Absolutely loved this book. Probably because the interest and subculture resonated with me but I think the presentation of strong female leads is very important in YA lit.

So empowering! What a great read for any young girl. Will definitely be looking into her other books.

East Rockport High School has a problem. Boys grab girls inappropriately in the hallway and wear t-shirts with sexual innuendos on them while girls get dress code checks and told by administrators to “forget” the inappropriate touching. Vivian Carter’s mom was a riot girl in the 90s, so Vivian has an idea to create a Zine to rally the girls together. “Moxie girls fight back” is their motto, and this book outlines just how Moxie becomes a movement. This is a YA novel with heavy subject matter, but the Moxie movement is empowering to read about.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC! This story is not wiithout flaws, but it does highlight some important issues (specifically women's issues) that we are still dealing with.

Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu is a young adult contemporary story packed with girl power. Readers follow high school junior Vivian Carter as she navigates the realities of her small-town Texas high school. At East Rockport, the boys rule the school and get away with seemingly everything, even raunchy t-shirts and a game designed to fondle girls when they least expect it. After the girls in school get punished for violating a dress code that doesn't have clear-cut rules, Vivian decides to fight back by secretly creating Moxie, a zine inspired by the Riot Grrl movement of the 1990s. What follows is a powerful novel about standing up for yourself in the face of adversity, even when those in charge refuse to listen.

Much like Mathieu's previous books, Moxie tackles a hot-button topic by making it relatable. What girl hasn't faced an arbitrary dress code, or a school administrator telling her to "forget about" a boy's unwanted advances? While Moxie is, of course, a fictional story, Mathieu cleverly writes this book so as to arm girls everywhere with the tools they need to fight back against injustice.

Of course, in addition to organizing secret protests, Vivian finds herself enamored with the new boy at school, Seth Acosta. Unlike the football jocks, Seth thinks Moxie is cool, and when he finds out Vivian is the creator, he keeps her secret. Vivian and Seth soon begin a swoon-worthy romance, but when Seth can't fully understand what the girls at East Rockport are facing, the pair may be headed for rocky waters.

Similarly, Moxie is also a story of friendship. Throughout the novel, Vivian reconnects with old friends, makes new friends, and faces the difficult reality that her best friend Claudia may not agree with Moxie's message. Vivian soon comes to learn that when the girls at East Rockport band together, they become unstoppable no matter what differences may have formerly divided them.

In the end, Moxie is a fast-paced read that tackles feminism in an approachable way. While Vivian may want to fly under the radar with her rebellious zine, she creates a movement that takes her small town by storm and unifies her community. Moxie is an enjoyable book that has something to teach its readers, whether or not they are new to feminism. It should be assigned reading for high schools in the United States.

How I wish I had teen or pre-teen girls in my life to press this into their hands and bribe them to read it. This book is a great introduction to feminism through the lens of a young girl and her set of high school friends. Vivian Carter is fed up with the sexist double standard at her school, and inspired by a box of mementos found in her mother's closet, filled with Riot Girl zines, tapes, letters, and other feminist material of the 1990s, she starts a movement she calls Moxie. Unsure of where to begin, she starts it off anonymously but soon sees it take off in ways she never expected.

I was utterly delighted by this book. It was a fun, vibrant but real expression of teen frustration, nascent political awakening, and the fears of standing alone against what is obviously an injustice. I loved the friendships and the romance that the author included.

I want to thank the publisher for giving me access to a NetGalley digital arc in exchange for a fair and truthful review of the book.

Moxie is all about lifting up your own voice as well as the voices of others who are marginalized. It is empowering and encouraging. While it focuses on stopping sexism and promoting feminism no matter your gender, it also covers the intersectionality of feminism and racism with Black and Latine characters.

One word: Amazing! Moxie is a must read for everyone!! If you need a great book this one needs to be picked up at your local store right away.

I read this for a bit of a secret project. Not precisely sure what I'm allowed to disclose about the project (but I will update this review for transparency as soon as I can).

I'm giving this a solid 4 stars.

Like Viv, I began exploring feminism in high school. This led to me majoring in Gender Studies for my BA and incorporating feminist theory in my MA thesis project. I am very supportive of the message of Moxie. I think as an intro text, it balances being both gently didactic and inspiring. I appreciated the ways in which Mathieu incorporated a list of feminist texts for further understanding (from the music Vic listens to, to poetry her friends find inspirational, to the actual list of resources in the Author's Note)! I'd definitely recommend this to young folks. (less)

DNF

The narrative voice isn't for me. The heroine's so dainty and sensitive, wishing to be part of the action but afraid to do anything. The characters don't feel vibrant and real, and it feels wayyy too much like it's trying to teach a lesson, rather than just being a story that conveys one.

Moxie is bright, relevant, and engaging. The narrative style is energetic and perfect for teenagers. I use the first chapter as an example of starting a narrative with a character's voice in my creative writing class, and students are always interested enough to ask about the rest of the story.

Girl power. Great for young adults. More like grade 8 read. Love the feminist aspects of this book and touching on difficult topics.

This was so great! Couldn’t stop reading it! All girls/women should read this empowering book. Vic and her friends are wonderful characters and these instances have been mentioned so you know this stuff is actually happening in schools.

I am an avid reader and enjoy reading books for all ages. When I discovered Moxie by Jennifer Mathieu, a YA book, I was intrigued. I became more interested in the book when I learned that Vivian decides to lead a feminist rebellion at her school.
Vivian tires of the disparaging remarks football players make about girls. The boys sexually harass girls anywhere on campus. They also share a list of names of girls they would like to exploit sexually. All of this behavior does not set well with Vivian. She decides to do something about it.
To combat the males’ obnoxious and even dangerous behavior, Vivian creates a zine, anonymous, of course, called Moxie. On Moxie, Vivian helps girls find their own power, protesting the dress code, and supporting fundraisers for girls’ sports.
Some of the males complain that they’ve been unfairly targeted since they did not participate in the harassment of the girls. There is also a hint of vigilante justice which suddenly reminds everyone that stories must be verified and that rumors and hearsay will not be enough to convict someone of wrongdoing, especially if the stories are just that rumors and hearsay.
Moxie falls short of its goal of empowering girls. This story must involve support for both genders and education about allowing stories that may or may not be true to overrule common sense and decent behavior.

This has been sitting on my TBR list for longer than I can believe and I have to give my daughter props for reading it first and recommending it to me--she said it reminded her of Girls on the Verge and since we both loved it, I should dust this one off my shelf and read it, do I did.

I really enjoyed how this story played out--that Moxie Girls wasn't a single girl, but all girls. I loved the inclusiveness, the discussions about how boys did or didn't understand things, I liked how Mathieu worked hard to capture the voice and experience of teen girls (as the mother to one and the teacher of many, it felt authentic) and make it feel realistic.

Overall, a strong read--one I'll definitely put on my school bookshelf.

Vivian Carter, always one to walk the straight and narrow, decides to follow in her mother's feminist footsteps after a series of unfair situations occur at her new high school. Through the creation of a zine, Vivian is able to reach the other female students and create a voice for them amid all of the opposition. Moxie will inspire teen girls to take charge and raise a fist in honor of girl power. My HS book club girls loved it!

An inspiring book that sees high school students banning together to fight sexism. I would recommend this book for all high school students.

I really ended up enjoying this book! This was a review book that completely slipped through the cracks and was left to sit somewhat forgotten. By the time I pulled it out of the pile, I didn't completely remember why I had been drawn to it in the first place. I wasn't too far into the book when I realized just how good this story really was and I had a fantastic time with it.

It has been a long time since I was a teenager or went to high school. A very long time. My youngest daughter is currently finishing up her final year of high school and my oldest is a young adult so I have lived with teenagers for quite a few years so I feel like I know what they are like and I thought that this book was filled with realistic teenagers which is one of the things that I really really enjoyed about it.

I wish that the things that happen at Vivian's high school during the course of this book didn't happen. I know that they happened when I was in school and I don't think it is too much of a stretch to think that they still happen quite often in certain areas. I was mad. I was disappointed. And I was disappointed. How could the adults let these things happen and not speak up? How was it that none of the parents of daughters from the school were demanding change? The one thing that I would have loved to see happen in this book would be for Vivian, or one of her friends, to tell the adult in their life exactly what was going on.

These girls didn't let others fight their battles though. Vivian sparks a movement that eventually works its way across her school. I was so happy to see these girls stand up and fight the things that were wrong together. It was a very uplifting message about how change can happen if you get enough people to stand up with you.

I listened to the audiobook version of this book which turned out to be a fantastic choice because Suzy Jackson did a wonderful job with the story. She really was the voice of Vivian and I thought that she did was able to bring this story to life. All of the character voices were really well done and I had no problems listening to this book for hours at a time.

I would recommend this book to others. I had a great time watching this wonderful group of characters fight for a cause that was easy to get behind. I look forward to reading more of Jennifer Mathieu's work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group via NetGalley and borrowed a copy of the audiobook from my local library.

In Moxie, Mathieu explores the culture of high schools revolving around athletes. ThisTexas school's, administration looks the other way while football players sexually harass female students. Viv Carter decides she has had enough. Inspired by her mother's high school journal, Viv starts Moxie, a group of girls dedicated to stopping the boys' actions. "Moxie girls fight back", is the slogan the girls use to take their stance. They come up with various methods to make their point, and raise money for the girls' soccer team since all the school's athletic money goes elsewher. It's rough, but in the end, they bring overdue changes. Sadly, this behavior is still prevalent in American schools. This book will start some discussions about the topic.

I used this book in the young-adult literature course I teach at West Virginia University this semester. The students loved it. and it fit in really well with the course theme of "YA Lit in the #MeToo Era." _Moxie_ deals with the microaggressions girls experience in high school in a way that is powerful and light-hearted at the same time--no small feat.