The latest work by the well-known Latvian children’s author Luīze Pastore, “This Is My TV Series,” is dedicated to a teenage audience and transports the reader to a slightly forgotten past. Its plot takes place in the second half of the nineties, when glossy magazines, advertisements, and television series rapidly entered Latvia.

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The book’s protagonist, thirteen-year-old Beta, isn’t particularly eager to audition for a role in an upcoming teen series. However, her mother thinks it’s a brilliant opportunity. To everyone’s surprise, Beta is lucky enough to be chosen among the selected youth, and an entire year of the girl’s life passes by as she prepares for her big star moment on television screens.

““This Is My TV Series” is a partly true, partly fictional story, topped with a heavy dose of irresponsible fantasy. It is a story about society in the late nineties, where the understanding of ethical boundaries was only just beginning to form,” says Luīze Pastore. “It was a time when no one was quite sure what kind of television content was appropriate for children and teenagers, or what the acceptable boundaries were between a director and a minor actor. A time when everyone was allowed everything. Projects ‘pushed through’ by all sorts of means emerged, as everyone tried to survive and navigate life according to their own understanding. The series ‘Super Teen’ is one such project where Beta lives out her coming-of-age story.”

Luīze Pastore’s latest work is published in a format that looks more like a magazine than a book. “The unusual design of the book helps reflect the fragmented nature of a teenager’s inner world and the emotional rollercoaster at the moment when a major turning point is about to happen in a young person’s life: they are about to grow up,” the author believes.