This was the perfect read for an election year, and AOC is supreme queen! I love the empowering messages inside and learning more about her rise.

I am completely torn on this book.  I am definitely not the intended reader, but I am trying to think about it through the eyes of my middle school students.  I would like them to have a book about a great female influence, and I would like it to be relatable to them.  That being said, boys should read about strong woman too, and this book often referred to the reader as "sis."  It kind of came of as a report done for school by someone who has never met the subject.

Review and star rating to follow. I'm still trying to figure my opinion about this book out.

Update 9/25/20: 2 rounded up to 3 stars.
So, I had a little bit of time to think about this book and everything I read. I really wanted to learn more about AOC, her personality, her thought process, her upbringing. And yes, I did get that! It was exciting to learn more about this charismatic young woman and her journey to Congress. However, overall, this book left a bad taste in my mouth. My hope was that this would be a portrait of a great young woman which would open the door to some more dialogue and for more conservative voters to see the world from her perspective. But this book ended up being a man hating, Trump and conservatives hating, Democratic party glorifying propaganda book and that, my dear friends, was extremely disappointing!!! This is NOT how you start adult conversations about politics and the goals AOC has/had. This book had so much potential and fell utterly short!!! I'm very sad about that! 

Also, the writing style was annoying at times! I get it...this may be aimed at a younger generation. But I'm sure us older folks are very interested in AOC's story and goals. I felt like the author tried too hard to use language that would make it interesting to read, but I had the feeling that even Millennials and GenZers would roll their eyes at this one.

Another book to this magnificent series. I mean who doesn't love AOC!! Such a great book. Learn a little more with each page turn.

This book, apparently in a series about women in government, is about the life so far, of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortes. I learned a lot about Cortes, and am so glad we have young women in government like her, changing the status-quo.

As far as the book goes, it jumped around quite a bit so was hard to follow, used slang which felt unnecessary, and numerous greetings like hey sis, calling AOC a "queen" etc. Maybe teenage girls will read more with the slang thrown in, but I didn't enjoy it. There were also grammatical errors, such as "had rode" rather than:  "had ridden," and I am not sure if those were supposed to make the book more relatable to its audience, or were just a mistake.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I am giving 3 stars, content was good overall, the style not MY style!

Thank you to PENGUIN GROUP Dutton for providing me an E-ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

I was super excited to pick this up! Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an absolute icon. I'm always eager to learn more about her life, and I did learn a lot from reading this book! It was awesome learning about her family history and her upbringing. I also enjoyed getting some quotes from family members about AOC and her political endeavours. Furthermore, I thought the authors made good decisions regarding the quotes and speeches from AOC that they finally included. I also really love the cover, as you can just see Alexandria's empathy, care, and compassion shine right through the illustration.

However, besides those few things, I didn't really enjoy this book much. I don't want to dwell on the negatives, so I'll just quickly make some points:
- The timeline was jumpy and confusing at times
- I REALLY didn't like the constant use of "sis", "girl", "queen", etc. It made the overall reading experience just... pretty bad.
- There was a whole section about "beauty tips", which I did not understand and was quite confused by.
- The E-ARC was missing all of the photos inside the book. Of course, I understand that an advanced copy wouldn't be totally finished, so this didn't bother me too much.
- I hate Trump, but the authors sometimes used ableist terms and ideas when talking about him, and I can't get behind that.
- There were a lot of people introduced and talked about in this book (understandably), but I wish there was a list either at the beginning or end of these people's names/jobs/relation to AOC.

Overall, I think this is a good resource for starting to learn about AOC. The information is detailed. albeit confusing at times, and you really get a sense of Alexandria's character and impact on the world. This obviously isn't the be-all-end-all of biographies, far from it, but in the small page count of it, I think the authors accomplished what they set out to do. There were quite a few things I didn't enjoy, so I can't give this a rating any higher than a 3/5 stars. But I'm glad I read it and learned more about AOC's past.

I think the premise of this series is WONDERFUL, and I'm thrilled that books like this are being published and made available to young people on the rise. That said, I really struggled with the voice the book employed -- It felt very much like an adult trying to talk like the kids talk, and I worry that young people will pick up on that and be less inclined to take the content seriously. Leaders like AOC and Elizabeth Warren should absolutely be written and read about, and it's my hope that young readers won't let the writing style get in the way of absorbing stories of these awesome women. 

Thank you to Dutton for this ARC, and for raising up the voices of powerful female leaders.

4 out of 5 💪"...She's still Alex from the block 🎶"


'Queens of the Resistance' is a series of books about modern-day politicians committed to making an impact on our everyday lives. Also, to change the existing administrative model to be more inclusive and welcome for every gender and skin color. These Queens are concerned about racial justice, everyday problems of undocumented Americans, and climate change.

The volume about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tells the story of AOC since the very beginning, including her childhood through the first steps in politics to her plans for the future. The book is strongly biased but that something the one can guess just by the title. It made my roll my eyes ones or twice in the first chapters but the farthest in the book, the more concrete data, and stories. I enjoyed the background story of Alexandria and all the badass stuff she's done (so far!).

The biggest advantage of the series is language, pure gen Z / millennial slang and references made me smile. That whole attitude made the book more enjoyable and easier to digest.
I enjoyed that piece and want to read more books of that series!!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher Plume for Young Readers for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and feelings are my own.

AOC really is a Queen and I loved reading this story about her. I learned so much about her! She really is trying to help people and she is so refreshing! She really will change this country! 

This was really well written and I highly recommend if you want to learn more about this Queen!

I had some serious mixed feelings on this. I love the idea and I do support a lot of what AOC stands for; however, I found this writing style and formatting to be odd. I do like that this was written to be accessible to the general public and mostly geared toward teenage girls. I think that it is so important to invoke political responsibilities in young women but the use of “yassss” and “go sis” was just super cringe-y to me... and I am 21. I also found it kind of concerning that there were chapters on favorite recipes and skin care?  I found that kind of insulting, but that might just be me. To me, this read more like a magazine article/interview. Overall, though, this did contain a lot of good information regarding AOC’s background and ideals. Love the intent and goal but not so much the execution!

I love the idea of this book and series. I think it's a great way to make female politicians at the forefront of young girl's minds. I think it's super important to start this conversation in young people. I do think that most teenagers are not going to like this book and the way it was written. To me, every time I saw the "hip" language being used I cringed. I'm twenty-two, and I wouldn't even use language like this. It felt like the writing was trying way too hard to sound like teenagers. It sounds like no young adult nonfiction I have ever read, and I think a lot of teen readers will hate that more than I did. I do like how AOC's story was told and there was a lot of great info included.

Excellent YA, teen or new adult title. Well researched, written in an accessible, fun way. I'm looking forward to recommending this to teens and the occasional adult. One critical note for netgalley, this is only listed under Biography and Memoirs, it should be in YA as well

I am constantly inspired by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and am now even more so after learning so much about her backstory.

AOC is a true bright light someone who will do a lot for our country Shes also a New YorkWoman  one of which I proudly am also she will not step aside for anyone fears  no one.Also s someone with a real girl side can talk about make up facials and she can dance.Agree with her politics or not  she will. be out their fighting for her beliefs and I applaud 
her.This is a terrific series about woman leaders .#netgalley #penguindutton

Thank you to Penguin Group Dutton & NetGalley for the Advanced Reader's Copy 

Available June 30 2020

In "Queens of Resistance: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez", Brenda Jones & Krishan Trotman attempt to discuss the young Congresswomen's successful story along with a mix of #relatable content like fashion tips & favorite recipes. While talking about issues like ICE and climate change, Trotman and Jones try to keep it #hip by sprinkling in terms like "go sis" and "yasss". It reads like a literal transcript of Al-jazeera mixed with some Teen Vogue and NowThis. It seems like the book and the series would appeal to the older teen population who are beginning to be politically engaged.

“I smoked this race...I didn’t edge anybody out. I dominated and I’m going to own that.”

Honestly, the only things I knew about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez before reading this book was that she was the youngest person ever elected to Congress, which in itself is a tremendous accomplishment, and she faced harsh negativity from the likes of Trump and Fox News. However, thanks to this book, I now recognize that she is so much more than that. She is the closest to a perfect politician you can get; she cares deeply about her constituents and all people, she is intelligent, she is brave, she is open-minded, and she is fun. She understands how important it is to listen. She doesn’t introduce policies as a way to better herself individually. No, she is invested in policies that can save the country. She stands up for women, immigrants, communities of color, the LGBTQ+ community. She doesn’t let anyone push her around and she owns her accomplishments. She is globally-minded and deeply empathetic and I regret not knowing more about her before now.

Queens of the Resistance: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a highly accessible book. It does not read like a textbook, although it is definitely just as informative. The language is effective in highlighting not just that biographies and nonfiction can be for everyone, but that AOC is an extraordinary everyday individual. The authors effectively are telling their readers, “Hey, this woman from a working class family in the Bronx became a woman who inspires us all and you can, too.” It is a fun and endearing read that is short, sweet, and to the point, but packs a punch of inspiring messages. This book would be the perfect read for anyone who wants to learn from fearless leader, AOC.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton Books for allowing me access to this e-ARC.

I really enjoyed learning about AOC’s life and journey to becoming one of the most famous faces in politics. This book brought a lot more to her story than I thought it would. It was very well written and written in a narrative style that I think will appeal to audiences of all ages.

"Who knew that while we were enjoying the moment, the wind beneath our wings after two terms with the first black president, a time that had left us proximal to a variety of enjoyable mini multi-cultures: sushi, guacamole, break dancing--there was a group of malcontents intent on making America great again..."great" like the 1940's.  And that mean forcing women back into the kitchen, padlocking the door, and throwing away the key."

I want to begin by saying that I love Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and align with her politically, so this book was just like a continuous pep-talk for me, reminding me of all the changes I would like to see in the American political machine.  That being said, I found this book to be an easy read and most likely targeted at younger girls probably around my 12 year old daughter's age.  It was easy to understand and informative and reminded us how AOC represents us all, not just herself and not just the Bronx.  I believe if Trump is the backlash we are receiving for Obama, then by the same measure, AOC and her squad are the backlash to Trump.  As the authors wrote, "These women are America’s response to the mess that became the Trump election. Enough is enough."  

I do not think that anyone who doesn't agree with AOC would enjoy this book, thanks to the constant media sabotage from Fox News towards AOC, however, I also don't think it will matter because they will not be the ones to pick up this book. I think this book holds a fantastic overview to share with young girls who look up to these trailblazers and reminds us all that just one person can make a difference.

Many thanks to @netgalley for providing my advanced copy!

A very quick and easy read on the life of AOC. Although I personally don't agree with most of her politics, as a political activist and writer I would be doing myself a disservice by not reading about how she came to be a phenomenon.

WRITING STYLE: 4/5
SUBJECT: 5/5
CANDIDNESS: 5/5
RELEVANCE: 5/5

Brenda Jones and Krishan Trotman collaborated on a book that wrings out the emotions of admiration, hope, and aspiration with Queens of the Resistance: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

I was anticipating this book very much, and am grateful for an ARC, thank you, NetGalley!

I'd like to state clearly: I am not the biggest fan of AOC, because I do not agree with most of her policies and beliefs-- I do not side and support Socialism, nor could I ever dream of being a participant of the Democratic-Socialist Party.

However, I admire Ms. Cortez, I believe she has a strong impact on young Latinx people throughout the U.S., and I think she is an incredibly profound member of the Latinx community; she is bold, courageous, and utterly honest and human, and she is willfully dedicated to her party and its beliefs. 
At the end of the day, she is a woman, a Hispanic woman, who fought and earned her way to the title and identity of being a U.S. congresswoman of New York.

Frankly a wonderful, intelligently written memoir, about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a truly poignant definition of a "queen of resistance". 

FOUR STARS OUT OF FIVE.