A book with a a lot of charm and appeal for young adults. Olivia Chang has spent her whole life trying to be invisible because she thinks that's what she has to do to survive in school when she has to move all the time due to her mom's job. She's always the new kid. When one of her classmates, a popular girl, says something racist, Olivia uncharacteristically calls her out. Now she's not invisible anymore. The "mean girls" in this book are pretty stereotypical and awful, but the best parts of the book are the friendships that Olivia makes. She learns to open up to people and ask for help. She shows everyone else how to stand up for themselves. I think teens will really relate to this book.

Thank you NetGalley for the digital ARC of this book.

Quick to read, easy to engage with, and relevant for so many: I flew through Love & Resistance, with its cast of well-rounded characters, some who wanted very much to be the best versions of themselves . . . and others who were too dug in to make a change, at least for now. I will definitely be recommending this one.

[NOTE: Unless otherwise stated, my NetGalley feedback is not a blurb or endorsement. If a publisher wishes to use any part of my comments for promotional purposes, please contact me or my agent via email. I would prefer not to include star ratings but NetGalley won't let me post without one, so all will be 5 stars.]

Some YA books address bullying in a superficial way but this one does a much better job at bringing realism and nuance to the topic. It felt timely and hopeful.

this was such a cute romance story it so nice seeing romance from different cultures this was beyond amazing

A girl finds herself joining a revolution after a confrontation against a popular girl who made a racist comment and with this revolution she’ll find friendship, strength, and even romance. Olivia Chang is seventeen years old and at her fourth school in years. She’s lived in self imposed solitude to stay under the radar and safe away from the harmful bullying and notice of others, but her plan to stay anonymous fails when the ultimate it-girl and popular girl, Mitzi Clarkes makes a pointed racist comment in class and Olivia stands up against her. Olivia is now very noticed and the enemy of the popular girl and her friends... but then suddenly she finds herself being drawn in by a group known as the Nerd Net, a secret society of other students who have been thwarting Mitzi’s reign of terror. Now Olivia isn’t alone and she finally has friends and a support system, and even a crush... but starting a revolution and fixing the social system isn’t easy, and things are always going to get messy. Can Olivia help stop Mitzi before more people are hurt or will Mitzi destroy her first? This was a great story, filled with thought provoking moments and a heart warming story about friendship and finding the strength to stand up against bullying and being supporting of others. I really liked this one and found Olivia’s journey to be a great one to read, she really went from quiet introvert to someone who makes a stand to someone who empathizes and tries to be there and understand the complexity that people have. The romance was sweet but the highlight of this book was the friendship!!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This book is so cute!! The author did a phenomenal job writing super relatable characters. Would one hundred percent recommend 💕

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

i don't rlly have an opinion on this. a bland and cursory portrait of bullying and the importance of having each other's backs. for a story that focuses heavily on the downsides of school and dealing with juvenile bullying, it was overshadowed by the romantic aspect. all the times i was waiting for the ball to drop or an ambush of higher authority to take over, it was narrowly dealt with by a few words of sappy and level headed advice.

it had the potential to say a lot but kind of fizzled out as background noise rather than a strong outburst or ultimatum on why bullying sucks. anyway, next.

thank you to netgalley and the publisher for approving my request of an eARC!! all opinions are my own :)

This was such a unique, meaningful perspective on bullying and teenage life! The author built a meaningful world and thoughtful relationships for the characters. Overall, the connection between Olivia and the Nerd Net is purposeful and well-told. I think this is an important story about friendship and preservice in young adults today.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

I really did enjoy this story! It was very fast paced and it made it very fun to read and get into! I loved the representation, it felt very familiar to what I, and others, have experienced in the past. So this story was almost like a breath of fresh air, tackling problems Asian-Americans go through daily and are overlooked. Thank you Kara H.L. Chen for this delightful story!

this is a lovely read, tackling vital topics like racism and bullying in a way that is both sensitive and accessible. the budding romance drags on a bit at times, but Kara Chen's masterful plot devices — the protagonist's extensive knowledge of military strategy and how she applies that to high-school social settings, for one — will draw any wandering readers right back in.

*thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC.*

I enjoyed this book. I typically don't read YA so I think that's what fell short for me but I really liked it. Its been a while since I've been in high school but some of the memories and moments felt very real.

I absolutely 100% loved this. It was not an easy read, necessarily, but it was a very very good one, and the complexity of the read was in a good way--it dealt with social media and bullying and was just brilliant in looking at all the pieces that make up the whole.

One would say I devoured this book, and I wouldn't argue (because I did). It talks on two sensitive topics, which I think were dealt with great caution and clarity.
the writing wasn't complicated, it was precise and to the point.
The chemistry between the characters (protagonist, love interest, the friend group, and the mother) was visible and it came easy on the eye.
Lastly, would I recommend this gem? I would shove this book in everyone's face and expect them to like it just as much.

I LOVED this book! Relatable characters and a secret society of nerds? Count me in.

In Love & Resistance, loner Olivia (aka Livvy) Chen has just started her 4th school, due to her mother's job in the military. In an effort to avoid being bullied, Olivia has learned various techniques to slide through schools invisibly - for example, don't sit in the middle of the bench, don't raise your hand in class, and above all, do not draw any attention to yourself.

Unfortunately, in Plainstown, Ohio, her invisible streak comes to an end. Her new high school's ultimate queen bee, Mitzi, boasts millions of followers on social media, a formerly famous actress mom, and a barely-disguised racist mindset. When Livvy calls out this racism, she quickly becomes enemy number one.

Luckily, Livvy has managed to make one friend; Griff, a fellow outsider from her French class whom she sits with at lunch. Griff introduces her to a ragtag group of outcasts, who form a secret society whose mission is to sabotage the popular group; they call themselves the NerdNet, with a fittingly nerdy logo (an N to the nth power). They form a plan to take down and subvert the popular status-quo.

I enjoyed this book - it hooked me in from the beginning and kept my attention throughout (I finished it in one sitting!) The Asian racism depicted felt all-too-real for the most part, and I personally loved the tidbits of Livvy's family backstory - not just her mother's, but the anecdotes about her grandfather. And finally, I loved the author's style of writing and look forward to reading more from her!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Love & Resistance by Kara H. L. Chen

I wanted to like this book, and in the beginning I did, but the ending felt rushed and just not that great. The book follows Olivia Chang who is the quiet girl at yet another new school in her life. She avoids her classmates due to past issues at her other schools with bullying and racism. One day she speaks up at her new school about a racist remark made by the most popular girl in school and instantly landed on the girl's radar. Olivia eventually starts to talk to Griff, the guy in her French class and who she sits with silently at lunch since her first day. As it turns out he is part of a group of kids at school who work anonymously to help those being bullied. The group eventually decides to break the hierarchy of the popular girl by planning their own resistance which they took their inspiration from the French Revolution. I enjoyed the book up to this part, but then a poetry group was introduced and it kind of changed the feel of the whole book. I am not a huge poetry fan to begin with so that didn’t help. I also found that Olivia’s inner-dialogue towards the end of the book kind of went on forever before getting to the point. I also found that the romance between Olivia and Griff came up at the weirdest times in the book and was always interrupted soon after… Another issue with the book is, if she attends such a small school, why didn’t the school administration do anything about the bullying going on. I was also a quiet girl at a small school and most of these antics in the book were shut down fairly fast at my school. It just seems unrealistic that one popular girl would have such a hold over an entire school and the staff wouldn’t notice.

I would like to thank NetGalley and Kara H. L. Chen for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Love & Resistance. While it was not my favorite book, I did find it worth reading. It highlighted how many people experience racism every day in different forms, some obvious and some not so obvious. Finally, I enjoyed the memories Olivia shared about her grandfather and their love of history. It was touching and often helped Olivia make decisions based on what they learned.

Super cute and whole original YA romance with topical issues. The protagonist is able to walk the line of quickly and appealing and the humor is warm and empathetic. Well recommended for teenagers and anyone who has felt left out.

Forever bullied, Olivia Chang is just trying to make it through high school undetected. Her new school, Plainstown High in Ohio is nothing short of its name. As this is her fourth school in a short amount of time, she treats it no different and moves through the halls hoping to be invisible. Looking for a a safe place to eat lunch, she saddles up to a cute boy from her French class. They eat in silence everyday and share a glance or smirk every once in a while.

When Olivia finds herself assignment partners with her mysterious lunch buddy, she feels a sense of relief-even if she doesn’t know his actual name yet. That relief doesn’t last long when she finds herself in the crosshairs of resident mean girl, Mitzi Clarke and her number 2, Adeline. Olivia feels her invisibility cloak slipping away rapidly. The last straw snaps when Mitzi makes a racist comment and Olivia feels she has no choice but to snap back. So begins Mitzi and her minions’ reign of terror. Bullying isn’t cute ladies. Thankfully, her lunch buddy/French partner, whose real name is Alexander, but wants to be called Griff, has her back.

Enter the Nerd Net: a group of fellow invisible classmates who take standing up to bullying into their own hands, all while being incognito. Each member has a unique skill and their own distaste for one Mitzi Clarke and her band of followers. Olivia can’t believe the kindness and acceptance the group shows her and she slowly decides she can trust them. So begins a plan to overthrow the teenage social hierarchy. Will taking down the very people who hurt her be the revenge she’s looking for or will she turn into a monster herself along the way?

This was a great read-funny and insightful, a coming of age story. A tale of friendship and understanding. I enjoyed Olivia and I felt for her. Too many people get harassed and bullied for things far out of their control. I was happy to see her finally stick up for herself. This was fast paced and sent a message that I think a lot of high schoolers need to hear. The only thing that kind of upset me was that there were no actual consequences for the racist comments and bullying. At one point, Olivia’s mom said she was going to call the school, but it seemed that nothing came of that as no one was punished.

Overall, I enjoyed this story and would recommend giving it a read!

Thank you to Harper Collins, the author and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

3.5/5 stars! The premise of this book was great. A book focused on highlighting and elevating the struggles of discrimination and bullying against non-white students? Sign me up. The message had the opportunity to create something powerful. Unfortunately, I felt like the author made this message more of background noise compared to a YA romcom of a plotline. It was still a good book, but it had the potential to be so much more.

I received an advance review copy for free through NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

I'd like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for allowing a chance at reading this really cute book.

Love & Resistance is a book about a girl who is targeted because of her race by a group of popular girls who make it their priority to set harsh boundaries and walls between them and those they consider beneath them. The girl herself is Asian and normally is a loner, quiet, and does not like to get involved with people she does not know. She is new to town (her mother travels a lot) and she doesn't get time to settle down and or make friends, but she has encountered racism.

One day at lunch, she sits next to a really pretty guy from her French class and they strike up a friendship and a quick romance. On a day when they were doing extra work in the science lab, the popular girl who spends a lot of time blogging / making influencer videos comes in and starts making comments about all the girls who are non white. The girl sticks up for her classmates which puts a target on her back. She goes through some tough bullying from the popular girl. Meanwhile, she gets invited to a group of people that seem to be a secret club that hits back against racism and bullying.

It's sad that a book that focuses on bullying and sticking up for those who share the same cred as you has a better job handling the romance than the actual message / morale of the story. The story really needed something big to happen and an escalation to the principal or superintendent of the school. Instead, teachers are non existent. There is also a point in which the mother finds out and wants to step in / handle it, but the girl says no. Her mother is pretty non-existent in the book as it is.

To me, it just didn't feel that authentic or 'real'. I wanted some serious actions or consequences to go down, but the fight always seemed to trickle off into someone explaining something away or never quite hitting the mark why bullying or racism is wrong.