Every eleven-year-old girl dreams of growing up and
becoming a star. Lorelei Connelly is no different. A
practical-minded young lady, she has visions of fame and
fortune as a Broadway actress, a chef, or even a famous
author. In order to capture her rise to stardom, she has
decided to document every step of the way in a diary
written to her beloved deceased cat named Mud.
The Connelly family is quirky, but that's no
surprise. No family is ever perfect. While Lorelei
struggles with bothersome boys and gregarious girlfriends,
her parents discover some marital troubles that need
immediate fixing. As for her siblings, her older brother
Teddy chooses to ignore the obvious while little baby
brother, Ryan, hides in a world of his own. Thank goodness
for her diary and her precious, yet faraway, Mud as Lorelei
tries to cope with the pressure of a once idyllic world
coming to an abrupt halt.
With the school play on the horizon, Lorelei pushes
her family's turmoil aside as she prepares for her most
important role to date. If only her mother weren't
pressuring her to try-out for the role she herself once
played. Luckily for everyone, things have a way of falling
into place. And along the way, she befriends some
unexpected characters who teach her the importance of being
proud of oneself and more importantly, for standing up for
what is right.
As the family she once knew turns the page to its
next chapter, Lorelei begins to appreciate each member's
uniqueness as they take baby steps towards becoming once
again whole. With Mud by her proverbial side, her
confidence soars as she embarks on the next phase of her
lifelong journey to happiness.
I, LORELEI is a delightful pre-teen book written by
the Emmy award-winning actress Yeardley Smith. Best-known
as the voice of Lisa on the hit television show The
Simpsons, she hits the mark with her witty, yet sensitive
narrative of a sharp, young girl facing the everyday drama
of growing up.
Lorelei Connelly is no ordinary eleven-year-old. She's
practical and a forward thinker. When her favorite cat, Mud,
dies, she starts a journal to him, chronicling her daily
life as a sixth grader so that he can continue to follow her
rise to fame and fortune as a beloved actress, celebrated
chef, and/or bestselling author. She figures it's also a
good way to make sure her future biographers don't get
anything wrong about her. But when her parents' marriage
starts to unravel, Lorelei's lighthearted daily log becomes
a poignant and defiantly humorous account of a family in
distress as Lorelei grapples with the ground shifting under
her feet.
Yeardley Smith engages the reader with
wit, candor, and authenticity.