Not Here to Be Liked by. Michelle Quach | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Not Here to Be Liked

Author: Michelle Quach

Format: eBook (Kindle Unlimited)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 9/14/21

Categories: Young Adult, Romance, High School, Feminism

Emergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get…when you fall for your enemy.

Eliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat because inexperienced Len—who is tall, handsome, and male—just seems more like a leader.

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.

Amid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization—she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself.

Content Warning: misogyny, bullying, sexism

Eliza has being Editor in Chief for the school newspaper, the Bugle, in the bag…or so she thought. Plans change when Len challenges her for the spot and wins.

Eliza’s a pretty strong character but not really likable. She kind of has tunnel vision when it comes to the Bugle – her whole life is about the Bugle. Eliza marches to the beat of her own drum. She is tenacious and doesn’t back down even when bad things happen, which I loved about her but she definitely had flaws. It’s nice that she represents the immigrant family and I like how it showed how children of immigrant parents they have to do things like help their parent with filling out forms or making phone calls because of the language barriers. I could relate to some of that!

The romance is very interesting. I can’t say I loved Len at first but I actually like how he calls Eliza out so many things. Both Len and Eliza had imperfections which I liked a lot and it’s very much a rivals to lovers trope but I loved that both of them weren’t totally likable – but they still made a cute couple by the end of the story.

Feminism, and sexism is a main theme of the book and though Eliza’s stances are strong, I thought it was interesting how different situations start too complicate her original feelings on these issues. I do wish she could have avoided that conflict with her best friend by just being honest.

Quotes from the Book:

“Because everyone loves a girlboss until she tries to tell you what to do.”

Michelle Quach – “Not Here to Be Liked”

Final Thoughts:

The more I learned about Eliza and Len, they grew on me and I was rooting for the romance by the end of the book. I like how the story touched on feminism, sexism and being a child of immigrant parents. I thought this was an entertaining story.

Book Links:

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