The Upside of Unrequited: A Review

Molly has had a lot of crushes—twenty-six in fact—but they’ve never led anywhere. She’s never gone on a date or been kissed. Molly doesn’t necessarily mind that. But sometimes it’s hard to feel so awkward and chubby while her twin sister Cassie never has trouble connecting with the girls she likes.

This summer all of that might change when Molly connects with a cute boy named Will on the train. But it turns out turning a crush into something more isn’t easy. It’s even harder with helping to plan her moms’ wedding and her summer job. Then there’s Reid, Molly’s cute but nerdy coworker who is making her question all of the things she thought she knew about the type of guy she’d fall for in The Upside of Unrequited (2017) by Becky Albertalli.

The Upside of Unrequited is a cute standalone contemporary romance that puts a fat girl center stage while also offering a story that is about a lot more than Molly’s weight. Molly is a sweet and relatable main character. While her crushes can lead to flights of fancy she also stays grounded while focusing on planning her moms’ wedding now that they can finally get married. Molly and Cassie’s changing relationship as Cassie falls in love for the first time adds another dimension to the story.

Unfortunately, this one fell totally flat for me. I disliked Molly’s narrative voice a lot. She was a bit too twee for my tastes. I also knew I was going to have a hard time with this story when it opened in a public bathroom. It all just felt like Molly and the story were trying a bit too hard to be appealing.

The Upside of Unrequited is an obvious choice for fans of Albertalli’s other novels. A likely winner for readers looking for a more inclusive contemporary romance as long as they can buy into the voice.

Possible Pairings: Little & Lion by Brandy Colbert, Once and For All by Sarah Dessen, The Romantics by Leah Konen, Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour, Save the Date by Morgan Matson, Love and Other Foreign Words by Erin McCahan, What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones

Down and Across: A Review

Scott Ferdowski is a great quitter. For as long as he can remember he has had a trail of abandoned hobbies and projects. While his best friends are driven and certain of their futures Scott just feels like he’s floundering. How can he find his passion when he can’t even commit to breakfast?

Scott’s parents want him to succeed and get serious about a secure career path like engineering or medicine. Scott isn’t sure what he wants but he knows it isn’t that.

When he hears about a professor who specializes in grit, the psychology of success, Scott thinks she might be able to help him figure out how to change. All he has to do is quit his internship and run away to Washington, DC. It won’t even be that hard with his parents away visiting Scott’s grandfather in Iran.

Scott doesn’t expect to find an adventure when he runs away. It doesn’t feel momentous as he steps onto bus or even when he first meets Fiora and Trent.

Fiora is passionate about crossword puzzles and wants nothing more than to write them. Trent is trying to land his dream job in politics. But, like Scott, they’ve each hit their own road blocks. Can three misfits really help each other to find their passions over the course of one unexpected summer? Scott isn’t sure. But he’s about to find out in Down and Across (2018) by Arvin Ahmadi.

Find it on Bookshop.

Down and Across is Ahmadi’s debut novel and it is fantastic.

Like a lot of teenagers, Scott isn’t sure what he wants to do with his life. Add to that growing pressure from his parents (especially his father) to commit to something (anything) and Scott is feeling completely overwhelmed. Scott’s efforts to balance his Iranian heritage with his life as an American teen is equally difficult–it’s why he has been going by Scott since kindergarten instead of his real name “Saaket.”

Scott’s first person narration is thoughtful and endearing. Although he doesn’t start the novel with much self-awareness he does reach a new understanding of grit as it relates to his surprisingly eventful summer and beyond. While there is a heavy focus on the mechanics of writing a crossword puzzle it serves to enhance the story and Scott’s learning process mirrors the ways in which Scott’s view of his world (and himself) changes over the summer.

Down and Across is a smart, subtle novel about growing up and embracing who you are–even if you might not have it all figured out just yet. Recommended.

Possible Pairings: Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Gap Life by John Coy, Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel by Sara Farizan, Paper Towns by John Green, We Deserve Monuments by Jas Hammonds, Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram, The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan, The Beginning of Everything by Robyn Schneider, Odd One Out by Nic Stone, This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura, Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood, The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

All Our Yesterdays: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

“You have to kill him.”

Locked up in a government facility, Em marks time by staring at the drain in the center of her cell or talking to her fellow prisoner through the wall between their cells. Then, of course, there are the interrogation sessions with the Doctor. But Em tries not to think about those. Or the Doctor.

The only thing keeping her going is the list of instructions written in Em’s own handwriting. Em has tried everything she can think of to prevent the completion of a time machine that will break the world. The list proves that well enough.

But none of her attempts have worked and now Em is left with one last, terrible option.

Marina has loved her neighbor James since forever. More, even, than she loves herself sometimes. Quiet, focused James finally might be seeing Marina as more than a friend when one disastrous night changes everything. Everything Marina previously knew will be thrown into question as she struggles to protect James at any cost.

Em and Marina stand on opposite sides in a race to protect time. Only one of them can come out alive in All Our Yesterdays (2013) by Cristin Terrill.

All Our Yesterdays is Terrill’s first novel.

Alternating between Em and Marina’s narratives, Terrill has created a story that intertwines and connects in clever, unexpected ways. The time travel elements here are wonderfully plausible and key to the plot and all of its surprise reveals.

In addition to an action-packed adventure, All Our Yesterdays is a well-paced, meditative story about the strengths (and limits) of friendship. At the same time Terrill offers a thoughtful, subtle development as Marina come into her own and starts to learn to love herself.

With light science fiction (time travel) elements All Our Yesterdays is a great starting point for readers looking to give sci-fi a try as well as veteran readers. The other arcs regarding friendship and causality promise that this book has a lot to offer every reader. Highly recommended.

Possible Pairings: Loop by Karen Akins, Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson, Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, The Darkest Part of the Forest by Holly Black, Passenger by Alexandra Bracken, The Infinity of You & Me by J. Q. Coyle, Malice by Pintip Dunn, Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey, The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig, Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta, Hourglass by Myra McEntire, Soulprint by Megan Miranda, Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein, Paper Valentine by Brenna Yovanoff

*This book was acquired for review from the publisher at BEA 2013*

Being Sloane Jacobs: A Chick Lit Wednesday Review

Sloane Emily Jacobs isn’t sure about her supposed comeback to competitive figure skating. If she can’t start landing her jumps and getting triples again her comeback might end up very short-lived. At least the frustrations and pressure of figure skating can give her a chance to get away from her family and pretend she doesn’t know the truth about her father’s indiscretions or the depths of her mother’s oblivion.

Ice hockey is a bright spot in Sloane Devon Jacobs’ otherwise dim life. Her mother is gone, her dad is busy, and Sloane might be a little angrier than she should be. Possibly all the time. With hockey as her one and only ticket to a different life, Sloane is in for a big problem when she is suspended from the team right when scouts might finally start paying attention.

One chance meeting for these unlikely named girls changes everything when they swap places for a summer at skating camp. In their efforts to avoid real life both Sloanes find more than they bargained for and possibly exactly what they needed to know in Being Sloane Jacobs (2014) by Lauren Morrill.

Being Sloane Jacobs alternate between Sloane Emily and Sloane Devon’s first person narrations with handy headings labeled for each character. The headings are especially handy as, without benefit of external details like Sloane Emily’s rich family or Sloane Devon’s hard knock hockey persona, the two heroines have a habit of blending together.

The story is perfectly fun and easy to read so long as you can go along with the premise of these girls swapping lives. Being Sloane Jacobs has a vibe very similar to The Parent Trap with rich Sloane Emily and poor Sloane Devon swapping lives but in a cute, non-irritating way that mostly works. It was difficult to understand why–in a world of need-based aid, state schools, loans and merit scholarships–Sloane Devon would have no other option to get to college but for an athletic hockey scholarship although it is also an area outside of my expertise.

Morrill’s writing is snappy and moves the plot along (although jarring slang that seemed dated in comparison to the modern story did often turn up) and–when the Sloanes converge–creates a seamless plot with clever moments of overlap as the two girls assess each other. The story here is a fun blend of serendipity, athletics and romance that is ideal for readers who want a dose of sports in their books. Being Sloane Jacobs is definitely a lighter read that will leave readers smiling.

Possible Pairings: Tumbling by Caela Carter, Girl Overboard by Justina Chen, Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach, 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, Drawing the Ocean by Carolyn MacCullough, Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins, The Shadow Society by Marie Rutkoski, A Map of the Known World by Lisa Ann Sandell, Pivot Point by Kasie West, How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr