School Library Journal Review
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. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
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. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
