“So, shouldn’t you try to look better?” Kim has switched over to penciling her eyebrows into the thick, horizontal style of K-drama heroines. It’s a hallowed ritual, occurring around the same time every spring-and this year, being a junior, I finally get to be in the running. Today is the day that the staff of the Willoughby Bugle, my high school paper, will select its new editor in chief for next year.

Then, because I can sense Kim’s impatience practically forming condensation on my silence, I take a long sip of tea and turn another page. I bite into the chewy flour of my Cantonese-style sachima, which is sweet and sticky, like a Rice Krispies treat without the marshmallows.

“Well?” Kim asks, after I’ve turned a page. I like it because the main character is a Chinese girl who’s smart but a bit prickly, which is a combination the world could really use more of. I flop onto my bed with a book, an Eileen Chang novel I found by chance at the library. “Isn’t today supposed to be a big deal for you?” Kim thinks this is a horrible way to live. I read once that a lot of important people have a “uniform” to save their mental energy for things that actually matter, so I’ve started doing it, too. In fact, this is basically how I dress every day. To be fair, what I’m wearing is a big polyester sweater the exact gray of parking-lot asphalt, and it isn’t anybody’s idea of a good look. “It’s fine.” I push up my sleeves and they fall right back down again. “That’s what you’re wearing?” She points her mascara wand at me, the disbelief thick enough to flake off. I SHARE A BEDROOM WITH MY OLDER SISTER KIM, which wouldn’t be a problem except she has this habit of making a face whenever I walk in. * BingeBooks earns revenue from qualifying purchases as an Amazon Associate as well as from other retail partners. But as they get to know one another, Eliza feels increasingly trapped by a horrifying realization-she just might be falling for the face of the patriarchy himself. When Eliza's frustration spills out in a viral essay, she finds herself inspiring a feminist movement she never meant to start, caught between those who believe she's a gender equality champion and others who think she's simply crying misogyny.Īmid this growing tension, the school asks Eliza and Len to work side by side to demonstrate civility. Suddenly her vast qualifications mean squat because inexperienced Len-who is tall, handsome, and male- just seems more like a leader. That is, until ex-jock Len DiMartile decides on a whim to run against her. “A smart romance with heart and guts and all the intoxicating feelings in between.” -Maureen Johnson, New York Times bestselling author of 13 Little Blue EnvelopesĮmergency Contact meets Moxie in this cheeky and searing novel that unpacks just how complicated new love can get.when you fall for your enemy.Įliza Quan is the perfect candidate for editor in chief of her school paper.

Not here to be liked michelle quach