Bellaire High School Teacher's Latest Novel To Receive Big-Screen Treatment

BELLAIRE, TX — English teacher Jennifer Mathieu is on cloud nine. The 40-year-old author's fourth book, Moxie Girl, has been picked up by Amy Poehler's Paper Kite production company.

The novel, published by Roaring Brook Press, tells the story of a 16-year-old girl from a small Texas town who finds inspiration in her mother's Riot Grrrl past and organizes a feminist revolution at her high school.

The novel hits bookstores in September, and Poehler's interest in it bodes well for sales figures.

Mathieu told Houstonia that she had no idea Poehler was going to be a participant on the telephone call made to discuss the rights to the novel.

“She was lovely and shared that both of her parents are English teachers, too. She was so normal! I’ve always been a huge fan of Parks and Recreation, Saturday Night Live, her book Yes Please, and her web series Amy Poehler’s Smart Girls,” Mathieu said. “She actually read my entire book and quoted passages from it. When she said she wanted to work with me, naturally, I said yes!”

Mathieu's other books include The Truth About Alice and Afterward.

“Jennifer writes with a voice so authentic to the teenage experience that it feels like her characters walked straight out of a high school classroom and into the pages of her books,” Roaring Brook editor Katherine Jacobs told Variety. “She is poised to become one of the most important writers for young adults working today.”

— Main image courtesy Roaring Brook Press