Not Here To Be Liked

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How women are held upto certain beauty standards. They’re told what is beautiful and what’s not and how they’re taught from the beginning that beauty is what matters the most, which is extremely sexist so I appreciated that being discussed. essentially, it's not like by the end of the book eliza is a superhero who shifted how people think and changed the world forever and ever. (i mean, i wish.) in fact, it's interesting how the book is concluded; it's not pessimistic but hopeful and it's exactly what makes this story deeply realistic. it's done extremely well, with excellent execution in my opinion, and i applaud michelle quach for writing this fantastic debut novel. i cannot wait to read more from her! Not Here to Be Liked is a fierce coming of age story that had me cheering! Michelle Quach deftly explores intersectional feminism, first love, and complicated family relationships with honesty and heart." Elise Bryant, author of Happily Ever Afters

We’re following the long driveway to our carport when my phone buzzes. The text is from James Jin, the current editor in chief of the Bugle : It also focused on showing what feminism actually is compared to what people think it is. If you’re a feminist, it doesn’t mean you can’t be with a boy. Seeing Eliza’s struggles with having feelings for a boy AND being a feminist but then slowly coming to understand that both can exist was a nice addition to the story. finally, i’m going to leave (unfortunately just a few of the) snippets that personally made the me feel like Eliza had few redeemable qualities:The romance building with Len was lovely, they should hate each other but realise their views and beliefs aren’t so different. It added an extra layer of angst as well as areas for discussion, around hook-ups, relationships, even flirting, how men and women are viewed differently for the same actions. tbh i couldn’t connect with the book mostly because of the drama and how it was executed. personally, it just wasn’t really working and i felt detached with the book too i think i came into this book definitely with the wrong mindset which is my biggest regret The views on feminism in Not Here to Be Liked are something that I would expect in a young adult novel from the early 2000’s. Hell, even from within the last ten years I would have expected this. But we live in the world 2023 (this being published in 2021—so we’ll round down to the cursed year of 2020) and we should not be doing this. i liked how every character is flawed in their own way, especially len dimartile whose character surprised me a bit. the romance was cute and i wish we had more depth into that but i'll take what i get! i'm not a big fan of the entire cast though and i believe there was intention behind that from the author; i don't think all readers will agree on who's self-righteous and who's performative or who's there to be there, and that brings us to the heart of the story.

Before I begin, I just want to state that I know the target audience for young adult books is usually teenagers, and I am in no way a teenager anymore, but reading this and thinking of young teenagers also experiencing this book, really disappointed me. I think I would've liked this book a lot more if she was the main character instead of Eliza, I think I would've agreed more with her views. and Len... I liked how he called out Eliza on her bs and how he didn't let Eliza antagonizing him ruin his reputation, but instead joined the cause. I just wish he wouldn't have resigned. the themes in itself with talks on feminism, misogyny, sexism where great but the drama was not it for me. i personally would’ve liked a book on winona since i wasn’t really connecting with eliza.The book itself is about Eliza Quan, a Chinese/Vietnamese US teenager who is running for her editor in chief role at her school newspaper the Bugle which she has worked for years to get. However, she ends up losing to a very inexperienced journalist Len DiMartile which sparks a feminist movement within her school - as the question begins to come forward ‘why is it that males have these roles of power given so easily to them?’ …Although, things do start to get a bit complicated when she starts to have feelings for the boy, ‘the face of the patriarchy’. I have to admit, I choose this story because the British publisher is Usborne (Hideous Beauty, Ace of Spades, The Outrage, The Guilded Ones). Their choice of books is always spot on. Solid writing, interesting topics, diverse characters. he had a better speech, showed more interest, care, and understanding. he’s super smart too and knows how to find good angles for the stories, which is numerously recognized in the book, has good cooperation skills. knowing how to lead a team is more than having a lot of awards and papers under your belt. Eliza is known for being overly critical, she is super qualified but also that gives her in her head justification to judge everyone’s papers super harshly. she’s shown to be actually kind of scary to those around her in the paper and Len has a much calmer and serene posture and overall better leadership qualities. if Eliza was a guy, i would still have voted for Len. You definitely get it from your dad.” Mom is still pontificating on my facial calisthenics. “It’s such a bad habit.” Frustrated and outraged at the outcome of events, Eliza accidentally becomes the face of Willoughby's feminist movement. But theres just one problem; she might just just fall for the face of the patriarchy that she's trying to bring down along the way.

there are so many passages regarding her choice of wardrobe that i can’t make myself look up because i didn't save any of them but do i have to say this once in this review because it's mentioned SO MUCH: oversized sweaters are such a COMMON thing!!! every other girl in the world wears oversized sweaters!!! AGH. she just doesn't care about her appearance, she just wears sweaters and doesn't wear makeup. OH MY. aghhh I don't know if you can feel my frustration through the screen.

When Eliza's frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she's a gender equality champion and others who think she's simply crying misogyny. Not Here To Be Liked is the YA contemporary I needed! It follows Eliza Quan the hard-working managing director of her school's newspaper running for the post of editor-in-chief. And she's the perfect choice, until Len, the ex baseball star runs against her and wins. What follows is the start of a feminist movement in her school, questioning the sexist behaviour prevalent. Could it be,” I say, in as conciliatory a tone as I can manage, “that maybe it’s not an environment where everyone feels comfortable . . . if we’re not allowed to talk publicly about something that is a normal, healthy part of life for every menstruating student and teacher at Willoughby?”