And Cruel is the Word

Although this book is highly readable, both of the main characters are unlikeable. While I "get" what the author was trying to illustrate, there were so many times throughout the book when the female protagonist (Verity) was being unbearably cruel to men for her own ego boost. The author cites "continued injustices", etc. as her springboard for this book, and I am sympathetic to that issue. However, is the best way to educate people via a story in which the woman is conniving and mean? Can we hope for a society in which people value others and NO ONE uses another gender as a rung to stomp on while climbing to the top?