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blahblahblah123's review
hopeful
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? Yes
3.0
Personally i found this book to be very intriguing. I read it during a field trip performance and had a hard time putting it down. Usually I don’t read, but this really got me out of my block. Despite it being very intriguing, there was a lot of frustrating moments. during about the hookup/relationship between Len and Eliza, I felt like it could’ve been elaborated more. A lot of moments I’m at points where I’m like, “is he playing her?” “should they really be together?”. There is a decent amount of chemistry between them, but I feel like there should be a second book or separate chapters with Len’s point of view. If there was moments of Len acting nervous towards Eliza, then I would’ve rooted for their relationship more. I really appreciate the realistically of the book. Although there are moments where Eliza frustrated me, like, “why are you falling for him?” “why are you doing this” I know that I would also be doing the same thing (I’d fall for Len too if i were in her situation). This goes to Len as well. In my perfect world Len would stick up for her in the midst of all the humiliation in the beginning, and although he didn’t it’s a part of his character, and thats what’s realistic. Same with the other characters, subjects, and plot line. The Asian-American struggles and the family culture. The public reaction of Eliza’s situation, the use of modern technology and terms. The characters and their personalities; especially Serena. I also feel like there should've been another chapter between Len and Eliza, after she got out of detention. I wanted to see more of their relationship develop that lead to their hook-up. When finishing it, during the end I couldn’t but squeal and get butterflies. I’m glad they patched up their relationship and I’m glad Eliza had a happy ending.</spoiler/> Overall, the book was a good read. I’m glad I read it and it’s realistically was great. When I first heard about this book, having: sexism, Asian American struggles, academic enemies to lovers trope, etc. I was extremely excited. Throughout the book, I got disappointed, however upon finishing it and reflecting, I don’t regret it. There definitely could be improvement, but I do not regret.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Homophobia, and Toxic friendship
217cms's review
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
i was promised a good book with rivals to lovers and good representation of feminism, but i did not receive any of that. in fact, i am incredibly disappointed with this book not just with the hype it got on booktok but with all the 4-star reviews it got. here's why:
1. wrong portrayal of feminism
a lot of the actions caused by eliza in the name of "feminism" were definitely questionable. in fact, a lot of the acts caused by characters were questionable because they had questionable intentions in the first place. while i do understand where eliza comes from with feeling as if her losing was due to the misogyny present, you can definitely argue that eliza lost because she isn't a fitting leader. why? because she is managing editor (?) of the bugle already. people already have a taste of how it would be to be under eliza's supervision in a more authoritative position.
sure, you can also argue that it is misogynistic because they chose to favor "possibility" by voting len who has less credentials and less experience instead of "credibility" which eliza clearly had. however, being credible in that specific school setting does not cover if you are a good leader. if the people in the bugle did not like how they were being treated and felt that len could provide better comments that would not only aid them but uplift them, then it makes perfect sense why eliza did not win.
obviously credibility is everything especially in the socio-political context. i mean, its so important to choose people who have more experience when it comes to more nationwide or even schoolwide positions. but i do believe there is nothing wrong with len winning because giving someone the chance to lead despite little experience but with the passion to do so is still as valuable. which is why if the situation were different, i would be able to empathise with eliza better. if it were for the student council position or if len turned out to actually have a bad record from the start, then i would have fully agreed with her. but we cannot deny that her choosing to blame it on misogyny was petty in the sense that it was just actual anger towards len being the editor-in-chief.
this was heavily seen when eliza had mentioned the walkout. the purpose of the walkout was to make sure len would resign from being editor-in-chief, and i felt as if that was performative in itself. there are better ways to tackle misogyny, and i do believe walkouts do have ways to do it. but it is the intention that made the whole reading so upsetting.
obviously, there were still really good points. feminism in the point of view of bipoc people especially those in different generations was a good way to tackle the idea of it. not only that, i can definitely see where misogyny was actually present (such as the school's principal arguing that tampons is an inappopriate topic to discuss in school or when the school found out that eliza and len hooked up, eliza suffered the most). however, i still think the book can send out the wrong message especially with how it was ordered, the intentions, etc.
2. the characters were just overall annoying
i don't know if the intention was to make characters walking cliches or just soooooo annoying but they had no personality. i felt like the only character i really liked was winona. eliza was just so unlikable and len was so. i cant even begin to describe him. his personality trait was just being a washedup athlete LOL! eliza was just so misguided but she did have her sort of redemption arc in some cases. i don't know but its so hard to enjoy this book if everyone was just ANNOYING.
overall, this book could have been better. i'm not even kidding. maybe if the context was changed or the intention or whatever were different, maybe i would've liked this book. people can disagree with me because i will acknowledge that this book still had good points. however, i will still stick by the fact that it could send out the wrong message. as this is a YA book, i hope people who have read this understand that this isn't what feminism or misogyny is all about. please make sure to do your research on what the two are. hopefully this book only helps you in wanting to do proper research on these concepts especially in the views of bipoc people.
1. wrong portrayal of feminism
a lot of the actions caused by eliza in the name of "feminism" were definitely questionable. in fact, a lot of the acts caused by characters were questionable because they had questionable intentions in the first place. while i do understand where eliza comes from with feeling as if her losing was due to the misogyny present, you can definitely argue that eliza lost because she isn't a fitting leader. why? because she is managing editor (?) of the bugle already. people already have a taste of how it would be to be under eliza's supervision in a more authoritative position.
sure, you can also argue that it is misogynistic because they chose to favor "possibility" by voting len who has less credentials and less experience instead of "credibility" which eliza clearly had. however, being credible in that specific school setting does not cover if you are a good leader. if the people in the bugle did not like how they were being treated and felt that len could provide better comments that would not only aid them but uplift them, then it makes perfect sense why eliza did not win.
obviously credibility is everything especially in the socio-political context. i mean, its so important to choose people who have more experience when it comes to more nationwide or even schoolwide positions. but i do believe there is nothing wrong with len winning because giving someone the chance to lead despite little experience but with the passion to do so is still as valuable. which is why if the situation were different, i would be able to empathise with eliza better. if it were for the student council position or if len turned out to actually have a bad record from the start, then i would have fully agreed with her. but we cannot deny that her choosing to blame it on misogyny was petty in the sense that it was just actual anger towards len being the editor-in-chief.
this was heavily seen when eliza had mentioned the walkout. the purpose of the walkout was to make sure len would resign from being editor-in-chief, and i felt as if that was performative in itself. there are better ways to tackle misogyny, and i do believe walkouts do have ways to do it. but it is the intention that made the whole reading so upsetting.
obviously, there were still really good points. feminism in the point of view of bipoc people especially those in different generations was a good way to tackle the idea of it. not only that, i can definitely see where misogyny was actually present (such as the school's principal arguing that tampons is an inappopriate topic to discuss in school or when the school found out that eliza and len hooked up, eliza suffered the most). however, i still think the book can send out the wrong message especially with how it was ordered, the intentions, etc.
2. the characters were just overall annoying
i don't know if the intention was to make characters walking cliches or just soooooo annoying but they had no personality. i felt like the only character i really liked was winona. eliza was just so unlikable and len was so. i cant even begin to describe him. his personality trait was just being a washedup athlete LOL! eliza was just so misguided but she did have her sort of redemption arc in some cases. i don't know but its so hard to enjoy this book if everyone was just ANNOYING.
overall, this book could have been better. i'm not even kidding. maybe if the context was changed or the intention or whatever were different, maybe i would've liked this book. people can disagree with me because i will acknowledge that this book still had good points. however, i will still stick by the fact that it could send out the wrong message. as this is a YA book, i hope people who have read this understand that this isn't what feminism or misogyny is all about. please make sure to do your research on what the two are. hopefully this book only helps you in wanting to do proper research on these concepts especially in the views of bipoc people.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, and Sexism
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