Written By: Reimena Yee
Page Count: 272 pgs
Published By: Random House Graphic
Release Date: 15th September 2020
This story follows a young girl named Lora and her group of friends as they begin to grow up into teenagers. From days spent playing ‘make believe adventures’ and using their imagination to create new games, slowly Lora’s friend circle begins to dwindle as they each become more interested in make up, video games and finding romance. Lora on the other hand has no interest in any of these topics yet and prefers the simple things in life, like just messing around in the outdoors. Whilst reading a book on the supernatural, Lora decides to hold a séance tea party in her attic. Little did she realise that her childhood imaginary friend Alexa would reappear.
Alexa is infact a wandering ghost of a young girl that used to live in the town decades ago. As the two girls rekindle their lost friendship, they each start helping one another accept life’s challenges. This is a very charming coming of age story, perfect for those aged ten and above who are starting to shy away from playing with traditional toys and games.
This is in fact the first story I have ever read by Reimena Yee and it really was delightful. With a plot that can almost instantly connect with the majority of readers, it also has the magic to bring up old memories for the older readers like myself of when they were at a similar age and going through the same challenges. This story is even more relevant in todays’ society as it seems as though todays’ generation of kids are getting interested in video games and pop culture at a much younger age than before. So when I first thought that this story would be ideal for those aged 12 and above, in reality we could be looking more at the 10 years old age bracket.
It is also the perfect time of year to get into a good book or series, as the winter season begins to creep in and the evenings get darker a lot earlier now. I have always enjoyed the coming of age genre of books, each of them usually has their own take on that stressful time between wanting to stay a kid forever but at the same time, wanting to be more adult. This is perhaps the first book I’ve read that actually involves a ghost, Alexa who helps our protagonist Lora to better understand her feelings and with just a bit of extra support is able to gather the courage to go out and try new things.
This is also a good book to perhaps read alongside your child as it does touch on a number of important subjects, like bullying, peer pressure and feeling as though they are being left behind by their friends. It is one of those stories that is there to help you create an environment for your child to be comfortable to talk openly about issues such as these.
This book was entirely created by Reimena Yee, a very talented illustrator, writer and designer originally from Kuala Lumpur but now resides in Melbourne, Australia. She is the author-illustrator of the gothic comics, “The World in Deeper Inspection”, the Eisner and Mcduffie-nominated “The Carpet Merchant of Konstantiniyya”, and is also the writer of “The Makers Club” series. You can check out all her titles and current works over on her website – https://reimenayee.com
You can also buy “Séance Tea Party” now through the publishers link below, which has a very useful list of websites where you can order the book from. If you can, try to buy this book from your local bookstore.
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/606194/seance-tea-party-by-reimena-yee/
Overall: 8/10
