Yeardley Smith

Lorelei is going to be famous. She may be 11 years old, but she knows that she needs to record her life so that future biographers will have her own words. And since her English teacher tells her that it’s best to write for an audience, Lorelei chooses her recently deceased cat, Mud, to address.

Loreli may be destined for greatness, but her daily life mirrors that of most sixth graders. She’s a middle child, sandwiched between two brothers, and most of her thoughts revolve around friends show more and school. This would make for a cute telling as Lorelei’s voice is strong and believable, but no life is that simple and the author cautiously moves Lorelei to a realm of angst as her parents fighting turns to separation.

It is interesting to note that author Yeardley Smith is the voice of Lisa Simpson and as a follower of that television show; I saw snatches of Lisa in I, Lorelei. Lorelei’s smart and gifted. Deep thinking, yet still very much a kid. Perhaps the best part of I, Lorelei is that Smith never takes Lorelei too low. There’s always a glimmer of optimism, a hope that she’s going to be fine, even when she’s acting the brat over her swiftly changing world.

Though diary formats can sometimes be disengaging, Lorelei’s voice is so confident and honest, we not only easily engage in the story, we begin to love dead Mud too. Pretty good writing to get us to care about a dead character, though credit must be given to the adorable line drawings of Mud.

Recommended for independent readers 8-13, those interested in diary tales, stories of divorce and girls looking for smart & sassy role models. I expect there will be educational supplementals popping up soon for this one.

Review first published on Reading Rumpus show less

Lorelei Connelly is a humorous and precocious 11-year-old who begins a diary addressed to her cat Mud, following Mud’s demise. She loves and misses Mud, and sometimes checks with him about his afterlife: “So what do you do all day in Heaven? Is it like camp? Do the cats get along with the dogs? Do you have your own cloud?” Occasionally, she gives Mud messages for God, whom Lorelei assumes is a woman: “Well, of course God is a She. Who else could do seven million things at show more once?”

Every day she tells Mud all that happens, which includes her getting a part in the school musical, dealing with a bully, dealing with the school “reject,” dealing with “first love,” and dealing with the unraveling of her parents marriage. She approaches all these subjects with candid introspection, and all of the wisdom that a young adolescent can muster (especially one who was advised regularly on coping by her late grandpa).

This is yet another young adult book that bears a common message. As Lorelei puts it to Mud: “…if Mom and Dad are going to do whatever they want, I need to learn to take care of myself. I’m not really sure how to do that, but I’m going to figure it out. Cause you never know what’s going to happen, Mud. You just never know. And you don’t want to be out in the world without your butter and eggs, as Grandpa used to say.”

The diary theme is common, the message is common, and even some of the incidents that happen have happened in literature before. Yet this doesn’t take away from Lorelei’s charm. She is a delightful young person: intelligent but not too much so, not always mature (but mature often enough to earn our respect), kind, loving, and funny, and always alert for the next great thing. show less

“Dear Mud…” When eleven-year-old Lorelei’s cat dies she begins to write a journal to him- detailing her life both for her cat and for future biographers once she becomes famous. Lorelei wants what every middle school age kid wants- she wants a part in the school play, other kids to be nice to her and her parents to be a little less weird… Of course we can’t always have everything we want, as Lorelei soon finds out. Through the journal entries we see Lorelei at her best and worst, show more and she becomes as real to us as our own daughters or nieces (or even us as girls!). What Smith excels in is making a child character that is both believable and insightful… someone we’d like to read about if we were 11 or 30. This is the type of book you could give to any young girl in your life- there is nothing inappropriate or frightening (like so many books these days)… in fact- I, Lorelei reminds me a lot of the books that were popular when I was a pre-teen. Think Judy Blume for the next generation! While touching on such topics as bullying and divorce, Smith keeps everything light enough to make this a pleasurable read at any age. I’ve already passed my copy on to my little cousin and I’m sure her group of friends will all be reading it before the year is over.

I do, however, think the audience of this book should be younger then Lorelei's. Most eleven-year-old girls are already drifting into the YA section of the book store. 8-12 is the publishers recommendation... I'd stick on the younger end of that scale. show less

Yeardley Smith is perhaps best known for her work on television's The Simpsons, providing the voice of young Lisa Simpson. But now Yeardley can add something new to her resume: completely awesome author of a young adult novel called I, Lorelei.

A Quick Synopsis:
Lorelei Lee Connelly is 11 and 1/4 years old and has decided to keep a diary so that when she becomes a famous writer/actress/chef someday, she'll remember the important things that happened to her when she was eleven. She's addressing show more this diary to her best friend who's now in heaven: Mud, the family cat and best listener around. Irritating brothers, a school yard bully, parents who can't get along and a middle school production of Peter Pan provide ample fodder for Lorelei and her strong moral compass provides creative solutions to her pre-teen problems are heartfelt and gratifying.

The Literary Criticism:
I honestly cannot think of one single thing that I'd improve with this book. Lorelei is precocious, intelligent, insecure, and vulnerable. In short, everything a normal eleven year old should be. Ms. Smith has almost alarming insight into the mind of pre-teen girls because at no point does she belittle or negate the importance of Lorelei's problems, yet she does so without melodrama. It's perfect. The story doesn't have a fairy-tale ending and thank goodness because that might have ruined it. Instead, the satisfying conclusion involves Lorelei's realization that we cannot control the world around us and it is up to each of us to make our own happiness. (Okay, so she doesn't make it sound as preachy as I just did, but that's why she's the author and makes the big bucks while I just write reviews.)

Recommendation:
It's a simple one this time, folks.....buy this book. Buy a copy for every 9-12 year old girl you know and snag a copy for yourself. It's a wonderful story and I hope Ms. Smith continues to write. She is a true talent! show less