Moxie

July 10, 2017
At Viv’s Texas high school, no one stops the boys from wearing T-shirts that degrade women, while girls get sent home for minor dress code violations. Boys—mainly football jocks—harass girls in classes and corridors without consequence. Viv, a junior, is used to it, but one day she decides that enough is enough. Inspired by her mother’s days as a rebellious Riot Grrrl, Viv creates and circulates issues of Moxie, a girl-power zine, at school. More girls take Moxie-endorsed action with each issue, and because Viv hasn’t owned up to being behind it, other girls get into the act and things snowball. Mathieu (Afterward) isn’t going for nuance: the jocks are total jerks, the all-male administration is unfailingly sexist, and the Moxie spirit crosses cliques and racial boundaries with an intersectional ease that can be elusive in real life. But seeing the girls changing their definitions of what’s acceptable as they become radicalized is satisfying and moving, both for Viv and for readers. If it’s depressing that Viv has to reach back to the ’90s for models, perhaps this unapologetically feminist book will help change that. Ages 12–up. Agent: Kerry Sparks, Levine Greenberg Rostan.

July 1, 2017
Fed up by her high school's culture of misogyny, Vivian leads a feminist rebellion.Staff at Vivian's school conveniently overlook the demeaning remarks football players and their friends direct at girls, the ongoing hallway sexual harassment of "bump 'n' grab," and the annual tournament to identify the "most fuckable" girl on campus. Enraged by the toxic environment, and inspired by 1990s Riot Grrrl culture, Vivian creates an anonymous zine--Moxie--to empower girls. Some of Vivian's protest ideas are inspired, as when girls wear bathrobes to protest the unfair enforcement of the school's dress code. Soon Moxie supports such additional projects as girls' soccer fundraisers, successfully strengthening the school's sisterhood. But there are troubling moments when Vivian excludes willing male participants, seemingly suggesting that achieving female empowerment requires gender separation. And Moxie moves dangerously toward vigilante justice when it's used to accuse a student of attempted rape. Vivian's incensed reaction when her boyfriend suggests the anonymous accuser might be lying ignores the American judicial system's core tenet of due process. Further, the novel fails to educate readers that qualified police investigators, not school officials, must be alerted in accusations of criminal behaviors. Designed to empower, the novel occasionally fails to consider that changing a culture of misogyny requires educating and embracing support from members of all genders. (Fiction. 12-18)

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Starred review from July 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-This novel is full of wit, insight, and moxie. Vivian is the dutiful daughter of a former 1990s Riot Grrl. While her mom raged against the machine and published feminist zines in her youth, Viv prefers getting good grades and keeping a low profile. That is, until things at her small town's high school go too far. There are double standards for football players and everyone else, arbitrary dress code crackdowns that apply only to girls, and covered-up assaults happening right in the hallways. Vivian and her friends band together and decide they've had enough, but how can they push back without risking expulsion by a corrupt school administration? This is a fun, fresh, and inspiring read for anyone looking for a teenage take on modern feminism. Vivian gradually, and realistically, realizes how troubling sexism is, showing a great deal of introspection, which will likely appeal to readers who might not identify as feminists and those who already do. The author also takes care to include girls of color and boys in the novel's many conversations around the topic, emphasizing the importance of intersectional feminism. VERDICT Highly recommended for all teens, but especially those who would enjoy realistic coming-of-age fiction with female empowerment.-Emily Grace Le May, Providence Community Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Vivian's mom was a rebel. In the nineties, she followed her favorite punk-rock bands across the Pacific Northwest and championed the Riot Grrrl movement. When Vivian's father died a few months after Vivian was born, her mom returned home. Vivian, raised in East Rockport, Texas, where high-school football stars are king and their bad behavior is excused by a blind-eyed administration, is a mild-mannered good girl. But when she witnesses a sexist incident in class, she is disturbed. One trip to a copy store later, and Moxie is born: an anonymous, Riot Grrrlinspired zine that contains both a diatribe and a call to action. These actions start small, but as more girls become involved, the movement grows, protesting everything from an unfairly enforced dress code to sexual harassment. The novel's triumphsand there are manylie in the way the zine opens Vivian's eyes to the way girls are treated, and to the additional roadblocks that her classmates of color face. Though the novel presents plenty of differing opinions, it never once pits girl against girl, and Vivian struggles with how to navigate a burgeoning relationship with a well-intentioned boy who doesn't always understand what she's fighting for. From an adult perspective, some of the ripped-from-the-headlines issues might seem like old news, but for teens like Vivian, who are just discovering how to stand upand what to stand up forthis is an invaluable revelation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
Male administrators--and the male football players they love to pamper--rule sixteen-year-old Vivian Carter's conservative Texas high school. One day Vivian cracks; the "dutiful" girl becomes a "Moxie Girl." Channeling her rage, Vivian pens and distributes an anonymous zine, Moxie, that addresses the school's systemic misogyny. Mathieu keeps the pace brisk and the stakes climbing in this approachable, empowering story of modern teen activism.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2017
At sixteen-year-old Vivian Carter's conservative Texas high school, male administrators--and the male football players they love to pamper--rule the school. Teachers are encouraged to crack down on female students' minor dress code violations but don't bat an eye when the football team wears shirts emblazoned with vulgar jokes, much less when the boys yell make me a sandwich at girls who speak up in class or when they play bump-and-grab in the halls. It's infuriating, but Vivian is a nice girl --she and her girlfriends roll their eyes and try to ignore it. Until one day Vivian cracks, and a dutiful girl becomes a Moxie Girl. Channeling her rage, Vivian pens and distributes an anonymous zine, Moxie, that addresses her school's systemic misogyny directly. Vivian's underground revolution follows an escalating pattern--boys behave badly, Vivian (via Moxie) calls for displays of solidarity and resistance, and the girls face unfair consequences. Vivian often looks to her former Riot Grrrl mother and her new feminist friend, Lucy, for guidance; when their conversations broach the more nuanced aspects of feminism--intersectionality, male allies, and more--their dialogue often feels wooden and didactic. Mathieu, however, keeps the pace brisk and the stakes climbing in this approachable, empowering story of modern teen activism. jessica tackett macdonald

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)