen several movies with friends!  I saw several it's been a pretty great couple of movie weeks!  That said here is what I’ve seen:

Tomb Raider:  Stars

                First I should say I enjoyed the 90’s Angelina Jolie versions as great fun and at one point in time played the original Tomb Raider III PS1 game.  I sucked at it horribly but had fun.  Still I have always enjoyed the character and the stories.  So when I heard a new one was coming out I was both excited and not sure what to expect.  From the trailer I was excited for the story and action.  It seemed more like a prequel of sorts as we learn how Lara became the Tomb Raider that we know and love.  She is hard working and not just taking easy handouts if it went against her morals and I liked that.  She was fun and friendly but determined.  Then we dive into the mystery and things go fast.  The movie is action packed but also gave some really good performances that gave deeper death to the character and what makes her tick.  I really enjoyed myself and look forward to seeing it again. 

Love, Simon:  5 Stars

                So as many of you know I read the book this is based on Simone Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda some time back and reviewed it here.  I was super excited to see it made into a movie.  While it has been a while and some of the specific details were a bit hazy for me I know that I was thrilled with the movie.  My favorite part being when Blue is revealed and the entire audience of the ¾ full theatre gasped loudly.  I love when people who haven’t read the book are shocked by things us book people knew!  Also I found a few Easter eggs in there like some of the books on his shelf (the other book by the author and one from her good author friend) which brought me up.  There was a whole lot of emotions happening but it was a very uplifting and fun movie.  It had my friend and I laughing through large amounts of it and really enjoying it as a whole.  I seriously can’t wait to see this again. 

Annihilation:  3.5 Stars

               So this one I wasn’t sure about.  The trailer seemed beautiful but very vague as to the concept or at least the one I saw.  Still I had some people in my circle who were interested in seeing it and since it only had 2 showings a day I knew I had to see it soon or I would miss the chance like I did with some others so I decided to go for it.  It was very visually stunning for sure from the shimmer to what’s beyond.  I can’t really talk about it as having seen it I understand why the previews are vague because it’s a journey.  An experience.  I did enjoy it overall for what it was and am glad I have seen it but I think it’s a one time watcher for me. 

The Strangers:  Prey at Night:  4 Stars

                This movie was marred by the worst theatre experience I think I have ever had.  I went with a couple of friends who ended up walking out.  While I did force myself to stay most of the movie I was wishing one of the strangers would take out the rude and horrible people sitting behind us.  Seriously these four females yell-talked through the whole movie even taking a lengthy phone call in there.  When asked to quiet down in a polite way nothing but even louder talk.  Not even all of it was movie related either.  So putting that aside and focusing on the portion of the movie I did manage to catch as I am sure parts were missed it was an okay horror movie.  Some parts were uber cheesy but overall the horror aspects were pretty good.  People did stupid things and there was lots of screaming, running, and bleeding. 

Midnight Sun:  5 Stars

                So I have been interested in this movie for a while and this was which I picked to do the advance day opening of.  It looked like a cute sweet movie and the song in the trailer totally gets stuck in my head.  Seriously I have since downloaded it to my phone.  Anywho the story looked cute and made me want to see it.  It had lots of fun sweet moments while telling a story of a girl who is taking her chance at being more than a disease.  It pulls at your heart strings and gives you some laughs.  I really enjoyed this one. 

And last but not least…

Pacific Rim Uprising:  5 Stars

                So when the first movie came out I wasn’t super familiar with it and never saw it until it was on one of the movie channels and I finally saw it.  I really liked it.  I liked how different it was from anything I had seen around that time and when I found out they were making another I knew I’d see it much sooner.  That said it takes place years in the future and it was really cool to see the after.  Sure they saved the day in the first one closing the breach and stopping more monsters from coming up but each battle wrecked the cities and caused huge damage.  So seeing that the world was still working on rebuilding was cool.  Not a magically fix type thing.  We see new characters as well as old and things progress in a very interesting way.  I liked the characters and the action and I look forward to seeing it again and can totally see potential for future movies.

  

*****

                What movies have you seen recently?  What should I see?  This weekend I’m super excited to see Ready Player One!