The Manga Tarot

Illustrated by Selena Lin

Words by Gilly Smith

ISBN 1859061869

£14.99

Teens are mad for Manga….

The Manga revolution began quietly in the UK in 2003 and has enjoyed a recent explosion in popularity following the introduction of card games like Yu-Gi-Oh – you will now find children from eight to 18 trading cards and playing games in every playground across the UK; and Dragon Ball Z screen animations - on television, DVD and electronic games watched and played by all ages.

PS Magazine has just learnt that The Manga Tarot (Amazon UK, £9.89, free delivery) (Amazon USA, $12.97) is the first tarot deck of its kind. Based on the Shojo Manga form, the deck of colourful characters will appeal to teenage girls and tarot lovers alike. It features 78 cards with the conventional 22 Major Arcana and four suits of Swords, Cups, Pentacles and Wands, each illustrated with pip cards (from Ace to Ten) and four major Court cards. 

Selena Lin is one of the world’s leading Manga artists. Based in Taiwan her work is published internationally in romantic comic books, magazines and calendars, and she enjoys enormous popularity among her young audience.

The accompanying book by author Gilly Smith offers a brief background to the tarot and suggests layouts to address many of the burning issues and dilemmas teenage girls face daily, posing all-important questions to the cards such as:

• Does he fancy me? Will I pass my exam?
• How can I get on better with my parents?
• Supporting commentary suitable for the teenage reader is offered for each card, along with interpretations for both upright and reversed readings, so the reader can use the cards as a guide to make the best choice or the right decision.

Manga was recently described in the Bookseller as an edgier, good niche product. Gilly Smith is an established food writer, with biographies of Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver published recently. With two young girls of her own, she uses ancient wisdom in her own parenting. Manga Tarot is her first published book in this category, but Gilly has plans for many more interesting titles to come.

Available from www.connections-publishing.com (£11.25)

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