From a little girl that wants to fly to a boy’s dream to dance ballet, Maria Christodoulou perfectly captures glimpses of society and funnels their messages through her pages.
Already an author of two books, the 13-year-old hopes to put more of her ideas onto paper, while juggling school, hobbies and teenage life.
I met Maria in her living room, surrounded by bookshelves and with her cuddly Yorkshire Terrier, Diego, sitting proudly in her lap.
Maria talked about the books she reads, the stories she writes, her hobbies and interests. A true bookworm, the more she spoke about her books, the brighter her eyes became.
Smiling and full of enthusiasm, Maria explained the meaning of her latest book, A Boy in Pointe, which follows the story of Iasonas, a boy whose dream was to dance ballet and was bullied for it. Encouraged by a friend, he took part in a school talent show and shone so bright he made everyone – and himself – immensely happy and proud.
“I get my inspiration from various incidents I come across, the genders and the stereotypes, some things the girls do and boys can’t or some things boys do and girls can’t,” Maria says.
She believes “this is unfair, because we can all do what we like most.”
When she is not reading or creating through robotics, Maria plays the guitar and is goalkeeper in her school football club.
“The message is for both boys and girls. I gave the example of ballet because I think it is amazing,” Maria said.
She added that “it also holds a message against bullying, because the hero was made fun of at school.
“I’ve had many friends and relatives, teens and grown-ups, tell me that they liked the book. I was also happy that they showed an interest to buy it and learn more about why I wrote it.”
All net income will be donated to Alkinoos Artemiou foundation for children with oncological and heamatological diseases, which was established in 2021 in memory of Alkinoos Artemiou, who died of cancer on December 9, 2020.
The book, illustrated by classmate Stavros Dorzis, is available at bookshops across the island.
Maria wrote her first book when she was nine.
It is about a little girl who wants to fly. Beaten in an uneven match by cancer, she gets her angel wings and flies to heaven.
All net proceeds went to Little Heroes foundation for children with cancer and leukemia. It started its activities in 2017 on the initiative of Loukas Fourlas and officially became a foundation in 2021.
Maria has always been writing.
“I loved writing stories, inspired by cartoons and books I read. When I was very little, I wrote sentences and drew pictures on paper, then folded the paper and pretended I’d written a book.”
Maria says she “always wanted to write my own book and publish it.”
She has a few ideas for the future but hasn’t started writing yet.
“I like to pass messages through my books, either with a happy ending or a sad ending.”
As much as she likes writing, she loves reading even more.
“I’ve been reading since I was very young. My favourite books are Harry Potter. I like David Walliams and Roald Dahl and I have complete collections.”
Maria is currently reading the Hunger Games series, while one of her favourite books is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
She also reads Cypriot and Greek authors.
Maria, who has just started the second grade of high school, also loves “anything to do with mathematics, science and computers.”
For the near future, she wants “to continue writing, but most of all I want to focus on robotics and mathematics.
“I like watching documentaries with explorers and animals. They use robotics to build various devices to see and detect animals.”
Apart from books, Maria has other favourites –Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo and her granny’s gemista, vegetables stuffed with a rice filling.
