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kathleen1701's review against another edition
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-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
4.5
the_illustrating_reader's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
A cute book with a great message about what it means to be a feminist
sophia_readrebelliously's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kali_wali's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
plutodraws's review against another edition
challenging
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
another solid little YA romance. exactly what I wanted and I also really enjoyed the conversation about feminism this book prompted.
I think this book did a fantastic job at covering the many different facets of feminism and sexism and how it affects everyone in different ways. also the ways misogyny shows up in places we may not expect. I think this book would be a great book for preteens/early teens to reads because it does a great job at getting the reader to think about the subtle (or not so subtle) misogyny in their own life, in their own beliefs and actions and in the others around them, and it has some great discussion prompts at the back of the book.
like I said, I believe this book was written really well in the way it presented the topic of feminism, however it did disappoint me in one aspect. eliza and her best friend are the type of feminists that are typically, negatively, associated with the word. they don’t care about boys, they are high achievers and hard workers, they are perceived as unfriendly, they despise fashion and makeup and anything that lends itself to the male gaze. except, over the course of this book, eliza starts to contradict these rules she has for herself. she starts to fall for len, and starts thinking about him obsessively, she becomes friends with people she NEVER would have been associated with before, she starts wearing lipstick, she starts putting effort into the way her hair looks. she also starts to see that there isn’t just one way to be a feminist as a woman, that the girls she saw as shallow and attention seekers are also suffering from the constraints of misogyny and are also feminists, despite not acting the same way eliza does. although it was implied (I think) that eliza had a realisation that to be a feminist, you can still enjoy things that are perceived as girly or frivolous, such as makeup and having crushes on boys, I feel it was very underplayed compared to the other areas of feminism covered in this book that were spoken about extremely overtly. to me, this was one of the biggest themes throughout the book and I felt the pay-off really fell flat.
anyway, it may have just stood out more to me because I used to be someone who cringed away from “girly” things out of shame and embarrassment caused by my own internalised misogyny, and am now someone who loves all those “girly” things and expresses it. but it did disappoint me a little.
overall though, brilliant conversation about feminism 🎀
len and eliza are cutie pies and I didn’t want the book to end.
I think this book did a fantastic job at covering the many different facets of feminism and sexism and how it affects everyone in different ways. also the ways misogyny shows up in places we may not expect. I think this book would be a great book for preteens/early teens to reads because it does a great job at getting the reader to think about the subtle (or not so subtle) misogyny in their own life, in their own beliefs and actions and in the others around them, and it has some great discussion prompts at the back of the book.
like I said, I believe this book was written really well in the way it presented the topic of feminism, however it did disappoint me in one aspect. eliza and her best friend are the type of feminists that are typically, negatively, associated with the word. they don’t care about boys, they are high achievers and hard workers, they are perceived as unfriendly, they despise fashion and makeup and anything that lends itself to the male gaze. except, over the course of this book, eliza starts to contradict these rules she has for herself. she starts to fall for len, and starts thinking about him obsessively, she becomes friends with people she NEVER would have been associated with before, she starts wearing lipstick, she starts putting effort into the way her hair looks. she also starts to see that there isn’t just one way to be a feminist as a woman, that the girls she saw as shallow and attention seekers are also suffering from the constraints of misogyny and are also feminists, despite not acting the same way eliza does. although it was implied (I think) that eliza had a realisation that to be a feminist, you can still enjoy things that are perceived as girly or frivolous, such as makeup and having crushes on boys, I feel it was very underplayed compared to the other areas of feminism covered in this book that were spoken about extremely overtly. to me, this was one of the biggest themes throughout the book and I felt the pay-off really fell flat.
anyway, it may have just stood out more to me because I used to be someone who cringed away from “girly” things out of shame and embarrassment caused by my own internalised misogyny, and am now someone who loves all those “girly” things and expresses it. but it did disappoint me a little.
overall though, brilliant conversation about feminism 🎀
len and eliza are cutie pies and I didn’t want the book to end.
neogaymyback's review against another edition
4.0
Birkaç mutualım beğenmediğini söylemişti ama ben bayağı beğendim. YA ve slice of life olduğu düşünülürse bayağı iyi yazılmış, gençlik için umut dolu bir kitaptı. Lise yıllarımda bunun gibi daha çok kitapla karşılaşmış olmayı dilerdim. Basit bir dille genç kızlar için feminizmi açıklıyor.
notaestheticeva's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Have reread a few times, so worth reading
demiotubaga's review against another edition
4.0
I'm giving this book a 4 and I thought it was a great read overall. I do though low-key think that the Bok Tok Girlies were overhyping the academic rivals-lovers aspect of the book the rest of it was very good.
Feminism
I really did enjoy the feminism discussions in the book and how we had a flawed main character who wasn't completely despicable (because yes it is possible to have a flawed main character who isn't just straight-up evil other authors should take note of that) and I really enjoyed her journey with feminism and the complexities that come with the topic. I guess for me it was kind of refreshing to read a book that centred on a romance that didn't center on straight white women and completely ignore intersectionality. While its portrayal of feminism isn't perfect by any means I do still think young girls could learn from this book about how to critically think about feminism and not really take things at face value. I kinda wished they didn't brush over what could have happened to Natalie a the party, to me that was a really striking moment, Eliza saving Natalie from what could have happened to her but I felt as though they kind of brushed past it. There was definitely an opportunity to talk about SA in a high school setting but I understand if that's not the vibe that Quach was going for.
Romance
Now, for the romance aspects of this book. First of all, I would not categorize this book as romance because to me the feminism aspect is really what the book is all about and the romance kind of takes a back seat in the plot to highlight other things in the story and of course I didn't mind that at all I really liked Quach was doing but that's just not how I heard other people describing the book. Second of all, I'm sure if I like completely buy the relationship between Len and Eliza. Like yeah I know it's a high school romance and teenagers are really shallow but really you couldn't add just like a little more development on the blooming of their romance. However, I did think there were some cute moments between Len and Eliza like the scene at the baseball game when she just kisses him out of nowhere like I was genuinely surprised when she did that and I loved it so much. Third of all, the book is also really funny to me like there were so many moments where I would laugh out loud because what was going on was so funny to me. One of my favourite Eliza moments is when she dumps out her backpack full of tampons in front of the whole school during morning announcements like the girl has a lot of guts and I really liked her.
Overall, I thought this book was pretty great while there was room for improvement (there usually is) I definitely recommend picking up this book!
Feminism
I really did enjoy the feminism discussions in the book and how we had a flawed main character who wasn't completely despicable (because yes it is possible to have a flawed main character who isn't just straight-up evil other authors should take note of that) and I really enjoyed her journey with feminism and the complexities that come with the topic. I guess for me it was kind of refreshing to read a book that centred on a romance that didn't center on straight white women and completely ignore intersectionality. While its portrayal of feminism isn't perfect by any means I do still think young girls could learn from this book about how to critically think about feminism and not really take things at face value. I kinda wished they didn't brush over what could have happened to Natalie a the party, to me that was a really striking moment, Eliza saving Natalie from what could have happened to her but I felt as though they kind of brushed past it. There was definitely an opportunity to talk about SA in a high school setting but I understand if that's not the vibe that Quach was going for.
Romance
Now, for the romance aspects of this book. First of all, I would not categorize this book as romance because to me the feminism aspect is really what the book is all about and the romance kind of takes a back seat in the plot to highlight other things in the story and of course I didn't mind that at all I really liked Quach was doing but that's just not how I heard other people describing the book. Second of all, I'm sure if I like completely buy the relationship between Len and Eliza. Like yeah I know it's a high school romance and teenagers are really shallow but really you couldn't add just like a little more development on the blooming of their romance. However, I did think there were some cute moments between Len and Eliza like the scene at the baseball game when she just kisses him out of nowhere like I was genuinely surprised when she did that and I loved it so much. Third of all, the book is also really funny to me like there were so many moments where I would laugh out loud because what was going on was so funny to me. One of my favourite Eliza moments is when she dumps out her backpack full of tampons in front of the whole school during morning announcements like the girl has a lot of guts and I really liked her.
Overall, I thought this book was pretty great while there was room for improvement (there usually is) I definitely recommend picking up this book!
ashction's review against another edition
4.0
What I liked: Thoughtful and interesting conversations on feminism, played out real time by teenagers who are normal and messy and learning; an "unlikable" protagonist with ambition who knows what she wants; the start of a reckoning towards how women are perceived
What I didn't like: I was never sold on the romance, and truthfully didn't need it. I would have liked it more without Len being involved; the female friendships were weakly portrayed and not very nuanced. And personally, felt like a real lack of conclusion. Obviously feminism can't be disseminated in one fiction book, but I felt friendship and family storylines wrapped without much fanfare or follow-up
Even so, this was a great read and definitely a good introductory story to young readers looking to explore the grayness of their ideals and morals, and to get them thinking about their own behaviors and actions.
What I didn't like: I was never sold on the romance, and truthfully didn't need it. I would have liked it more without Len being involved; the female friendships were weakly portrayed and not very nuanced. And personally, felt like a real lack of conclusion. Obviously feminism can't be disseminated in one fiction book, but I felt friendship and family storylines wrapped without much fanfare or follow-up
Even so, this was a great read and definitely a good introductory story to young readers looking to explore the grayness of their ideals and morals, and to get them thinking about their own behaviors and actions.