Books › The Lottie Project
The Lottie Project
203 pages
A spirited, diary-style exploration of growing up, where a modern girl finds an unexpected ally in a Victorian nursery maid to cope with her changing family.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like opening the secret, exclamation-filled diary of a fiercely independent eleven-year-old. The pace is brisk and conversational, driven by a spirited narrator who refuses to be boring and isn't afraid to admit when she messes up. The mood balances the energetic defiance of youth with the genuine frustrations of navigating a changing family dynamic, particularly the arrival of a mother's new boyfriend. Through its candid, highly relatable prose, the story weaves a clever imaginative thread, connecting modern middle-school struggles with the harsh realities of a Victorian counterpart. It is a deeply empathetic and humorous experience that will delight readers looking for a spunky protagonist who uses creativity to process the messy realities of growing up.
- Mood
- energetic
- empathetic
- frustrated
- imaginative
- Tone
- spirited
- conversational
- defiant
- candid
- humorous
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- navigating changing family dynamics · finding strength in imagination · the struggles of growing up · mother-daughter bonds · historical empathy
- The writing
- Highly conversational and energetic, reading exactly like the candid, exclamation-filled diary of a spirited eleven-year-old girl.
- The arc
- Moves from defiant frustration with changing family dynamics to a deeper understanding of herself through an imaginative historical connection.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love spunky, relatable middle-grade protagonists dealing with messy real-life family changes through creativity.
Content notes
- family conflict
- parental dating
About the book
I don't want to do a boring old project. Who wants to be like everyone else? I'm doing a diary... Hi! I'm Charlie (DON'T call me Charlotte - ever!). History is boring, right? Wrong! The Victorians weren't all deadly dull and drippy. Lottie certainly isn't. She's eleven - like me - but she's left school and has a job as a nursery maid. Her life is really hard, just work work work, but I bet she'd know what to do about my mum's awful boyfriend and his wimpy little son. I bet she wouldn't mess it all up like I do...
Description from Open Library.
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