Thirteen-year-old Moxie is fully cognizant of the burdens attendant upon being named after two presidents and an obscure soft drink. Feeling that she has failed to live up to her moniker, the burgeoning pianist longs to shed her perceived bland persona. A music scholarship to an all-girls boarding school provides Moxie with the opportunity for change. Like a human chameleon, Moxie adjusts her personality to reflect the intriguing people she meets. Her reluctant participation in a confidence-building comedy workshop provides Moxie with the tools to overcome her insecurities. Ultimately she learns to test her mettle, musically and personally, leading to her recognition of the parallels between her musical endeavors and the development of her identity. Kimmel’s sharply observed novel reflects a keen understanding of the agony of self-definition that is adolescence. Readers will cheer for Moxie as she charts her path toward self-acceptance. (Fiction. 10-14)
