English teacher and author Jennifer Blessington has always loved words. She used to come up with stories before she even knew how to write.

Growing up, Blessington obsessed over books. She read voraciously and loved to write, so her parents encouraged her to go into journalism. Blessington studied at Northwestern University, where she majored in journalism. Working as a reporter, she most enjoyed writing human interest stories. 

Ultimately, Blessington knew that journalism was not for her. Blessington loved to connect with people, especially with young people, so 16 years ago, she started her teaching career. In this profession, she became the renowned author she is today.

Blessington started her teaching career at Meyerland Middle School in 2005, where she noticed the popularity of fiction novels among her students, who were reading “Twilight.” Blessington was curious and read “Twilight.”  This is what inspired to write fiction.

Blessington went on to write seven books: “Moxie,” “The Truth About Alice,” “Devoted, Afterward, Kisses and Curses,” The Liars of Mariposa Island,” and “Bad Girls Never Say Die.” Blessington had the most fun writing “Moxie.” 

“All my books have brought me something, but I had never written a book that was so happy,” Blessington said. “I also have really fond memories of the Riot Grrrl movement, so it was fun being able to incorporate that into Moxie.”

During the Riot Grrrl movement, which was popular in the 90s, women made ‘zenes’ (magazine collages) about things that were important to them such as standing up against racism or spreading feminism. In Moxie, protagonist Vivian’s mom makes a zene called ‘Moxie’ and distributes them anonymously. She helps start the Moxie.

Blessington hopes that “Moxie” can guide young readers to understanding the joy of being a feminist.

“Feminism has given me confidence, close friendship with other women, and made my marriage that much stronger and happier,” Blessington said. “I want readers to understand that being a feminist is about liberating yourself and living free.”

Blessington said that the Moxi story has something for everyone. Moxie is essentially a club that has no real leader, but also many leaders. 

“Women have gotten used to reading about male protagonists, and so boys should read about girls as much as girls have read about boys,” Blessington said.