Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way 'girls who write their pain on their bodies' scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a 'semifamous' local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends.

After spending time in treatment with other young women like her-who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves-Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she 'like-likes' but who had pined for Ellis instead. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. Quach skillfully balances all these elements, breathing life into this enemies-to-lovers story.Ī fresh take on high school and activism.Īfter surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself. Eliza’s best friend is Black, and, in a school setting that is predominately Asian, activism at the intersection of race and gender is also addressed. The narrative tackles the complications of standing up for yourself without harming others while also exploring other dynamics, including life in a refugee family-Eliza’s parents are Chinese Vietnamese-and varying attitudes toward feminism as her mother’s pragmatism is contrasted with Eliza’s push for systemic change. In the process Eliza learns that there are no simple answers when fighting for what’s right-and that even Len may not be as bad as she believed. Eliza is angry-why should likability come before dedication and well-informed goals? Determined to contest the election results, Eliza starts a feminist movement in her high school, forming unlikely partnerships in a quest for justice.

Her plans are stymied, however, by Len DiMartile, a biracial (White/Japanese) ex–baseball player who apparently joined the Bugle’s staff on a whim following an injury and who easily wins the election for editor-in-chief.

An upset in the struggle for succession at a high school newspaper sends shock waves far beyond the newsroom.Įliza Quan has spent her high school career in Southern California preparing to assume leadership of the Willoughby Bugle she’s the most qualified, and she’s sure she’s the best for the job.

Not here to be liked michelle quach