She covers everything from Len's considerable lack of experience to the institutionalized sexism at Willoughby in general. In a fit of cathartic pique, Eliza pours her heart out into a Google Doc on a newsroom computer. NPR Books Summer Poll 2021: A Decade Of Great Sci-Fi And Fantasy Feeling Lost? These 3 Fantasy Novels Will Help You Be The Hero Of Your Own Story So when some guy with little expertise and a boatload of charisma steps up at the eleventh hour and walks away with the position she's worked toward for years, it is not a pretty sight.

She relies on her top-notch brain and expertise to see her through. She doesn't dress to impress or alter her attitude to fit the social situation. Now, Eliza's not likable, and she knows it.

She's running unopposed for Editor in Chief until the last minute, when Eliza is notified of another candidate: Leonard 'Len' DiMartile, an impossibly charming, half-white half-Japanese former basketball player. If you're Eliza Quan, you've just walked in on this exact scenario.Įliza, the Chinese Vietnamese American heroine of Michelle Quach's marvelous debut novel Not Here to Be Liked, is managing editor of the Willoughby High School Bugle and has worked tirelessly on the newspaper's staff for years. Have you ever had the feeling that, despite all the good, hard work you've done, there's always someone else getting more accolades by accomplishing less? If you identify as a woman, it's far more likely that you've experienced such a thing in your lifetime.

Michelle quach not here to be liked