Books › The Lottie Project
The Lottie Project
213 pages
A witty, voice-driven exploration of messy family changes, anchored by a fiercely relatable protagonist who uses history to make sense of her present.
What it feels like
Reading this feels like sitting down with your most dramatic, funny, and fiercely loyal childhood friend. The narrative moves at a brisk, conversational clip, entirely carried by a protagonist whose witty observations mask a deep vulnerability about her changing home life. It perfectly captures that specific middle-grade angst where the adults in your life suddenly seem flawed and unpredictable. The clever weaving of a Victorian story-within-a-story adds a poignant layer of historical empathy, contrasting modern domestic friction with past hardships. It is a spirited, emotionally honest experience that balances laugh-out-loud humor with genuine heartache. Readers who love messy, realistic family dynamics and protagonists who are stubbornly, beautifully imperfect will devour this empathetic and perceptive tale.
- Mood
- spirited
- empathetic
- chaotic
- poignant
- Tone
- wry
- conversational
- perceptive
- humorous
- angsty
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- blended family friction · historical empathy · mother-daughter bonds · creative escapism · growing up
- The writing
- Highly voice-driven and chatty, capturing the authentic, dramatic, and witty cadence of an eleven-year-old girl.
- The arc
- Moves from stubborn resistance against family changes to a grudging, empathetic acceptance of new realities.
- Who it's for
- Middle-grade readers who crave realistic, emotionally honest stories about messy family dynamics and finding strength through creativity.
Content notes
- blended family friction
- historical child labor themes
About the book
A new hilarious, witty - and very perceptive - tale of two girls from different times, but both with similar problems, from award-winning author Jacqueline WilsonHi! 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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