What’s also brilliant about this is that as well as gender stereotypes, it smashes the stereotype of the romance novel too. I absolutely loved the main character, Eliza. Referencing the Bechdel Test at one point, this book passes it with flying colours. Eliza’s friendships, family, activism and professional development are given far more focus than the romantic elements of the story. This seems to be a standard enemies to lovers story, and it is, but it’s also so much more. It’s about feminism, being Asian in the US, and of course love. 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! 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.

I also really loved Mariko Turk’s The Other Side of Perfect , a deeply emotional story about a ballet dancer whose life changes when she breaks her leg. The writing is beautiful, the conflicts are painfully realistic, and the romance is just so good. We see a lot of Eliza’s family in this book and witness, through her eyes, her experience as a daughter of Vietnamese and Chinese immigrants. We also get to see how other family dynamics are reflected onto characters like Winona (Eliza’s best friend) and Len (“face of the patriarchy”). Why did you find it important to show the effects of family on these teens?

Look, I’m sorry.” I say. “I don’t know what you want from me.” “I don’t want anything.” He shrugs, as if it’s absurd that I’d think anything I did could possibly bother him. Even though I’m trying to apologize, it pisses me off. “What do you want me to say, Len?” I wave his laptop like I’m about to throw it across the room. “Nothing.” He eyes the computer as it dangles from my hand but he doesn’t break his calm. “Say whatever you want, I don’t care.” — do these people have chemistry cuz this didn’t make me feel a single thing ugh Today is the annual Bugler election, in which you will have the opportunity to select your next editor in chief. This is, as you know, a unique tradition among student newspapers, one that our forebears instituted out of a deep respect for the power of democracy. Cherish this privilege to choose who leads you, and vote wisely. As your current fearless leader, I know I leave colossal shoes to fill— The discussion questions at the end are brilliant! I will be adding Not Here to Be Liked to our book club list at school to read and discuss. Or take another example: the aforementioned Bugler election. The Bugle’s editor in chief is always chosen the way Harry was that very first year—by popular vote among the staff. Harry, as the story goes, maneuvered it so that he, and not Lisa Van Wees, also class of ’87, would get to be editor in chief, because everyone knew she was their adviser’s favorite. Harry has denied this; Lisa could not be reached for comment.

I received this book for free from NetGalley, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Look, I get it. Tampons are embarrassing. Periods are embarrassing. PMS, for some reason, is not, but that’s because it has somehow become a synonym for being in a bad mood while female. The whole specific business with the bleeding, though, is still not cool, except in certain woke corners of the internet. (...) I mean, the woman spent the past twenty-five years of her life assembling school lunches, and that’s how he starts the story? i thought a sound plot of the book would be for Eliza to realize she lost not because of Len being a guy, but instead being supportive of him and realizing she can learn how to be a more understanding leader from him... but NOOOOooooWe follow Eliza, a Chinese-Vietnamese-American teen who is the managing editor of her high school newspaper. She's not here to be liked and doesn't need to (spoiler: we like her anyway or maybe because of it). She knows she will be voted as next year's editor in chief, not only because there's no one better for the job, but there's also no one running against her. Until there is. So yeah, the story was already problematic for me right from the start, but I thought, Hey surely the romance and the feminism movement will be amazing! The ROMANCE, it was sooooo cute. Len was a bit hot and cold so wasn’t sure where it was going but the development throughout the book was wonderful, and I loved them together! It takes me a minute to understand. “Are you trying to say that tampons aren’t allowed on the morning announcements?”

I admire how this was written, the imperfections that were shown, the human nature, and the unsureness and uncertainty at times that Eliza displayed. I think this will help some teens understand feminism a little better and provoke them into discovering more about themselves and what their own views are. I scrunch up my face—one eye squinted, nose wrinkled, tongue lolled out sideways. “You don’t think I’m pretty?” I joke, trying to talk and hold the expression at the same time.The Wall of Editors is the first thing I see every morning when I walk into Mr. Powell’s classroom for zero period. And every time, even if just for a second, I pause to admire it, reminding myself of what I’m working toward. Because here’s the truth—at Willoughby, when you make it into that lineup, it means you mattered. Like being school president, the other top position on campus, being editor in chief of the Bugle means becoming part of an institution. Even if you end up doing a totally worthless job, your spot in history will be preserved forever. You’ll always be able to say, Well, at least I made it on the wall. I’d say Serena, the cool girl who plays an unexpected role in Eliza’s movement. Behind the megawatt smile and flawless skin, she’s a regular Machiavelli. But it’s weird to have Dr. Guinn tell me how embarrassing periods are. The man has never had one in his life—why does he get to have an opinion about it? Dr. Guinn studies me for a moment. (...) “I’m just trying to ensure that this is an environment where everyone feels comfortable.” I absorbed this book, I could not put it down. Whilst there is a warning in the synopsis of this book for an unlikable female character, Eliza grew on me regardless. I loved how she questioned her values and was constantly growing throughout the story., She was a strong independent female character and I found myself rooting for her. Whilst this book was just told from Eliza’s perspective, I would have loved to see Len’s and how he felt at certain points of this story. He was a very interesting character and I really liked what we saw of him.

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

Format

She even said that she wants people to know her for her brains not for her beauty, because apparently girls can only choose one.