SuitabookNot Here to be Liked
Michelle Quach
- Reading
- Read alongside the book’s competing perspectives: pause after the election, the public feminist response and Eliza’s changing view of Len. Discuss whether principles, popularity and relationships can pull in different directions.
- Themes
- Gender, merit and likeability: Eliza expects to become editor-in-chief because of her experience and qualifications, but Len wins; her reaction develops into feminist activism. The book appears to question whether gendered expectations and popularity distort judgements of merit, while also asking whether Eliza’s interpretation is complete.
- Activism and responsibility: Eliza’s viral essay inspires a school feminist movement, while the school asks Eliza and Len to work together to demonstrate civility. Activism is presented as consequential and morally complicated: the story values standing up for what is right but emphasises that doing so may affect others.
- Identity, family and relationships: Eliza is Chinese and Vietnamese American and lives in a refugee family; the story contrasts her push for systemic change with her mother’s pragmatism while she develops feelings for Len. The book places romance and activism alongside cultural identity and family perspective, suggesting that personal relationships and social commitments may complicate one another.
- Worth knowing
- Expect sustained discussion of sexism, misogyny, feminist activism and the pressure to be liked, alongside romantic feelings and differing attitudes towards social change. Family expectations and refugee-family experience also matter.