Not Here To Be Liked by Michelle Quach

By Lean and Love �� - December 02, 2022

Tittle      : Not Here To Be Liked
Author        : Michelle Quach
Pub Date : September 14, 2021
Pages         : 384
My Rating : ★★★

The Summary

It wasn't in the plan to fall in love. Eliza Quan is certain that she will be chosen as the upcoming editor-in-chief of her school newspaper. She puts in a lot of effort, respects the truth, and has the most expertise. Star baseball player Len DiMartile is wounded, and it appears like he joined the newspaper merely to have something to do. Len is unsurprisingly chosen by the staff to be their new leader. Eliza is not currently here to be liked, despite the fact that they may respect her even though they don't particularly like her. She is here to triumph. But Eliza is liked by someone. A lot. It's unfortunate that the boy is preventing her from becoming editor-in-chief.

My Review

This book has a lot of potential, other from the fact that it wasn't really for me. But I'm trying to look at things both from my own and other people's viewpoints.

First of all, this was truly awesome. It was like the ultimate YA romcom contemporary, with the right amount of clichés, friends, and a heartwarming rivalry romance. This book was fun and simple to read, which is why I really liked it. I guess a movie may be made out of this book.

The complexity of the issues the book discussed pleased me as well. The book also touches on a variety of important topics. You have moments where race and the many experiences of race are mentioned without it turning into a drawn-out debate or the characters discussing oppression.

The only parts of this book that I didn't like were how the term "feminist" was used and how it was defined. It's encouraging to see women of this age make an impression in a stuffy environment. These young people, however, may not have fully understood that what they were supporting wasn't exactly feminism.

So, yes, I will admit that I became fairly furious, especially with the MC! Still, hey! I have to keep reminding myself that high school was just high school, with all the drama being drama. I mean, when we look back, this is how high school ought to have been. There must be a point in each person's life when they tend to think naively, but as they enter the real world, they realize that's not how things are done.

It is obvious that this book wants to educate readers and tell a thoughtful tale about how to live in a complex world that continuously raises the standard and seems to expect perfection, and I really appreciate that. However, I would prefer if the book avoided such serious subjects because of how it was executed, while still promoting diversity and focusing more on romance.

This book, in my opinion, is written with a younger readership in mind, and there isn't enough space in it for the more in-depth analysis that I personally would have like. All things considered, though, I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes YA contemporary.

My ratings score:

★★★★★ Fantastic! Made me go through a lot of emotions & the entire book is incredibly beautifully done!

★★★★ Memorable! Despite its shortcomings, this book was incredible and taught us a lot.