Published: 11th April 2017
Source: Netgalley
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
My Rating:
Seventeen-year-old Molly Peskin-Suso knows all about unrequited love-she's lived through it twenty-six times. She crushes hard and crushes often, but always in secret. Because 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. Will is funny, flirtatious, and just might be perfect crush material. Maybe more than crush material. And 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 an awkward Tolkien superfan, and there's absolutely no way Molly could fall for him. Right?
I have been wanting to read this book ever since I first heard about it and so I was majorly daunted by it when I got approved on Netgalley. I mean, I’ve hyped it up majorly in my mind so I was scared to read! Luckily, I saw Nick review it and she enjoyed it so I decided to put my big girl pants on just getting reading. Good thing I have Nick around to tell me what to read, isn’t it?
If I had to describe my immediate feelings for this book upon finishing in a single gif it would be this:
This book was freaking adorable. I mean, there was lots of teen drama and stuff happening but it was also the cutest!
It's strange, it sort of began with Molly being cute and meeting a quirky girl in the toilet (Mina) and the inevitable making friends in toilets (this always happens in clubs and I love it). It then had the greatest meet cute for Mina and Cassie (Molly’s sister) with the awkward merge of friends which always occurs. It then turned into an awkward teenage angst thing as Cassie became invested in her relationship with Mina leaving Milly to feel alone. It had Molly doing the ‘will they, won't they’ thing with Will and Reid and then the book turned back to a teenage cute-fest that is Molly and Reid.
As I said, it felt a bit strange.
I mean, the book stayed cute all the way through but there was a slight change in tone as Molly fell into that pit of obsessing which happens when you start overthinking things and know you are and simply cannot stop yourself no matter how much you try. She became anxious within the book and definitely had some self-esteem issues to deal with but it all felt so very genuine.
I think that's what I really loved about this book. Albertalli really knew how to describe the thought process of a slightly obsessive, anxious person. I cannot claim to suffer from anxiety but I am an anxious person when I let myself be and so I could totally understand Molly's entire thought process in this book. Even when she was being totally crazy and you wanted to stop her all I could think is ‘I've been there’. That feeling of reality within the book is what made me fall in love. That and the really amazing characters.
The characters were the best. I loved Molly with every fibre of my being. She was quirky and creative without even realising it. She basically lived the Pinterest life and you just know you would never be able to recreate the cool things she makes because no one can. Pinterest fail is a thing. Molly was sassy, though. She was freaking hilarious. I loved her with her sarcasm and awesomeness. And her twin, Cassie was awesome. Sure, she could be selfish at times. Who isn’t at seventeen? But she was there for her family and friends when needed ready to cut a bitch who was giving anyone the side eye. And those two together, sure they fought and argued but they were such brilliant sisters who were close and figuring out how to stay close as they grew up and had new people in their lives who were as important as family. I mean, that is a difficult thing to learn.
And Reid whose cheeks and I want to smush and I just want to take him everywhere in my pocket because the boy be cute. Just, ugh, I am fully in love with Reid. I am not convinced boys like that existed when I was at school but there should have been because I would have loved him.
Molly and Cassie's moms! Honestly, they were parent life goals. It’s so fun to see parents I recognise in books because they are similar to my own. I may not have two moms but their general attitude to parenting is so like my mom and stepdad. I love it. They were involved and they were ready to call Cassie and Molly out on things but they were never too involved and controlling. They allowed them both to make their mistakes because parents should let their children make the mistakes and learn because how else will they learn?
Basically, in my slightly spoilerish flailing I have to say I loved it. I loved the writing. I loved the book and I am sat here questioning why the hell I've not read Albertalli's first book? My fear of reading was unfounded and crazy and I will undoubtedly be reading this again in the future.
Have you read this, what did you think? What was the last brilliantly fluffy book that you simply had to tell everyone about repeatedly?
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