In The Lottie Project veteran children"s author Jacqueline Wilson brilliantly combines comedy, poignancy and a touch of history as she tells the story of Charlie, a bright and happy young girl on the brink of change. For her Victorian history project, Charlie hits upon the idea of writing the diary of Lottie, a young Victorian serving girl. When her mother, Jo, loses her job as a shop manageress and starts work as a cleaner, Charlie¹s previously happy and comfortable lifestyle is threatened and she finds that her own hardships and struggles are not so different from Lottie"s. The Lottie Project is at once entertaining and intelligent. By eloquently capturing Charlie"s anxiety as she faces up to her new and uncertain future, Wilson"s talent for taking an important topic and treating it with respect and humour as she pushes her characters forwards is again harnessed in this touching, human story. --Susan Harrison