Review: Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu is a feminist book for every girl! I know a lot of books released this fall, and some fell under the radar, but we hope you take a chance on some of these amazing books! Ps. Moxie Girls Fight Back!

 

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu

Category: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publication: September 19th, 2017; Roaring Brook Press
Purchase: Amazon

Moxie girls fight back!

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with her small-town Texas high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes and hallway harassment. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.

Viv’s mom was a punk rock Riot Grrrl in the ’90s, so now Viv takes a page from her mother’s past and creates a feminist zine that she distributes anonymously to her classmates. She’s just blowing off steam, but other girls respond. Pretty soon Viv is forging friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, and she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.

 

Review:

[book rating=5/5]

Lawd.

This book brought my back to my youth. The days when I felt invincible. The days when I felt I could make a difference in the world. Not that I can’t NOW, but back then, it felt like a guarantee. Something easy. But having read Moxie now I realize that was merely wishful thinking.

Making a difference, creating waves, is Hard. Yes, with a capital H.

But this book, it gave me hope. Because somewhere out there, baby feminists are starting their own revolutions. And little by little, I have to believe they’ll pick up steam.

And Viv! Sometimes it’s the quiet ones you have to watch out for. Sometimes it’s the quiet ones who get shit done. And that’s what I loved best about this tale. The girl who was afraid to rock the boat. The girl who followed the rules. When she finally has had enough, that’s when shit gets real. Some may say, “Big deal, she put out a few newsletters.” They’re zines, but whatever. But as history has shown, revolution begins with a spark. Something seemingly minor that catches fire and grows. Something to wake up those who have been brainwashed into thinking and seeing things a certain way. And that’s the beauty of this little book.

It does that.

Also contained in this story is the importance of friendship amongst girls. I mean, yes, there are bits of romance included, but the bigger focus is girls’ relationships with other girls. And how important it is to lift each other up instead of putting each other down. And that message comes through crystal clear in Moxie.

Moxie made me even more proud to be a girl. It shows that if we come together, we can change the world. Make it better. It truly does put the GRRRRRR in Girl Power. You don’t have to be a feminist to enjoy this book. But I think after finishing it, you’ll want to be. Or maybe, you won’t even be able to help it. You’ll just realize you always were.