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…

Just a Few Inches

                Hello happy readers!  First announcement the giveaway for a SIGNED copy of The Winner’s Kiss by Marie Rutkoski closes tonight!  This weekend was pretty eventful for me, I spent all day Saturday with my family which was fun (my dad also hooked up my back-up camera so score!) and the other days were spent sleeping, reading, and baking/cooking.  I tried a couple new ideas for baking with grasshopper cookies and tiramisu cupcakes and they are currently being taste tested by my co-workers.  Some of the reading I did was to pick up Justa Few Inches by Tara St. Pierre.  I received a copy from the author for an honest review.

Rating: 4 Stars

                Just a Few Inches is a YA contemporary novel with a small sci-fi element that deals with body image, self-esteem, and teenage relationships with both friends and family.  Carrie likes herself well enough but she would like to be a little more or less in some areas; a bit larger chest and a bit less overall weight.  She’s a cheerleader and has a star basketball player boyfriend and two amazing best friends, her life is good.  But as her boyfriend’s ex starts to become more flirtatious with him again Carrie feels more pressure than before to find the perfect dress to the Valentine’s Day Dance.  She finds it.  THE dress is perfect, but she is a few inches away from it zipping and no amount of exercise or dieting will work in the time she has so she succumbs to an ad for weight loss pills promising a quick solution.  Just a few inches slimmer is the goal.  Dance day and all is perfect in life until days later she begins to notice she is no longer her usual size.  She wasn’t losing a few inches the way she imagined but instead was shrinking.  She much work with her doctors to find a cure while leaning on her family and friends and taking a hard look at what has happened to her.

                 I’m past my high school days and while I do accept my body much more now than I ever thought possible back in school I’m still not comfortable with it all the time.  I have a better understanding over time though and my feelings are based more on health than other things like in the past.  Just a Few Inches tackles the whole concept of body image in a way that forces one character to reflect on it in the most extreme way possible.  Carrie is shrinking and not how she’d hoped and also not stopping.  There are impossible standards put before us at such a young age these days from filters to airbrushing and more from magazines and TV/movies it’s all there.  Last night I even counted the amount of diet/weight loss ads I saw in only four hours: twelve different ads some playing multiple times.  I liked Carrie because she knew the ads were a joke and the media was manipulating her into thinking she needed them but even knowing that logically her brain and heart still were ready to do anything to fit into the perfect dress.  I could reflect back and think this book may have been even more impactful back when I was in school and was dealing with the issues in a more immediate way. 

                 Relationships are one of the most important things in this book and something I really enjoyed.  Both with her family and friends there were ups and downs.  Carries family is a combo of her and her younger her step-sister and her half-sister and her mom and stepdad.  Siblings can be difficult on a good day and monsters on others I know and I liked the way the author captured that.  She really brought in how the matter not only effected Carrie but those around her.  She also has her two best friends Trish and Lauren who I loved and totally could see as some of my friends.  They both have their own different personalities that play off one another well and it’s easy to see why they are friends.  Another character I enjoyed was Evan and how he worked through the story, from her co-editor on the school paper who is constant.

                Another character and subplot I enjoyed was that of rival cheerleader and all around mean girl Janelle.  Around this time I also came to my slight issue.  Carrie was much more forgiving than anyone I ever knew.  Some of the things people do to her that she just moves on from with understand are things I would have lost my mind over.  I could see it showing as while she was getting smaller physically she was being a bigger person in whole and I like the symbolism there but personally some things that people got away with rubbed me the wrong way.  Even knowing the circumstances I had no sympathy.  I recently watched a movie I can’t remember the title of but it popped up on Netflix about a teen who is bullied and things around it and I remember at the end it was how the bully didn’t realize she was so mean and she had some issues of her own which while I understand I don’t think anything you go through gives you the right to bully others to make yourself feel better.  But I digress that could be a whole post in and of itself.

                The way things played out as she got smaller and smaller and the challenges she faced each and every day were something insane.  Some I thought of immediately being an issue but other things brought up I never would have thought of and now they make me think about The Borrowers or Thumbelina a bit differently.  I’m 5’7 and can generally reach most things without assistance but the idea of not being able to any longer is disconcerting. 

                Overall the book was a quick read and it was sweet and cheesy at times but it was good and more importantly it has a good message.  I think most can relate to the story and see some aspect of their current or past selves in her.  I would recommend this as a good perspective book and definitely for anyone currently in middle school or high school.  I am glad to have read this story.  I’d love to hear your thoughts on the book or the premises in the comments below. 

                Until next time…