CLOSE TO FAMOUS, written by Joan Bauer, is a story about Foster McFee, a young girl who lives with her single mother. After being forced to leave Memphis, the Mcfee family ends up in a small town in West Virginia named Culpepper. There they meet many interesting people, each with a dream of their own. Foster’s mother dreams for a day when she can be the lead singer instead of always being the back up singer, while another woman dreams of helping the community church. As for Foster, she dreams to one day have a cooking show on Food Network. Even through all the obstacles she must overcome, Foster continues baking and touching hearts.
Similar to many books written by Joan Bauer, I found this one quite enjoyable. It was both inspiring and sweet, filled with unique and lovable characters. The setting—a very, very small town—was the perfect place for this book to take place and it was very realistic; I could easily imagine it. The main character, Foster, used cooking to help her conquer fears and obstacles, which I found to be very interesting and relatable. Some portions of the book required more description and it was not a book for action lovers, as it was very slow moving. As the story wrapped up, the main themes of following your dreams and overcoming obstacles became very clear. They gave a motivating message to the story: anyone can change their world. Reviewer Age:15
Reviewer City, State and Country: Needham, Massachusetts U.S.
