What do you think?
Rate this book
AOC: Fighter, Phenom, Changemaker
Meet Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: a fighter, a phenom, a changemaker. In 2018, AOC became the youngest woman ever to be elected to Congress—and from that moment on, she’s continued to inspire millions of women, millennial voters, and progressives. Her commitment to speaking truth to power, her ability to shape national conversations through the use of social media, and her popularization of democratic socialism have made her a polarizing and fascinating political figure worthy of consideration.
Drawing from her public interviews as well as author interviews with historians, former campaign volunteers, and campaign staff, AOC explores how a 28-year-old Latina democratic socialist and bartender from the Bronx ousted a ten-term Congressman against all odds. Featuring an array of her most inspirational quotes and brief explainers on some of her largest proposals, the biography seeks to demystify Ocasio-Cortez’s political rise and contextualize her win within this unique moment in US history, illustrating why her win was not a fluke, but rather a sign of the growing influence of the grassroots movements that she represents.
Written by former Cosmopolitan.com and Jezebel politics reporter Prachi Gupta, AOC will inspire readers with Ocasio-Cortez’s remarkable life story and a clear and compelling look at who she is, what she stands for, and the movement that she’s energized.
Drawing from her public interviews as well as author interviews with historians, former campaign volunteers, and campaign staff, AOC explores how a 28-year-old Latina democratic socialist and bartender from the Bronx ousted a ten-term Congressman against all odds. Featuring an array of her most inspirational quotes and brief explainers on some of her largest proposals, the biography seeks to demystify Ocasio-Cortez’s political rise and contextualize her win within this unique moment in US history, illustrating why her win was not a fluke, but rather a sign of the growing influence of the grassroots movements that she represents.
Written by former Cosmopolitan.com and Jezebel politics reporter Prachi Gupta, AOC will inspire readers with Ocasio-Cortez’s remarkable life story and a clear and compelling look at who she is, what she stands for, and the movement that she’s energized.
144 pages, Paperback
First published November 26, 2019
14 people are currently reading
259 people want to read
About the author
Prachi Gupta
2 books197 followersPrachi Gupta is an award-winning journalist and former senior reporter at Jezebel. She won a Writers Guild Award for her investigative essay “Stories About My Brother.” Her work was featured in The Best American Magazine Writing 2021 and has appeared in The Atlantic, The Washington Post Magazine, Marie Claire, Salon, Elle, and elsewhere. She lives in New York City.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
March 27, 2024
Update: I completely forgot that I read this book back in 2020! I enjoyed it just as much as the first time. I would love to see AOC’s name on the presidential ballot one day!
Fantastic, easy-to-read bio on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This is great book for both young adult and adult audiences. I learned a lot about AOC's early years, her journey into being elected into office, her activism and political stances. I was so inspired by AOC's drive and passion for the issues and people she stands for.
Fantastic, easy-to-read bio on Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This is great book for both young adult and adult audiences. I learned a lot about AOC's early years, her journey into being elected into office, her activism and political stances. I was so inspired by AOC's drive and passion for the issues and people she stands for.
February 20, 2020
A great quick read about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
May 13, 2020
AOC – Prachi Gupta
This is a brief, but informative, biography of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, She was born in the Bronx of a Puerto Rican family .Her mother was a domestic worker and her father ran a small business. The family moved from the Bronx to Yorktown, a suburb which provided better education for Alexandria and her younger brother. AOC would later comment that her life between the two zones was very different. Naturally the focus of the book is on her running for and winning a seat in congress, an unexpected journey for a college graduate who earned her living as a bartender. She ran in a district where the congressman had been in congress for twenty years and was the fourth most powerful Democrat in the House. Clearly, he didn’t take his primary challenger seriously. After winning the primary she had to win the election which she did with much direct campaigning. As an attractive, intelligent young woman of twenty-nine she catapulted to fame after the election. She knew how to use social media and how to tweet and how to keep her cool and to present challenging ideas that captured people’s attention. The election of 2018 was a response to Donald Trump’s presidency with a group of young women winning House seats. An interesting fact is that women who are 51% of the population have less than 25% representation in congress, while white men who are 30% of the population have 60% of the seats, a fact worth remembering in this 100th anniversary of granting women the vote. She is an inspiring symbol to many as well as a scourge to the Republicans who will spend much money to defeat her in the next election. Her political ideas include a Green New Deal, Medicare for all as well as other progressive ideas such as free college tuition and guaranteed jobs for all. Where her political career and her issues go from here will require a fuller account, but this is a good introduction.
This is a brief, but informative, biography of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, She was born in the Bronx of a Puerto Rican family .Her mother was a domestic worker and her father ran a small business. The family moved from the Bronx to Yorktown, a suburb which provided better education for Alexandria and her younger brother. AOC would later comment that her life between the two zones was very different. Naturally the focus of the book is on her running for and winning a seat in congress, an unexpected journey for a college graduate who earned her living as a bartender. She ran in a district where the congressman had been in congress for twenty years and was the fourth most powerful Democrat in the House. Clearly, he didn’t take his primary challenger seriously. After winning the primary she had to win the election which she did with much direct campaigning. As an attractive, intelligent young woman of twenty-nine she catapulted to fame after the election. She knew how to use social media and how to tweet and how to keep her cool and to present challenging ideas that captured people’s attention. The election of 2018 was a response to Donald Trump’s presidency with a group of young women winning House seats. An interesting fact is that women who are 51% of the population have less than 25% representation in congress, while white men who are 30% of the population have 60% of the seats, a fact worth remembering in this 100th anniversary of granting women the vote. She is an inspiring symbol to many as well as a scourge to the Republicans who will spend much money to defeat her in the next election. Her political ideas include a Green New Deal, Medicare for all as well as other progressive ideas such as free college tuition and guaranteed jobs for all. Where her political career and her issues go from here will require a fuller account, but this is a good introduction.
September 26, 2020
I have read 3 different biographies of Congresswoman AOC this year. This particular one was by far the best of the three. I thoroughly enjoyed the easiness in which the book was written it made it much easier to get through. I enjoyed the brightness of the different photos and quotes that were included in the chapters. Based on the way that this book is written I would imagine that the intended audience is the teen demographic. However it doesn’t mar the intent of the book to inform about AOC. I also enjoyed the fact that the author in the end of the book laid out in more approachable terms the major proposals that AOC has used to define her time in Congress. The reason I gave the book two stars is that the book still slips in a hagiography that venerates AOC. However for some reason this particular book is more bearable as a hagiography than the others I have read.
October 29, 2020
As I was reading this, I was imagining an English teacher encouraging her precocious student to publish her book report. Thankfully, the English teacher had a relative at an obscure publishing company to make this happen. I pretended the student was in middle school because this book is not the quality of writing I would expect from a bright high school author. It is an argumentative essay without any counterclaims.
It is a hero-worship book report dripping with the zeal of religious fanaticism and its intended audience probably won't stand a chance in questioning AOC's policies, methods, and progressivism. It is filled with subtle (and not-so-subtle) bias that would be difficult for a teenager reading it to detect.
I bought this book for my library because I know many students are interested in her. My coworker said, "You don't like AOC, do you? We probably shouldn't get this for the library." I responded that just because I don't like her doesn't mean we shouldn't supply information for those who do. After purchasing it and reading it, I don't think it's well written, balanced, or of academic quality. Even the design of the book seems to pander and is an insult to intellectually curious students. It would be difficult for me to recommend this to a student for a class-related purpose or as a source worthy of citation. I would only suggest it as a "beach read"-type book.
Regardless of her views, I feel AOC is the master of the soundbite, the curated social-media presence, and is very gimmicky. Her lack of authenticity makes her an ideal politician. I would like to find a better biography. This one will probably get weeded within a couple of years for lack of circulation.
It is a hero-worship book report dripping with the zeal of religious fanaticism and its intended audience probably won't stand a chance in questioning AOC's policies, methods, and progressivism. It is filled with subtle (and not-so-subtle) bias that would be difficult for a teenager reading it to detect.
I bought this book for my library because I know many students are interested in her. My coworker said, "You don't like AOC, do you? We probably shouldn't get this for the library." I responded that just because I don't like her doesn't mean we shouldn't supply information for those who do. After purchasing it and reading it, I don't think it's well written, balanced, or of academic quality. Even the design of the book seems to pander and is an insult to intellectually curious students. It would be difficult for me to recommend this to a student for a class-related purpose or as a source worthy of citation. I would only suggest it as a "beach read"-type book.
Regardless of her views, I feel AOC is the master of the soundbite, the curated social-media presence, and is very gimmicky. Her lack of authenticity makes her an ideal politician. I would like to find a better biography. This one will probably get weeded within a couple of years for lack of circulation.
March 1, 2020
4.5 stars. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was a recent college graduate who, because of the Great Recession, was unable to find a suitable job. She was working as a waitress/bartender in a Bronx coffee shop when she, through her brother, was approached in the middle of the 2016 primary by some former Bernie Sanders staffers to run for office. With nothing else going on in her life, and with mountains of student debt, she eventually jumped at the chance. The fact that she would be running against the fourth-highest Democrat in the House, Joseph Crowley, didn't seem to faze her. Crowley was part of the establishment, and AOC's belief in democratic socialism put her far to the left of most Democrats; her notion of fighting for the working class and immigrants, as well as abolishing ICE as well as corporate monopoly in business, was a form of progressivism that resonated within her Bronx constituency but not with Crowley. In other words, she would be drawing votes from the poor and the disenfranchised, not Crowley's normal supporters. She won the democratic primary and then the election in a landslide, becoming the youngest women ever elected to the House of Representatives. And she has been a thorn in the side of Trump and the Republicans ever since, being denounced daily on FOX News and receiving more death treats than any other member of Congress. Author Prachi Gupta is a freelance writer who has interviewed Hillary Clinton, Ivanka Trump, and Michelle Obama, as well as reporting on the Middle East refugee crisis. She tells a fascinating story here, because AOC is impossible to put down.
March 19, 2023
I think Congress member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a fascinating figure who has yet to fully realize her legislative potential. While I have read a few articles and seen enough news stories to have a sense of what she thinks, I do not know much about her political ideals, her background or her campaign. “AOC: Fighter, Phenom, Change Maker…” by Prahchi Gupta is sadly not the book to provide that information. Gupta, a journalist and podcaster, is seemingly too enamored of her subject to be sufficiently critical and thus this effort, while superficially detailed (the five Ws and H are all checked off) ultimately lacks depth. Making it more unappealing is poor production quality (super wide margins, fuzzy images, an overreliance on graphics) and problematic editing (how many times do we need to be told that Representative Ocasio-Cortez is a "superhero"?). I look forward to a more balanced and less hagiographic effort.
August 3, 2020
Very entertaining book and gave an in-depth look into the life of the most polarizing political figure today, though she is the youngest in Congress. AOC’s story is one of great hope in a country in need of hopeful stories. Her boldness has been on full display recently. Some will pass by this book because of its character, but I’d highly recommend this book because it gives a helpful view past the snapshot pictures of media, whether slanted one way or the other. Prachi Gupta reveals some true flaws in AOC as a young politician though gives her grace in her young age. I think the treatment of this book was fair and the author is worth reading. The 4/5 stars are related to simplistic political bias drawn throughout. Nevertheless, this is a great book and I recommend it!
March 16, 2025
First biography I’ve read in a long time, very enjoyable read and easy to digest. Definitely a book for a younger audience, but I found it extremely interesting. I’ve always been conflicted on my views of AOC, but this definitely opened my eyes more to the scope of her politics and what she stands for. I find her to be a respectable woman, and her story is relatable. I liked the quotes from her interview with Coates, and I especially liked the chapter on the backlash she had received from republicans and different broadcasters like Fox News. Really eye opening to the hypocrisy of the Republican Party. I would be more interested to reading about her more as her career goes on, and am overall impressed by her career so far.
June 25, 2021
Nice little Bio on AOC. With the right wing vilifying her so much it's great to see the story of the girl from the Bronx. In a way it is a little like the Rocky story. A young woman that decides to run for congress. Punching way above her weight. Crowley the incumbent did not take her seriously because he had all the power, the political machine, and depended on the customary votes he always got. AOC worked very hard and ran a very smart campaign and in the end knocked him out. The Democratic party was in shock. There is a lot more to the book about the rise of this unabashedly leftist democratic representative. It's a quick read at 131 pages.
November 13, 2021
AOC's campaign and work seem to be summarized by her speech at an MLK rally early on in her campaign:
"Greatness has never been a result of circumstances or fortune. It is not an inherited trait or a function of destiny. Greatness dresses in humble clothes, emerging from tested integrity, unwavering belief and unshakable commitment. Greatness is the long haul. So I would like to respectfully defer the question, 'Can we be great?', for perhaps a more pressing question, 'How can we be great?'"
This book does a decent job at providing a quick timeline on AOC's beginnings and her powerful movement.
"Greatness has never been a result of circumstances or fortune. It is not an inherited trait or a function of destiny. Greatness dresses in humble clothes, emerging from tested integrity, unwavering belief and unshakable commitment. Greatness is the long haul. So I would like to respectfully defer the question, 'Can we be great?', for perhaps a more pressing question, 'How can we be great?'"
This book does a decent job at providing a quick timeline on AOC's beginnings and her powerful movement.
July 24, 2023
What a great book about AOC. I found this to be a great yet condensed version of AOC in her life path. From being born n the Bronx to being a congresswoman was quite the achievement, yet she did it. She fought tooth & nail to get to where she is & kudos for knowing the issues her family & community faced. She is a force to be reckoned with & does a great job of making a difference in the world. The author does a deep dive into the ins & outs of who AOC is & what she went though to get to where she is now. It was nice to learn more about AOC & all her achievements. Truly an inspiration. I think one can learn alot by reading this.
October 13, 2024
Reads, distractingly at times, as a compilation of tweets, posts, and quotes detailing AOC’s life and rise from normie-hood to mainstream leftist darling. Prachi Gupta intertwines historical perspectives with modern era issues and policies to drive home main points and does not shy away from the myriad of controversy surrounding the Congresswoman. The book is easily digestible and esthetically enjoyable. I began (and ended) my read with the last five pages, which detail AOC’s major proposals (Abolish ICE, Green New Deal, Medicare for All, Federal Jobs Guarantee, Free Public College).
Read
March 14, 2020A comprehensive overview of AOC’s campaign & policies. If you’ve seen Knock Down the House, then you’ll be familiar with a lot of the information in this book. Gupta relies a lot on secondary sources, making this book sometimes read like school assigned essay (which isn’t necessarily bad!) It’s probably better suited for young readers who are interested in learning more about electoral/progressive politics!
March 22, 2020
“It shouldn’t take being elected to Congress to “access education, health care, and a bevy of other things that should be considered human rights.”
If you are Trumper do not read this. If you want to know about AOC and other Bernie surrogates read on MFUCKERS.
Shits about to get real and AOC is on the far left side of change. Always and forever.
If you are Trumper do not read this. If you want to know about AOC and other Bernie surrogates read on MFUCKERS.
Shits about to get real and AOC is on the far left side of change. Always and forever.
March 14, 2021
At 132 pages this quick, bite-sized bio on AOC was perfect for better understanding who this incredible powerhouse is. I'm a Canadian, so I don't have a heavy investment into the United States politics, but I've seen tons of media coverage on AOC and always thought she seemed badass. This book shows just how incredible she is and how hard she has fought for socialism. Great afternoon read.
December 30, 2022
The author does an adequate job sharing details of AOC’s life. I really enjoyed all of the photography — added to the book. Learned a LOT about AOC. A little surface-y at times. AOC’s work ethic and passion are compelling.
August 14, 2020
AOC is a power house and this book captured her greatness and her commitment to THE PEOPLE so well. Prachi Gupta... WELL DONE!
September 23, 2020
This was a wonderful, in-the-moment biography of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez presented from an unfamiliar (to me!) source. Loved it!
September 30, 2020
This is fun, short and informative. It'll obviously become dated the longer AOC is in office but it's a good introduction to anyone who isn't already familiar with her.
November 2, 2020
Great book to begin to explore the life of AOC.
March 28, 2021
Excellent info-biography for YA readers, or a quick adult read giving the overview of AOC’s life and campaign
July 15, 2021
Feels like time for a rewatch of Knock Down The House!
January 28, 2022
honestly, aoc for president.
April 21, 2022
A total worthy first glimpse to the life of one of the most fresh and strong new politicians nowadays in the United States.
January 21, 2024
Liked it, but not particularly ground breaking ideas or style. Recommend if you’re not particularly politically engaged or are curious about her and don’t know much yet.
February 29, 2024
Great book giving more info about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez where she came from and her early influences. Makes me glad that she is in the House and can represent.
April 19, 2025
AOC is my hero! Pick this up to get some more understanding of who she is.
February 24, 2020
Clear and interesting overview of the phenomenon that is AOC with great visual elements and graphic design. Like a long-form essay turned into a paperback book (that seems to be a thing these days). I dug it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews