Creator of the essential ABCs of girls and the hit series The complicated life of Léa Olivierwhich has sold more than 1.8 million copies worldwide, Catherine Girard-Audet is launching a very dynamic new series which addresses very contemporary subjects for young people aged 10 and over, The worst year of my life. She talks about adapting to the enriched high school program, the pressure to succeed, rivalry, self-image in the age of social networks, but also friendship and affairs of the heart.
Catherine Girard-Audet publishes her new series, “The worst year of my life”, with Éditions Les Malins.
© Éditions Les Malins
This new series plunges straight into the world of Gabrielle Poitras-Tardif, aka GPT, who will see all the colors as she moves from the regular program to the enriched program.
This decision, taken by the director of her school and by her parents, without having consulted her first, upsets her and completely turns her little world upside down. She therefore finds herself, overnight, alongside the super bollés of the B wing of her school, far from her best friend, Anna.
Gab is in the middle of a real whirlwind and no longer knows where to turn: she must perform alongside other very competitive students, adapt to the demanding pace of the enriched program, and offer support to her sister, Mathilde , who is dating a toxic guy. It's going very well…
She was a bowl
Catherine Girard-Audet knows what it's all about, since she was at the top of her class. “I didn’t skip a year, but I was always a mess at school,” she reveals in an interview.
“It’s something that I discussed much less in the Léa Olivier. In LeaI talked about my move. But the character of Léa, as such, it seems that I gave her confidence and a very watered down personality. There are cases that look like me, but it’s not me.”
“I wasn't that typical teenager. I wasn't as confident as her. I had other good qualities, but I'm probably more like Gabrielle, in The worst year of my life. The humor is there in the same way. The questions too. But in terms of a teenager, I was more that teenager, who really puts a lot of pressure on herself.
Propelled into another world
“I loved school. I had really good grades. And like her, my parents enrolled me in enriched,” adds the author.
“In secondary 1, I was propelled into this world, where there was regularity and enrichment. And that's really where I started to crack a little under the pressure. It was a lot more work than I was used to. Everyone was good. But there were really two worlds: the regular and the enriched.”
Panic attacks
“When you come from regular, it’s a big shock,” she continues. I was having panic attacks. I really had pressure to perform, and it came from myself. It was important for me to get good grades and I put so much pressure on myself that sometimes I started crying and panicking. There was no TES at the time [techniciens en éducation spécialisée, NDLR]so I found myself in the infirmary.”
Today, Catherine Girarde-Audet finds that it is a real phenomenon. “I see it with the young people around me and in the emails I receive for the magazine Cool!. It’s really topical, this kind of performance, this pressure that young people are going to put on themselves.”
“At the time, there were no words for it, but that's what I had: a bit of unnecessary stress. I reread my report cards and the teachers wrote: “Good student, but she needs to learn to relax.”
The worst year of my life
Catherine Girard-Audet
Éditions Les Malins
224 pages
- Catherine Girard-Audet created the popular ABCs of girlsa guide for teenage girls reissued every year since.
- In 2012, she published the first volume of The complicated life of Léa Oliviera series which has since enjoyed worldwide success and which has been adapted into comics and for television.
- She toured Brussels recently.
- Volume 2 of The worst year of my life went out to sea
- She is currently writing the fourth volume in the series. Marilou.
“The closer I get to school, the faster my pulse gets. I discreetly wipe the palms of my hands on my shorts while casting a sidelong glance at Mathilde, who is trotting alongside me. With her hair that shines in the sun and her sunglasses, she exudes self-confidence.
– Don't forget that I'm coming home late today, because it's the first meeting of the committee for the fashion show.
– Déjà?
– The parade takes place in November. We don't have a minute to lose! Speaking of which, wouldn't you be tempted to get involved?
– For what? Do you need a mascot?
– Catherine Girard-Audet, The worst year of my lifeÉditions Les Malins
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