I finished this 2014 Caudill Nominee
on the first leg of my family’s summer vacation trip to Mt. Rushmore – the
first of six books that I devoured over the course of a week. I find reading to
be an excellent way to spend many, many, many hours in a truck. I feel nothing
but sympathy for the poor souls who are unable to read in a moving vehicle
without getting carsick.
The most interesting facet of this
book is its foray into pop culture. No, there is no reference to Justin Bieber
or Shake
It Up or
anything else with which a junior high tween would be enamored. Instead, a good
portion of the book’s blueprint relies on a popular television network – The Food
Network. I don’t know how many contemporary children watch The Food Network
channel, but in our house it is a daily affair. We are hooked on Chopped; Iron Chef; Diners,
Drive-ins and Dives; and The Next (fill
in the blank.) My children would like nothing more than to host their own Chopped and I always offer to judge the
contestants. Our Sunday evening ritual finds us sitting in front of the newest
contest to hit the network. We get quite competitive with our favorites.
Here I had a book I could suggest to
both my 13-year-old and my almost 9-year-old! And I might even get cupcakes out
of the deal. Check out that delicious cover! Yes, book talks are free vacation
offerings.
I like the main character that is both
skilled and smart despite her major reading disability. Foster McFee barely passed
the sixth grade and I wonder how she managed. She cannot read even simple
street signs. So here is a gal who can waltz into the local dive and offer a
sample of her delectable cupcakes and muffins in the hopes of selling them from
said establishment. She wins their hearts through their stomachs and bakes to
order. Yet she has never been able to read a recipe from a cookbook! She hears
them on television and commits them to memory along with any tips that would be
useful for future flavors.
Once I was on vacation and free from
life’s labors, I truly enjoyed this novel. I thought it read very much like
real life. There is never only one problem in one’s life. And we are always
surrounded by people with their own unusual circumstances. It would be a rather
dull life otherwise. It is the downs that make the ups soar. And it is the
different people at various stages of life’s roller coaster that lend us
support, encouragement and sympathy.
But I do wonder at how much a tween
is able digest when even some of the adults complain. There is A LOT of drama
here in 250 pages. Foster’s father died, a soldier in Iraq. Her mother is a
backup singer who wishes to take center stage. The two are on the run from an
abusive boyfriend who happens to be an Elvis impersonator. They end up in a
town with problems of its own. A prison was built with the promise of jobs that
never were offered locally. A church is for sale and the preacher’s wife sits
on the steps scaring off the buyers. A boy wants to make a documentary but
needs a chance as well as help. And a jilted Hollywood star lies sick in bed
waiting for her next big offer. And that is just what I remember from a month
ago!! I think girls who enjoy cooking and making their own drama will delight
in reading Close to Famous.
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