Review: Not Here to Be Liked

Title: Not Here to Be Liked

Author: Michelle Quach

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication date: September 14, 2021

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Summary

Eliza knows that she’s got the position of editor-in-chief for her school newspaper in the bag. At least, she did, until Len DiMartile decides to run. When he wins, she knows it’s because he appears more likeable–and is a guy. After all, he didn’t do anything to actually earn the position.

So, Eliza writes out all of her frustrations in an essay, not planning on publishing it. But when her thoughts get published in the school newspaper without her consent, she starts a movement at her school she never planned on starting. Now, Eliza is the face of the feminist movement at school; but what happens when she starts falling for the guy who started it all?

Review: Not Here to Be Liked

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for an advanced copy of this to review! I’d been hearing some great things about this book and it was definitely right up my alley. This book not only has great characters, but it will also definitely make you think!

At the beginning, Eliza isn’t the most likeable character. However, this makes sense for her character arc. She doesn’t think she really needs to be liked by her fellow students in order to get where she wants to go. A lot of the book is her realizing that maybe letting people in is okay, and I loved the way her character was written. Everything about her journey felt so natural and worked well as a teenage character.

The secondary characters are just as fleshed out as Eliza. And they also bring some important points to the discussion of what we think of as feminism. Yes, this book takes place in a high school, but so much about what Eliza and her friends talk about regarding gender equality apply in a lot of different aspects of life. It really makes you think about your own version of feminism and whether it really includes gender equality of all kinds.

Eliza and Len also get to talk a lot about what it means to be Asian in America, and even though they both had different experiences, they find a lot of common ground. I think this is why their relationship feels natural in the book and they have such great chemistry.

The main reason this isn’t getting five stars is because I did think the pacing was a bit off in places. But overall, this was an enjoyable read and it will definitely prompt some good discussion!

4/5 stars