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A review by auroara
Falling in love was not the plan by Michelle Quach
challenging
inspiring
reflective
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
3.5
Eliza is a hard-working, over-archiving, (self-) critical and rather cold person. She is portrayed as unlikeable (I kind of agree, but I have found other characters in other books far more annoying and despicable!) and she doesn't care about her appeareance or popularity. As a senior editor at her school paper, she expects to become chief editor - but that title is snatched away from her by newbie Len. Out of frustration and anger, she writes an article about the blatant gender inequality at school, with no intent of ever publishing it. Except, somebody does. It goes viral overnight and Eliza finds herself in the midst of a feminist movement - and starts to develop feelings for the enemy.
You can argue about whether Len or Eliza is better suited for the position as chief editor. You can argue about whether or not Eliza is a "real" feminist (even though I personally think the book makes it clear that she questiones that herself multiple times and the whole point of this book is to challange your views and the meaning of feminism). But you can't deny that this book is full of situations in which girls are judged and treated differently than boys. It perfectly displays the struggles girls and women have to deal with every day. I really enjoyed how this book shined a light on many aspects of sexism and (internalised) misogyny and how it effects day-to-day life.
I was looking forward for that enemie-to-lovers-trope, but it did not get as much space as I expected. I actually find the relationship between Eliza and Len not fleshed out enough, it lacked depth. They had some really cute moments, but that's it.
Throughout the book, I had this feeling of doom. You know that something bad is going to happen and it will hurt the main character. I kept reading the story with this uneasy feeling, waiting for the moment where it all falls apart. Because of that, I couldn't fully enjoy the story. The whole plot makes it very easy to predict how it's going to end. Overall, I found some parts of the book a bit overdramatic and cringe, but other than that I enjoyed reading it!
You can argue about whether Len or Eliza is better suited for the position as chief editor. You can argue about whether or not Eliza is a "real" feminist (even though I personally think the book makes it clear that she questiones that herself multiple times and the whole point of this book is to challange your views and the meaning of feminism). But you can't deny that this book is full of situations in which girls are judged and treated differently than boys. It perfectly displays the struggles girls and women have to deal with every day. I really enjoyed how this book shined a light on many aspects of sexism and (internalised) misogyny and how it effects day-to-day life.
I was looking forward for that enemie-to-lovers-trope, but it did not get as much space as I expected. I actually find the relationship between Eliza and Len not fleshed out enough, it lacked depth. They had some really cute moments, but that's it.
Throughout the book, I had this feeling of doom. You know that something bad is going to happen and it will hurt the main character. I kept reading the story with this uneasy feeling, waiting for the moment where it all falls apart. Because of that, I couldn't fully enjoy the story. The whole plot makes it very easy to predict how it's going to end. Overall, I found some parts of the book a bit overdramatic and cringe, but other than that I enjoyed reading it!