The story of a political rock star, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who made history with her stunning rise from Bronx-raised bartender to the becoming a US congressperson who has had an outsize impact on this country's political culture and climate. Gupta, a political journalist who was disillusioned after the 2016 presidential election, tells the story in words, charts, and photographs of AOC's early life, campaign, accomplishments and legislation proposals, her innovative use of social media to engage constituents, the serious backlash against her by the president and the right wing news, and her membership in the group of four millenial women of color in Congress who became known as the squad. Beyond the story of Ocasio-Cortez, this book is about the movement she has helmed and inspired, with proposals like the Green New Deal, abolishing ICE, and free public college for all.
Born in the Bronx and raised in the suburbs of Westchester County, New York, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez witnessed firsthand how a person’s zip code can shape their destiny. That early exposure to income inequality fueled a passion for change that, in turn, led her to take on—and defeat—a ten-term incumbent to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. Now a target for the right, she is an inspiration to millions of millennial voters, women of color, and progressives.
A celebratory biography that tells the blow-by-blow account of AOC’s extraordinary rise from bartender to political rock star, AOC is a compelling look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: who she is, what she stands for, and the movement that she’s energized.
Prachi Gupta is a journalist in New York. She was a senior reporter at Jezebel and co-host of Jezebel's politics podcast, Big Time Dicks. Prior to that, she covered the 2016 election for Cosmopolitan.com, where she interviewed figures like Hillary Clinton, Ivanka Trump, and Michelle Obama, and reported on the refugee crisis in the Middle East. Her work has appeared in IndieWire and Salon.com, and she has offered commentary on NPR, CNBC, and Channel 4’s documentary on Ivanka Trump.
