Tea Stall on The Moon: Perspectives and musings of a teenager | Book Review

Did you cook a flop meal for your dinner during this quarantine? Did you finish reading your favourite books in a short span of time and wondered what else to do during this lockdown? When was the last time you wrote a letter to your Daddy? Or when was the last time you told your friends about a ghost you saw?

Well, Danusri Sreepathy, a 13-year-old teenager in her first attempt to write a book, compiles a few articles on her thoughts, giving a sneak peek into her life in middle school.

The book named Tea Stall on The Moon: Lockdown tales by a middle-schooler, is a collection of musings on a teenager's journey through life and on how she perceives the world around her.

Through this collection of interpretations of activities and mysteries, seen through the wacky eyes of a teen, Dhanusri takes the readers to her world. The world filled with her parents, brother, beloved friends, school and her storybooks.

Danusri aka Dannie is the central character of the book. The book dwells on her flow of thoughts. The seemingly conversational tone of the book, combined with an innocent childish humour leaves us in awe about the little things in life that makes it worth cherishing.

Dannie calls herself a city girl. She is a football player, a popular star in school as well as a teacher's pet. As a Keralite teenager who spents her most enjoyable time of school life in Ahmedabad, Dannie talks about her perspective on things around her in her maiden work.

Danusri's book might not have a set cast or plot, but with a few articles, Dannie takes the readers to a world of the so-called Gen-Z kids these days.

She has also tried to compile a few of her travel experiences. Her love for Ahmedabad, dhoklas and khandvi, her dislike for Kerala and jackfruit, her tips to survive school, are all woven together in the book with some witty remarks.

The young writer has in fact have attempted to capture the essence of her thoughts in the book. The effort is noteworthy and considering her age and limited life experiences.

In this time of pandemic, if there is one thing this 13-year-old teaches us, it is the need to take life the way it comes, without any regrets.