Moxie girls fight back! Inspired by her mother (a Riot Grrrl from the 90s), quiet, “good girl”, Viv, decides to take matters into her own hands when she can no longer stand the way the football guys are worshipped and allowed to grope girls and wear shirts that say things like, “Shut up and make me a sandwich” while girls are shamed at her Texas high school. This book is full of grrrrl power - girl friendships (girls choose friends over boys!), girl partnerships (even with those not in their social circles!), and feminism. Feminism is often such a misunderstood, loaded word - for both guys and girls. Moxie is a great book to read if you are a person struggling with the concept of feminism. It’s great because it SHOWS you what feminism looks like instead of TELLS you. No politics, just straight-up women should be treated equally to men. Period.
This is not just an issues book! Readers will like and root for Viv and her friends (boys and girls). And they might just want to create a zine and start their own revolution!
What a cool way to present the 90s Riot Grrrl Revolution to teens (I’ve definitely seen it pop up in YA). It had me going to YouTube to look up bands like Bikini Kill and had me researching the Riot Grrrl manifesto. Here’s a video of Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna reading the Riot Grrrl Manifesto: