By far my favorite book is “Moxie” written by Jennifer Mathieu. Roaring Brook Press published the book on September 19, 2017, and in 2021, Netflix created a movie based on the young adult novel.
To understand the storyline, it’s essential to understand what “Moxie” means. Moxie is an older slang that can be translated to mean courage or determination. So now that you know that, let’s get into the storyline.
Our main protagonist is Vivian Carter. Vivian is the typical straight-A student that never talks back and is a rule follower. This is entirely different from her mom’s when she was in high school. Her mom was Ms. Rule Breaker; she fought for even the littlest of causes. She was also a punk rock feminist activist with a strong will.
First day of Junior year, with the same people you grew up with. What could go wrong? When a new girl gets harassed by the Captain of the football team and no one bats an eye, Vivian starts to question things from her perfect life. She goes home and finds some of her mom’s old stuff such as Riot Grrl CDs, her leather jacket, and old feminist zines (a self-publish homemade magazine).
Between what happened to the new girl earlier and the feminist zines, a fire was ignited in her.
The next day at school, Vivian starts to realize all of the sexist things happening at her school. AND NO ONE IS STOPPING IT. With sexual harassment, body shaming, and an unfair dress code, the school is crawling with inequality. And the culprits are none other than the football team, the stars of the small town that are always protected by the school principal.
She goes home in full rage knowing that something must be done. She takes inspiration from her mom’s old zines and makes one of her own. She named it “Moxie” and distributed them all over school the next day. Throughout the day she started seeing girls with her zines and agreeing with what it was saying.
Within days Moxie turned into a feminist activist group with all different types of girls helping out. They supported each other and made movements to stop sexism at their school. Although they had some resistance, in the end, they pushed through it and made a difference at their school.
Moxie is a great movie and more of an amazing book that shows women’s empowerment is for all ages, not only adults. Everyone fits the criteria for a leader. Never stop fighting for what you believe in because realistically, you are not alone. Maybe someone is waiting for you to stand up. Your actions give people confidence. Never stop having Moxie!
If you would like to own a copy of your own, visit Barnes and Noble and buy a copy for yourself for $9.99. I definitely recommend this book to all teens and young adults.
