Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu | Book Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

"Moxie is sweet, funny, and fierce. Read this and then join the fight."—Amy Poehler

An unlikely teenager starts a feminist revolution at a small-town Texan high school in the new novel from Jennifer Mathieu, author of The Truth About Alice.MOXIE GIRLS FIGHT BACK!

Vivian Carter is fed up. Fed up with an administration at her high school that thinks the football team can do no wrong. Fed up with sexist dress codes, hallway harassment, and gross comments from guys during class. But most of all, Viv Carter is fed up with always following the rules.

Viv's mom was a tough-as-nails, punk rock Riot Grrrl in the '90s, and 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. As Viv forges friendships with other young women across the divides of cliques and popularity rankings, she realizes that what she has started is nothing short of a girl revolution.

Moxie is a book about high school life that will make you wanna riot!

Viva la revolution — aka how I felt the entire time I was reading Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu. Friends, I 100% tore through this book. There’s just so much to like about it. For instance, the character development is on point. The feminism is legit — this makes a nice fictional intro. Basically, it boils down to that I can actually understand why Amy Poehler blurbed this book.

Moxie follows this girl named Vivian who goes to a small town Texas high school. At her school, the boys who play football are essentially untouchable. They are also massive douchebags. The boys just keep getting away with it though due to friends in high places, I suppose you could say. Well Vivian has had it up to here with the school’s shit and with the behavior of the boys. So, she is inspired by her mother’s Riot GRRL past and creates this zine that she distributes in all of the girls bathrooms. She basically starts a revolution and promotes female solidarity.

The kicker is that Vivian is not very likely to be the type to start a feminist revolution at school. She’s shy. She is dutiful. Vivian does not make waves nor does she get into trouble. Yet, she anonymously starts Moxie. This book, I would say, is really a story of Vivian finding her voice — eventually. So she starts the zine but then other girls pick it up and really run with the concept. Rather than be threatened by this or engaging in some girl hate, Vivian is cool with it and very encouraging. She also is challenged in her view of feminism throughout the book.

It is also kind of neat how this book has a romance — like it shows you can be a feminist but also find love. So, there’s a new guy at Vivian’s school named Seth. Seth is what the youths call “woke.” Like, he is into Moxie and supportive of it. He asks Viv for her consent before kissing her, etc. However, the relationship isn’t perfect and there are some growing pains. I love that Seth is also still learning about what it means to be a feminist and gets called out as well.

Overall, I am here for how empowering Jennifer Mathieu’s Moxie is. This book is well paced. I never was bored or ready to just put it down and move onto the next book. There are scenes that are very empowering. There’s also parts that I can relate to all too well (why is it that barely competent assholes are given SO MUCH LEEWAY?). Either way, this book is fantastic and definitely one to pick up if you’re just starting out on your journey to feminism.

Other reviews of Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu:

• The Paper Trail Diary – “this book means SO MUCH to me“
• The Young Folks – “An empowering read“

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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