A review by paxyshia
Not Here to Be Liked by Michelle Quach

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

a solid 4 star book! i think it’s a little hard to be completely in love with a young adult book as an adult but i found myself really appreciating this story. i loved the realness of eliza’s culture and family life and the troubles of being young and understanding the complexities of big topics that are pounded into society like sexism and misogyny.

it struck quite a chord with me bringing me back to moments of my life and realizing how far i’ve come in understanding what it means to be a feminist and also how to deal with blatant sexism or misogyny with people we’re close to like family members or friends. 

i was actually quite worried that this would fall under some incredible white woman feminist type book but it didn’t. i had to put it in the perspective of a 16/17 year old and realized it wasn’t TOO white in its story and was a great place to start in unpacking what we think feminism is because we’ve been fed to believe it is just women acting out. 

the book was also filled with many diverse characters and i really appreciated that from the author. i also appreciated that love didn’t also just save everything in this book. sometimes authors have a way of ending books like love saved the day but the way this played out, it was a great alternative to what i was afraid of and especially in a young adult setting. an all around solid debut for michelle quach! i’m excited to see what she writes in the future!


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