Close to Famous by Joan Bauer | Teen Ink

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

November 20, 2013
By Jackie_Yates BRONZE, Waterford, Michigan
Jackie_Yates BRONZE, Waterford, Michigan
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Close to Famous is about a girl who really wants to have her own food network show. Foster (the main character) gets stuck along the way based on her family struggles and her own personal struggles. Foster loves to bake and is extremely good at it. She also struggles with reading. It all starts out with Foster and Rayka McFee. Rayka is Foster’s mom and Rayka has a boyfriend named Huck. He likes everyone to call him Elvis because he thinks he is talented like him. Rayka and Huck get into a huge fight which causes Foster and her mom to move to a new town called Culpepper. In Culpepper Foster meets a lot of new friends that have respect for her and her dreams. First she meets Lester and Kitty. They give them a place to live until the Mcfee family figured out what their plans were. While Foster is in the food store she runs into Macom. At first she thinks he is strange but she gets to know him and they become really good friends. Macom wants to direct films but can’t figure out what it should be about. Him and Foster go through their journey’s together. Also Macon works for Miss Charleena. Miss Charleena is a famous actor that has moved back to her home town after she had retired from her career. Macom and Foster go to her house together and help out. Miss Charleena helps Foster with her reading in exchange for cooking lessons. Foster and Miss Charleena have a strange relationship. They get along better than Macom does with her. After their day with Miss Charleena Foster and Macom walk past the church that is for sale. They run into perseverance Wilson. She does not want to give up the church but doesn’t really have a choice because not that many people want it. Ms Wilson is a fighter and never gives up on the church. Another character Foster meets is Angry Wayne. He works at a restaurant. He hires Foster to bake treats for his shop so more people come in. Wayne originally is stubborn but towards the end is personality changes slightly. Throughout the book foster does pretend shows and makes a lot of cupcakes, cookies, and pies that come in handy. One of Fosters role models is Sonny Kroll. Foster bases all of her shows on him. Her dream is to become just like him. My favorite part is when Foster receives an award from Miss Charleena. The award is for improving on her reading and becoming a great inspiration. Later in the book a problem occurs where Foster has to save the day with her baking. The main question would be does Foster ever have a food network broadcast? You will have to read it until the end to find out.
This book is for anyone who enjoys baking, who like fiction, and books with suspension throughout that may lead to happy endings. A symbol I would use to portray the message would be a star. Stars usually symbolize dreams and wishes/wants. The message this book reveals is to follow your dreams and never give up. I would give this book five stars because I really enjoyed it. This book made me want to keep reading, it was hard to put it down. This book does a good job with keeping the reader until the end of the book.


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