In the aftermath of the national day against school bullying, Céline Musmeaux's latest novel, "From the fingertips", tackles the theme of cyber-harassment. She herself suffered from her comrades when she was a teenager, the Marseille author chose to share the fight of Nora Fraisse, mother of the young Marion who died in 2013, by donating part of the profits from the book to the association. “Marion, outstretched hand”.
In France, school bullying affects almost 10% of pupils each year(*). Céline Musmeaux, now 32, was one of them. A precocious child, suffering from dyslexia, she endured the mockery of her classmates, but also of certain teachers, throughout her schooling. For only refuge, she will find in poetry and writing real outlets.
With 52 novels to her credit, the young author, for whom reading has long been nothing but a source of humiliation, has been able to rebuild herself by writing her own books. His immersive stories have won over many readers, who find answers to the puzzling questions of adolescence. A dozen of his novels deal more directly with school phobia and bullying. Published on November 15 by Nymphalis editions, this is the case of his latest book, “Du bout des Fingers”, which depicts the meeting between two teenagers.
“Lola, the book's main character, is 17 years old and hasn't set foot outside for six months. Victim of teasing in high school, she locked herself in her world. Totally overwhelmed by the situation, her parents decide to send her to live with her grandparents but as soon as she arrives, Lola attracts the attention of Sasha, the neighbour's grandson. Sensitive to her distress, he sets out to touch the teenage girl with her fingertips, in the grip of a deep malaise. Will he succeed in getting Lola out of the prison in which she has taken refuge?”.
A moving story that describes the mechanisms of cyberbullying, but also gives keys to managing to trust others again.
Born in Marseille in 1986, Céline Musmeaux was passionate, from an early age, for different forms of art, such as painting, drawing and sculpture. While she dreams of becoming a journalist, her dyslexia hinders her ambitions and directs her towards studies in the administrative field. Traumatized by reading in her childhood, it is nevertheless in the writing of poems and short stories that she then takes refuge. A way for her to “put her own ills into words”, like a challenge to these sentences that she has so much trouble taming.
After her first experiences as a columnist with manga publishers, this passionate about Japan succeeds, by dint of determination, in getting herself published and it is only natural that she chooses the land of the Rising Sun as the setting for her first book, “Ne m'oublie pas”, in 2013. She will then continue to chain successes – more than 9000 readers per month devour her novels on Kindle.
Moved by the hundreds of testimonials from mothers and young girls who identify with her characters, Céline Musmeaux has decided to work alongside Nora Fraisse and support her in her fight against harassment.
In bookstores and on Amazon:https://amzn.to/2QXhfkN
Marion the outstretched hand:www.marionlamaintende.com
Celine Musmeaux:https://celinemusmeaux.art / www.facebook.com/celine.musmeaux
(*) Injep figures (National Institute of Youth and Popular Education)
