As the year comes to an end, Pines Charter High School’s Book Club hosted a tea party relating to the last book they read called A Cuban Girls Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey. In this book, the main character was a Cuban girl who was living in England and staying at a bakery. At Book Club’s tea party, students decorated cupcakes and ate different Cuban finger foods like pastelitos, croquetas, and flan. By doing this event, Book Club was able to make reading the book a memorable and fun experience for everyone.
“What I most enjoyed about the tea party was decorating the cupcakes. Everyone had such unique designs and we were all able to act like a baker just like the main character from the book. The book takes place in England and I know a big culture there is the tea, so we all had fun pretending we were at a real English tea party. Also, we were able to try some of the Cuban dishes mentioned in the book, such as flan. My favorite treat was the guava and cheese pastries. ” -Book Club President Hannah Ikner, Sophomore
“I think the tea party captured the spirit of what I read due to the fact that the protagonist of the book, Lila Reyes, finds solace in baking and tea. The treats and “tea-party” themed party we had felt as if we were sharing the characters interests. I usually only stick with a certain crowd, but this time I sat next to new faces and made new friends.” -Faizan Shah, Sophomore
“At the tea party we ate different foods and I really liked eating the pastel de queso which is cheese that’s been wrapped in pastry. I loved frosting the cupcakes and seeing everyone’s creativity. The tea party helped us gain a deeper understanding of the book we read and make it memorable.” -Gabriella Perez, sophomore
“I enjoyed decorating the cupcakes the most because it was fun and creative to do and my favorite treat was the flan cake. The most fun and memorable moment was during the cupcake decorating. My friends both ate the entire cupcake in one bite, which was so funny and the tea party celebration definitely made my book club experience much better and fun.” -Jaslene Gomez, sophomore
“I really enjoyed decorating the cupcakes and the pastelitos with the cheese and guava were so good. It was also a memorable event because I got to have fun with my friends and relate it back to the book!” -Luna Santana, sophomore
With cupcakes, tea and Cuban delicacies surrounding each of the guests, each of them went home feeling enriched through the feeling of friendship and literature.
