Review: Not Here To Be Liked

 

So I feel like I'm on like four cups of espresso and a whole bag of double shot espresso jelly beans, because I have 6 tabs on google on right now. It already irks me to have more than four tabs and I'm on thin ice with five but six! But then again, I'm writing this blog, reading another book AND a manga at the same time while editing for my instagram post of this blog. See, everything is for you guys and you won't even hug me for it. Hmph.

Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach is the story of Eliza Quan. Eliza Quan has always dreamt of being the editor in chief of the Bugle, the newspaper of her school and she's almost on the verge of being so, until at the last moment the ever handsome Len stands up against her and takes it away from her. When her essay about her frustration goes viral, Eliza finds herself leading a feminist movement quaking high school and, perhaps falling for the face of patriarchy as well.

QUICK THOUGHTS AND REVIEW: 3.7/5, CUTE STORY, REMINDED  ME OF "MADE IN KOREA" BY SARAH SUK. 

PROS:

1. Relaxing read: Yeah, this is a fact that I will most certainly not admit in books often. Most books take me through an entire tsunami of emotions which is in fact something I enjoy. But this book made me relax a bit which I absolutely adore.

2. Easy going people: I loved how no one was very much tensed or too mature for their age. It was just a normal town, with laid back people who did what they enjoyed doing; though the feminist thing was  a solid.

3. Take on feminism and misogyny: I think that was the main point throughout the book. Len did kind of strike me as a feminist considering he was the one who posted the manifesto and caused the huge drama. But seriously, the take on feminism is strong. Like seriously, people discriminate on a daily basis if a person is AFAB. I am AFAB and people REFUSE to accept I use he/him/his. And they think of me as some weak person who will need a man to support me. No, I don't want a man who thinks he needs  to fucking "protect" me. Nope. I want independence and if that ends up in me being single forever, so be it.

4. The plot twist in the end though.

CONS:

1. I think it might be because it's a debut novel, that this book isn't quite having the spark that I want to see in a romance book? Like it lacks the stuff. I read it and I was like "I read a romance book, aight."

2. I don't know how the dynamic between Len and Eliza developed. I feel like I missed out on a major part of it. Maybe because I'm dumb or sumn ig.

MOST FAVOURITE CHARACTER:

Personally, I think it's Serena Hwangbo. As much as I'd like to say Len or Winona's name, I don't think they contributed much to the story as much as Serena did I guess. 

Personally, I'd like to thank that asphalt sweater but then again, inanimate objects.

But seriously, Serena is top notch girlboss. She actually breaks up with her shitty boyfriend and supports Eliza with her shit when Winona doesn't. No hate on Winona though, she was angy.

OVERALL, AN OKAY READ, I love the take on feminism as I've said before.