first of all, this book felt like it would give good enemies to lovers banter but the banter was so boring throughout the book, and look... i’m a pretty romantic person. so it’s easy to give me butterflies... but this book was so cliche that i felt bored af. i'm over the public displays of affection like public speeches in school microphones or tv, everyyybody caring about the main character’s EVERY move (this makes the story artificial because everyone knows 100% this does not happen in real life), the miscommunication trope, and neither did i feel the couple had much chemistry. at first, i thought Eliza was being insufferable because she was going to have great character development but instead it made the message of the book lose itself completely — at least, what i hope the message of equality was. She antagonized Len for winning an election democratically, fair and square. He had done nothing wrong, he was always nice to everyone including her. And she never apologized to him for the insults she posted online, for treating him badly, or for making him the bad guy. To discuss such, ah, personal matters on the air, especially in an educational setting, is really quite in poor taste.”

content warnings: racism, slut-shaming, sexism and misogyny, internalized misogyny, consumption of alcohol, public vandalism, bullying.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. SO BASICALLY, feminism felt superficial. The main character didn't really know what feminism was about and just used the words "feminism", "misogynistic" and "sexism" as protection to do anything she wanted. The purpose of the feminist movement didn't feel like it was to educate others, it was just so Len would resign so she could get the position she so badly wanted. It occurs to me then what a singular moment this is: here I am, inexplicably in solidarity with Serena Hwangbo, the girl whose entire student-council tenure has been based on nothing but marginally considerate behavior and attractive boyfriends. Feminism is a funny thing.” Look, I get it. Tampons are embarrassing. Periods are embarrassing. (...) The whole specific business with the bleeding, though, is still not cool, except in certain woke corners of the internet. (...)

i think some things were also taken a bit extreme? idk im just really sad that i couldnt like this book and connect with it which i guess is more my fault then the book in itself the academic rivals to lovers couldve been brought out more (yes i know this isn’t solely on romance) since imo it was rushed. there was also drama between them which i thought was very middle school vibes so i didn’t really like that either. What I loved about Not Here to Be Liked is that it explores feminism from an intersectional lens. The story never tries to be a playbook on feminism, but it portrays feminism in its most real: that advocacy and social justice aren't these neat things, but also involve this messy process of learning, unlearning, and figuring out the grey, complicated areas. 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. Now, I don’t believe in self-aggrandizing, never have. You’re only as good as your facts, I like to say, in journalism and in life. Here are mine:

Author Luke Palmer introduces his new book, Play (Firefly Press) about four boys growing up together, the challenges, the friendships, and what hap... 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. Because feminism, contrary to popular belief, isn’t about hating on guys like me. It’s all about all of us working toward equality, together.” Not Here To Be Liked is a wonderful contemporary, a mix of light romance and important discussions. This is definitely debut to not be missed!

Michelle Quan handles such an important topic beautifully and rises all the right questions. Also, the rep in this is great. Bottomline: add this to your TBR and thank me later! the whole point of the book is that Eliza runs against Len to be chief in their school newspaper, and everybody votes for Len, and she blames it on the fact that he’s a boy, and she’s a girl. i’m not saying that doesn’t happen all the time in the real world, but here.... i would’ve voted for Len. he displays better leadership qualities. that’s it. no genders involved. The winners of The Farshore Reading for Pleasure Teacher Awards 2023, highlighting the work schools are doing to encourage a love of reading, have...i did like how he played a role in the development of eliza. you also see a growth in him as well but the way they both open up to one another was really nice to see 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. She even said that she wants people to know her for her brains not for her beauty, because apparently girls can only choose one.

Today is the day that the staff of the Willoughby Bugle , my high school paper, will select its new editor in chief for next year. It’s a hallowed ritual, occurring around the same time every spring—and this year, being a junior, I finally get to be in the running. It showed that men can be feminists too. And I'm saying this because I know a lot of guys that think that feminism is just for women when it's literally about equality for EVERYONE. so I'm glad this book showed that. 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.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 it made the main character trash talk for the majority of the book, have realizations that are the BARE minimum and so few that when the book ended she is miles away from realizing how much she actually hurt and wronged the people around her. 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! But guess what? I would've voted Len, too. He gave a better speech!!! She just talked about her accomplishments instead of talking about why she wanted the position, why she likes being part of the paper... She just thought she was entitled to that position because of her accomplishments. Now, I'm not saying that Len was more qualified because he probably wasn't, but at least he isn't rude to everyone there like Eliza. She was disrespectful to everyone and expected them to vote for her? I loved the discussions around the male gaze, double standards of behaviour, and even cultural and generational divides when it comes to beliefs around feminism and the role of women.