The World of Becky Albertalli
You may have heard of Simon Vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli, or it’s movie version, Love, Simon. The universe doesn’t end there!
If you loved Simon Spier, meet Molly Peskin-Suso in The Upside of Unrequited. She could not be any different from her twin sister, Cassie. Molly is fat, shy, and has had 26 unrequited crushes on boys. Cassie, an always supportive sister, is no stranger to dating and urges Molly to be more assertive. It just takes one summer for Molly to embrace her dating life and no longer be unrequited.
In Leah in the Offbeat, we meet “resident fat Slytherin” Leah Burke, best friend to Simon Spier and closeted bisexual drummer. Sure, her friends would be open to Leah’s sexual orientation, but she’s a little preoccupied by her college search and her friend groups breaking up. The world tilts further off its axis when she realizes her feelings for Abby, who is currently in a hetero relationship with one of her oldest friends, Nick.
Though both protagonists are fat, this is not the center of their problems. For great fat representation from a self-identified fat woman, meet Molly and Leah.
Photo credits: https://www.amazon.com/Leah-Offbeat-Becky-Albertalli/dp/0062643800 and https://www.amazon.com/Upside-Unrequited-Becky-Albertalli/dp/0062348701