Knoji’s Book Nook – Your June Read

This month’s read is: MOXIE

Author: Jennifer Mathieu

Genre: Young Adult

Release date: 2017

Knoji ratings

For reading nonchalantly in public: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For turning you into a spitfire: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For a relaxing rainy day: ⭐️

The story in one sentence

Teenager Viv, fed up with the sexist treatment her and the rest of the female students face at school, sparks a revolution 📣. 

The full story

“Maybe some things are worth getting in trouble over”

Meet Viv: 16. Writer. Sick of her male classmates getting away with everything. 

After another unfair dress-code write up in her conservative Texan Highschool, Viv has had enough. Inspired by her mother’s punk feminist past, she anonymously creates MOXIE—a zine that calls out the privileges her male classmates enjoy compared to the roadblocks she and the other girls face. 

Viv angrily works towards eliminating the patriarchy within her school, but doesn’t expect the excitement and support the other girls show as they read more and more of MOXIE. As MOXIE circulates, girls across the school begin to rally around its message. They start conversations, share experiences, and—slowly—begin to organise.

Viv eventually reveals herself as the creator, and the school’s female students come together to explore what feminism really means. The novel doesn’t shy away from the complexities: it acknowledges how race and sexuality intersect with gender, making equality even harder to achieve. It also embraces the imperfections—some of the girls still slip into internalised misogyny, but they’re learning, growing, and holding each other accountable. It promotes the  ongoing conversation of undoing sexist norms. 

Through sisterhood, solidarity, and a shared sense of injustice, the girls build the courage to stage a school-wide walkout to protest for women’s rights. 

Why should I read this?

Moxie is a celebration of the power of collective action. It’s a reminder to all of us to use our voices. It encourages us to call out injustice when we see it and stand up for those who can’t do it themselves. 

It’s also a great introduction to feminist concepts which can be used as evidence and as a unique perspective in your discursive writing! 

Where do I go from here?

You can grab a copy of MOXIE here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/moxie-jennifer-mathieu/book/9781444940633.html 

If this book makes you feel seen, you should check out the feminist history which inspired it: Riot Grrl. The best place to start is punk band Bikini Kill, their song, “Rebel Girl’ is actually referenced in the novel!