There are millions of readers who have followed the funny and touching daily life of the teenager over all these years.
Today is the end of the adventure. Catherine Girard-Audet, who brought Léa to life 12 years ago, drawing inspiration from her own story, is releasing, in Belgium, the 24th and final volume of The complicated life of Léa Olivier.
Success-story
“It’s a pang in the heart. It’s a slice of my life, directed by the Quebec author. But 12 years for a children’s series is huge! I had the chance to reach out to several generations of readers (Above all) with Léa Olivier. In my novels, Léa ages. I can no longer write a children’s series with a character who is going to move into an apartment! (smile). “
The one who already published the last volume in Quebec last year, admits: “It’s difficult to say goodbye to the success of this series. You don’t experience success like this four times!”
1.7 million copies sold in 26 countries. Novels translated into 12 languages. TV series, comics too (read opposite). If the Quebecer did not expect such success, she has learned, over the years, to detect the reasons.
“The cover is beautiful. The illustrator (Veronic Ly) a makes Léa a very endearing character. At the time, my brother, who is my publisher, bet everything on Léa Olivier. There was also room on the Quebec market. And the epistolary form (the story is a succession of emails and SMS) is original. “
Love’s pain
And then, there are of course the universal issues of adolescence which allowed the author to make her heroine known throughout the world.
“Whether we are on one side of the ocean or the other, adolescence is experienced the same. The sorrows of love, of friendship, the bickering (” disputes “) of family, uprooting, speak to all young people. “
Writing about adolescence? Obvious for the one who, at 43, is “remained young in his head”. In 2008, she already published the ABC for girls and still responds to letters from teenagers in a Quebec magazine today.
De-dramatize
“Adolescence is the first experiences: everything is so intense. Your first real argument with your friends, you think it’s the end of the world! I believe that with Léa Olivier, I can play down this period of When you read Léa Olivier, you feel less alone.
What would she like us to remember from the series? “Let everything pass! Me too, when I had my first heartbreak, I thought I wasn’t going to get through it. Let time pass. Even difficult times are worth living through. We just come out stronger “
If Catherine Girard-Audet says goodbye to Léa, she will return in 2025 with a new series: The worst year of my life which tells the daily life of Gabrielle, almost 14 years old. “She’s not a Léa bis!”promises the author who once again explores the adventures of adolescence. “I would be able to write about something else, but I wouldn’t feel out of place. Maybe when I grow up (laughs). “
The complicated life of Léa Olivier, Volume 24 – The last, Catherine Girard-Audet, Éditions Kennes/Les 3 AS, 344 pages.
Ludo Borecki: “I knew I wouldn’t catch up on the novels”
Léa Olivier, these are also comics. As the final novel comes out, the 12th volume Resolutions of the comic book adaptation of the teenage girl’s adventures appears. Léa and her friends have been coming to life for 10 years thanks to the drawings of Ludo Borecki. “At the time, I was 40 years old. I didn’t know if I was capable of drawing adolescence,” says the Belgian designer. “I read the first novels and I loved it. I gave it a go. “
A successful bet since the comic book is a hit. “We said to ourselves that when the novel ended, we would stop the comic.” Even if we are not at the same stage in history?“I knew that I wouldn’t catch up on the novels. In this volume 12, there is like a little ending, sweet and bitter. I put Alex (with whom Léa is in love)on the cover. He leaves. We leave the mystery. “
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