7 books to read if you liked Moxie on Netflix

Moxie, a book by Jennifer Mathieu, came out in September of 2017 and is now a Netflix film starring Hadley Robinson, Amy Poehler, Lauren Tsai, Alycia Pascual-Pena, Nico Hiraga, Patrick Schwarzenegger, and Marcia Gay Harden.

If you watched and loved the new movie or loved the book and are looking for something similar to check out next, you’re in luck!

There are plenty of other books out there that feature teen girls from all different backgrounds fighting for what they believe in.

We shared a list of seven books to read if you liked Moxie on Netflix below.

Books like Moxie

1. Running by Natalia Sylvester

If you’re looking for Moxie but with a Cuban American teen girl instead of a white girl, Running by Natalia Sylvester is for you. It features Mariana, the teenage daughter of Senator Anthony Ruiz who is running for President. It’s nothing Mariana hasn’t dealt with before, but through her friends, she begins to see her father and his campaign in a new light.

That’s right, instead of fighting the patriarchy, Mariana and her friends protest her father’s policies and the rich people who support him. It’s honestly one of the most satisfying reads I’ve had in a long time!

2. This is My America by Kim Johnson

If you don’t know Kim Johnson, PLEASE watch this video. And after you watch that, PLEASE read her book This is My America. It follows Tracy Beaumont who is doing everything she can to get her father out of prison and off of death row. She protests, sends letters to The Innocence Project so they can take his case, and visits her father as much as she can.

But when her brother is accused of murdering a white girl, she has another problem on her plate. With no other options, she has to find the killer of the girl so her brother can come home.

3. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

This is one of the best books of 2020. You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson follows Liz Lighty who is counting down the days until she can go to an elite college and can join their prestigious orchestra. But when her financial aid falls through, she enters the race to become prom queen because it comes with a scholarship.

The question becomes: is she willing to change who she is and what she believes to win? The race is only semi-bearable because of the new girl that Liz finds herself falling for but should she be getting that close to the competition if she wants to win? She’s amazing!

4. Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno

Rules for Being a Girl by Candace Bushnell and Katie Cotugno is the closest to Moxie a book can get but it still takes on a different part of the patriarchy. The story follows Marin who is good at following the rules and being rewarded for it. But when one of her teachers takes advantage of her, her world comes crashing down around her.

She does everything she’s “supposed” to do: she tells the administration and she tells her best friend. The administration does next to nothing and her best friend doesn’t believe her.

So, as editor of the school paper, she publishes an article titled “Rules for Being a Girl” and starts a feminist book club. Through it, she finds new friends and allies who have her back and give her the strength to keep fighting.

5. Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan

Rebel Girls by Elizabeth Keenan follows Athena, a teenage girl just trying to pass the time until she can leave her very conservative Catholic high school. As a quiet, punk-rock-loving feminist, she doesn’t exactly fit in. But she gets a lot less quiet when a toxic rumor hits the hallways about her sister, Helen.

The rumor is that Helen had an abortion and it may not only hurt Helen’s feelings, it could also get her expelled. Athena will not let that happen. So Athena, Helen, and their friends join forces to let the school know that whether the rumor is true or not doesn’t matter. If they get expelled, well, at least they fought.

This story is also quite similar to Moxie but shows two sisters fighting together instead of one girl and her friends

6. Six Angry Girls by Adrienne Kisner

The title alone has me excited. Six Angry Girls? Where do I sign up? The book by Adrienne Kisner is inspired by the book and movie, 12 Angry Men. The book follows two teen girls, Raina Petree and Millie Goodwin.

Both lose something or someone important to them. Raina is dumped by her boyfriend, loses her dreams of going to her favorite college, and is kicked out of the drama club. Millie is treated like crap by her father and is pushed out of the all-boy mock trial team she was apart of.

Well, when the two meet in the girls’ bathroom (the place where all revolutions begin), the two join forces and start their own mock-trial team along with four other girls. They plan to beat the boys and the patriarchy in one fell swoop.

7. A Song Below Water/A Chorus Rises by Bethany C. Morrow

If you haven’t read A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow, stop reading this and go do that right now. It tells the story of Tavia, a girl who is forced to keep her identity as a siren under wraps in a world that would like her locked up and silenced. The fact that she’s in a city with few Black and/or magical people doesn’t help either.

Luckily, she has her best friend, Effie. They deal with high school, crushes, and family struggles together. But both their worlds turn upside down when a siren murder trial doesn’t bring justice, Effie begins to be haunted by demons from her past, and one of Tavia’s favorite YouTube stars, Naema Bradshaw, comes out as a siren and it brutalized for it. This book is a must-read

And speaking of that YouTube star, Naema is getting her own book, A Chorus Rises. It comes out on Tuesday, June 1, 2021. The book follows the aftermath of what occurs in A Song Below Water but this time, we get Naema’s point of view

Have you read any of these books? Let us know in the comments below!