TAYSHAS #12

The Upside of Unrequited by Becky Albertalli

This book keeps popping up everywhere I go--Target, surfing the web, etc.--so when I saw it made the list this year, I knew I would read it. I'm glad I did, and it really didn't take too long to read. I started it Friday and finished today (Sunday), so it's a quick read.

Molly is seventeen. She's a twin, and has two moms. She's had 27 crushes and has never been kissed. At the beginning of the book, she meets a girl, Mina, in the bathroom at a club who turns out to be perfect for her twin, Cassie. They hit it off, and on a ride on the subway, Molly meets and is slightly attracted to Mina's friend, Will.

Because Cassie and Mina hit it off so well, this seems to become the beginning of the twins growing apart. Neither of them wants this necessarily, but it is something that happens when one finds someone else to love. Cassie and Mina try to get Will and Molly together, but there's a snag: Molly works with a boy named Reid, and she kinda has a thing for him.

Add to this that the Supreme Court ruling allowing gays to marry across the country, so Cassie and Molly's moms decide to get married. This adds extra turmoil around the house to go with the dating and growing apart thing. It's complicated, but a delight to read.

Much like most of the young adult literature I read, I enjoyed this one because it had a realistic quality to it. Molly and Cassie and Mina and Reid could all be real people, and the experiences they have could be real too. THAT is why I liked this book.