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its_isha's review against another edition
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
anouverlinden_'s review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
To say this had potential, would be an understatement. Sadly, it never quite reached said potential.
Like many have already said: there is nothing to be liked about this book.
The prospect of an asian teenage girl standing up against mysogynism in high school and starting a 'revolution' was intriguing but the story failed to deliver this. Instead we got a story about a girl who is so self absorbed that she blames her wrongdoings on the patriarchy and sexism. She is so certain of her righteousness that she fails to know/learn what feminism is all about, what it truly means to be a feminist (not just hating on guys). It really is quite sad when the male character in the book, that is about feminism and going against sexism, is more feminist than the girl, who is supposed to be the face of feminism.
Eliza is supposed to be unlikeable and I don't mind her being unlikeable and I get why she is unlikeable because 'a woman going against the stereotype of being docile and liked is feminist'. It is, however, the way Eliza acts that annoyed me (and as it seems a whole lot of other people). She really is the pinnacle of 'I'm not like other girls', and for being a supposed feminist she sure shows her dismay with the way other women like to go about their life. She shames women for wearing make-up and caring about their appearance, she shames women for having boyfriends and caring about mundane things (that don't involve feminism), like girl... I get it YOU ARE NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS, you are far worse. And I get the book was to be a learning experience for Eliza to really understand what feminism is really about but in the end, I did not get the feeling she really understood. To me, it was all still about 'no men can be in a leading position' and boohoo women who want a boyfriend because how unfeminist can you be!?!
Safe to say I did not like the way feminism was handled in this book. On the back is also mentioned a warning for intersectional feminism and I really do have to ask, where? The characters were all diverse and we got to see different cultures but that does not mean the book is about intersectional feminism. We got glimpses of Eliza's mom and her perspective on women - how she deals with the patriarchy, which is an amazing setup to delve deeper in the subject of intersectional feminism, except we don't go deeper. The mom gives amazing view points that not everything is the same for every women (the way white feminism portrays) but Eliza does not learn this, she does not accept this. This means the message of intersectional feminism is lost because the main character did not get it, she was too stuck on her own version of feminism, and therefore the message failed to come across to the readers. So, I would not call this intersectional feminism.
At the end, this all took place in highschool, like it is not that serious. Eliza gets mad she lost the election for chief editor and blames it all on the patriarchy, even though there are no signs given that the school is indeed sexist. In my opinion the school was even very tolerant because she got away with doing a lot of shit. But she expects others the vote for her when she has never tried to be friendly to them, which she does not have to but like this is an election, people vote for who they like, not the one with the most writing prizes. During her speech she only talks about her accomplishments and how many contests she has won, she never says why she would be a good chief editor. Len, on the other hand, talks about why he wants to it and why he thinks he would be a good fit. Sure, he is not better qualified for the position but at least his speech was more convincing. So Eliza lost because of her own fault, yet she blames the whole school of being sexist (make it make sense) while there are never any signs given that the people who voted, voted Len because they hated the idea of a woman being in charge. This is just a girl's incapability to own her loss, blown out of proportion. The way she demanded Len to step down because she so desparately wanted the position (with the excuse that a woman should have the position). And when he did step down, o my god, like how can she take that position and say 'women won' when she did not even get that fairly. The whole point Len stepped down was because he was cornered and he liked her. I am sorry but this no feminist win.
I'm sorry, enemies to lovers???? Len never hated Eliza and they never had any chemistry. She's constantely complaining that she can't be seen with him because he is 'the head of the patriarchy' (whatever that means) and a feminist is not supposed to have a boyfriend. How can a woman love a man when being feminist? we all know feminist are all lesbians, duh. But yeah, I don't get why they were involved, they were all so bland.
There are so many better books about feminism, even for YA, so this should just quietly dissapaer, to be honest. This is not the right message to give to a young audience. boo
Like many have already said: there is nothing to be liked about this book.
The prospect of an asian teenage girl standing up against mysogynism in high school and starting a 'revolution' was intriguing but the story failed to deliver this. Instead we got a story about a girl who is so self absorbed that she blames her wrongdoings on the patriarchy and sexism. She is so certain of her righteousness that she fails to know/learn what feminism is all about, what it truly means to be a feminist (not just hating on guys). It really is quite sad when the male character in the book, that is about feminism and going against sexism, is more feminist than the girl, who is supposed to be the face of feminism.
Eliza is supposed to be unlikeable and I don't mind her being unlikeable and I get why she is unlikeable because 'a woman going against the stereotype of being docile and liked is feminist'. It is, however, the way Eliza acts that annoyed me (and as it seems a whole lot of other people). She really is the pinnacle of 'I'm not like other girls', and for being a supposed feminist she sure shows her dismay with the way other women like to go about their life. She shames women for wearing make-up and caring about their appearance, she shames women for having boyfriends and caring about mundane things (that don't involve feminism), like girl... I get it YOU ARE NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS, you are far worse. And I get the book was to be a learning experience for Eliza to really understand what feminism is really about but in the end, I did not get the feeling she really understood. To me, it was all still about 'no men can be in a leading position' and boohoo women who want a boyfriend because how unfeminist can you be!?!
Safe to say I did not like the way feminism was handled in this book. On the back is also mentioned a warning for intersectional feminism and I really do have to ask, where? The characters were all diverse and we got to see different cultures but that does not mean the book is about intersectional feminism. We got glimpses of Eliza's mom and her perspective on women - how she deals with the patriarchy, which is an amazing setup to delve deeper in the subject of intersectional feminism, except we don't go deeper. The mom gives amazing view points that not everything is the same for every women (the way white feminism portrays) but Eliza does not learn this, she does not accept this. This means the message of intersectional feminism is lost because the main character did not get it, she was too stuck on her own version of feminism, and therefore the message failed to come across to the readers. So, I would not call this intersectional feminism.
At the end, this all took place in highschool, like it is not that serious. Eliza gets mad she lost the election for chief editor and blames it all on the patriarchy, even though there are no signs given that the school is indeed sexist. In my opinion the school was even very tolerant because she got away with doing a lot of shit. But she expects others the vote for her when she has never tried to be friendly to them, which she does not have to but like this is an election, people vote for who they like, not the one with the most writing prizes. During her speech she only talks about her accomplishments and how many contests she has won, she never says why she would be a good chief editor. Len, on the other hand, talks about why he wants to it and why he thinks he would be a good fit. Sure, he is not better qualified for the position but at least his speech was more convincing. So Eliza lost because of her own fault, yet she blames the whole school of being sexist (make it make sense) while there are never any signs given that the people who voted, voted Len because they hated the idea of a woman being in charge. This is just a girl's incapability to own her loss, blown out of proportion. The way she demanded Len to step down because she so desparately wanted the position (with the excuse that a woman should have the position). And when he did step down, o my god, like how can she take that position and say 'women won' when she did not even get that fairly. The whole point Len stepped down was because he was cornered and he liked her. I am sorry but this no feminist win.
I'm sorry, enemies to lovers???? Len never hated Eliza and they never had any chemistry. She's constantely complaining that she can't be seen with him because he is 'the head of the patriarchy' (whatever that means) and a feminist is not supposed to have a boyfriend. How can a woman love a man when being feminist? we all know feminist are all lesbians, duh. But yeah, I don't get why they were involved, they were all so bland.
There are so many better books about feminism, even for YA, so this should just quietly dissapaer, to be honest. This is not the right message to give to a young audience. boo
edgeofgreatness's review against another edition
4.0
eliza quan>>>>>
what more could i possibly ask of what is essentially a romance book
what more could i possibly ask of what is essentially a romance book
emilovelyangel11's review against another edition
4.0
Eliza, the female main character does not care whether she is liked, so her actions and thoughts could be perceived as unlikeable and imperfect, making her feel more realistic to the reader, in my case. I found there were some words used in the book that was kind of complicated for me to understand, but I think it gave personality to the characters, since they were very knowledgeable. The enemies to lovers trope between Eliza and Len also felt like a closer depiction of real romantic relationships that are played out that way, which made this book unique from those that I’ve read. Another major theme is feminism and sexism, which I have been educated on after reading, since it talks about the difference between women and men not only in a school community, but also in society in general. Overall, I really liked it and there were many parts where I related to Eliza, as my parents are from Chinese background - like the ‘make sure to dry your hair before bed’ part.
imoskz's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
b00kw0rm113's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kind of a good, not great book. i liked eliza and the rest of the characters and the whole feminist message was empowering. but like there's nothing special
fuzaila's review against another edition
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
callieju's review against another edition
5.0
stealing this quote from zoë, “this is everything moxie wanted to be.” very accurate. I loved this, it was equal parts sweet and empowering. Everything I was hoping to be talked about was and it was all encapsulated in one badass girl’s perspective. this book tackled some important issues and i really enjoyed it! anyone who is fan of rivals-lovers, this is a must read:)