Book Review: Love & Resistance by Kara H.L. Chen

  

**Disclaimer: I received a free electronic ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.**
Genre:  YA, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: July 4, 2023
Description:

"Moxie meets Mary H.K. Choi in this funny, whip-smart YA debut about love, resistance, and the enduring friendships that make it all worthwhile. 

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Chang is at her fourth school in seven years. Her self-imposed solitude is lonely but safe. At Plainstown High, however, Olivia’s usual plan of anonymity fails when infamous it-girl Mitzi Clarke makes a pointed racist comment in class. Tired of ignoring things just to survive, Olivia defends herself.  

And that is the end of her invisible life. 

Soon, Olivia joins forces with the Nerd Net: a secret society that's been thwarting Mitzi’s reign of terror for months. Together, they plan to unite the masses and create true change at school.

But in order to succeed, Olivia must do something even more terrifying than lead a movement: trust other people. She might even make true friends along the way . . . if Mitzi doesn’t destroy her first. 

A cheeky, thought-provoking force of a book, perfect for fans of E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks."

This was a great read! Not only did it tackle the important topic of bullying, but it also included the importance of friendship, something our protagonist never thought she needed. 

Olivia Chang, our MC, always wanted to be invisible. It was her only goal at school. Now at a new school, she stands up to the popular girl, Mitzi, after a racist remark. This incident causes her to no longer be invisible, as now she becomes a target of hate. When she befriends the quiet kid she sits next to at lunch, things take a turn for the better. From here she gets introduced to the Nerd Net, a small secret society of close-knit outcasts who help those that are bullied. Honestly, this group is so heartwarming to watch. You can tell they genuinely care/are loyal to one another. Despite Livvy being new to the group, she was accepted right away and fit right in. I'm glad she had them as support when all of the drama went down. 

Although I agree bullying is wrong and retaliation doesn't always solve anything in the grand scheme of things, I would've loved to have seen some petty revenge go down. After everything that Mitzi had done, I'm disappointed that she never truly suffered from her actions. I also found it weird that there were no teachers that intervened in the situation, which literally, the whole school was aware of. Like where were they?

Aside from that, I really enjoyed this book, especially the romance because it was downright adorable. It had a nice natural progression and never came on too strong. Griff as a character was perfect with Livvy. Honestly, all of the relationships in this were adorable and a delight to read about. It helped balance out the uncomfortable reality of bullying. 

Overall rating:  4/5