A Book Review on “Not Here to Be Liked”

Definition of Feminism:

the advocacy of women’s rights on the basis of the equality of the sexes.

“Eliza Quan doesn’t need you to like her.

She puts in more hours than anyone else and isn’t afraid to speak her mind, which makes her the perfect candidate for editor-in-chief of her high school paper. At least 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 the girl who cried 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.”

“Not Here to Be Liked” is Michelle Quan’s debut book, and it’s set in the first-person view of the main character, Eliza Quan. It’s a romantic comedy involving ex-jock Len DiMartile, who was the star pitcher of the school’s baseball team before he hurt his elbow. And the same person who spontaneously decides to run against Eliza for the position of editor-in-chief for the Bugle, the school’s newspaper.

He also wins.

Despite the fact that Eliza has spent 2 more years in the Bugle than him, despite being more accomplished than him and having more credibility, and despite having pitched a concrete future vision for the Bugle on what she intends to achieve if she becomes the editor-in-chief with a solid plan on how she would follow through her vision, she loses.

And so, in frustration, she writes her feelings into a manifesto. Detailing how the Bugle is sexist, as well as how her school, Willoughby High, is also at fault for this.

‘A girl who seeks a leadership position must be smart, competent, hardworking, attractive, and above all, nice. She must be all of those things in order to stand a chance against a male opponent, who frequently only has to be some of those things and sometimes isn’t any of them. A guy who seeks a leadership position just has to try not to mess up much. Girls get judged for their past; guys get judged for their potential.’

She doesn’t finish it when the rest of the Bugle members come into the room, and instead closes the computer and leaves to go home, nerves rattled. Which means she doesn’t delete the manifesto. And then somehow, someone manages to get hold of her manifesto and decides to publish it.

But it doesn’t get taken down fast enough; Len DiMartile reads it, as well as the other Bugle members. Although Eliza doesn’t mean to, her manifesto spirals out of control when it’s published without her consent, and now she has to deal with the whole school coming at her while still trying to get the editor-in-chief position.

Now here’s my opinion:

Although feminism is a complex topic to write about, Quan incorporated it very well into the story, and a lot of subjects are touched upon in the story like how this may affect other girls differently just based on how they were raised. However, even if feminism is written well, there are still places where you’ll have different opinions on. So while I did enjoy the story, there are many parts I feel were brushed off and used only to further the plot or could’ve been articulated better.

The first few chapters at the beginning of the story are a bit clunky, but once you start getting to the middle of the book, that’s where the story really starts unfolding and using the world-building foundation that was laid out earlier. When you get to that part, you definitely feel immersed in the world that the author has built with her storytelling, and a rollercoaster of emotions and plot twists thrown at you, keeping you on your toes.

The main character shows you her strong and unwavering personality, which makes you understand and appreciate her a bit more, even if you dislike her or her actions.

Not only that, Quan explores Eliza’s relationships with the other characters beautifully, helping you understand their personality, struggles, and being. From seeing how Eliza interacts with other characters, the reader feels like they can actually get to know them, and not just some shallow side characters that are placed in the story to progress the main point, and never to be seen again after their use.

She makes their struggles relevant to the story and to the real world, therefore many people can relate to Eliza’s friends, her family, and the people around her.

The ending, however, is a bit regretful. It feels as though it’s been written off as a happily ever after ending, basically just Quan trying to wrap everything up and then slapping a ‘done’ stamp on it. Some parts leave you with unanswered questions, while others would’ve been more meaningful if pursued further, but have just kind of been left hanging and being added as a filler, whereas other scenes just don’t really make sense at all.

Typically, I don’t like romance at all, and I didn’t sense much chemistry between Eliza and Len. The feelings between each other felt like it just sprung up from nowhere, however Quan used the rivals-to-lovers trope pretty well, and it still made me curious about how their relationship would develop.

If I had to give it a rating, it would be a 4/5

Give it a read if you like something that’ll give you some angst.