Close to Famous is Joan Bauer's contribution to the 2013/4 list of Mark Twain Award nominees. The cover depicts a middle school aged girl, wearing a shooting star apron and holding a plate of cupcakes. If course, the first error a reader can make is judging a book by its cover, but I can't help but point out a conflict between the cover photo and the text of the novel itself. The main character - who wants to be the first kid star on the Food Network - clearly states that she does not use paper pan liners as depicted in the photo. It's a small discrepancy, but it's enough to bother the most discretionary reader.
Now on to the book:
This one tackles several things at once, including such deeply disturbing issues as an abusive adult relationship, divorce, the death of a parent while serving in the Iraq War, escaped (and again, abusive) convicts, an unfaithful spouse, and a delusional Elvis impersonator. It would appear, with this list, that the adults in this story do their best to mess up the lives of the children in the sleepy West Virginia town.
On the other side of things lies the overall theme of facing your fears and pursuing your dreams. I found the theme well developed, for the most part, but dissatisfying in the end. This was one time when I wanted less reality and more satisfaction for the main characters; I wanted them all to experience complete success in their pursuits and (not much of a spoiler) the author simply doesn't fulfill all of her characters' dreams.
Now on to the book:
This one tackles several things at once, including such deeply disturbing issues as an abusive adult relationship, divorce, the death of a parent while serving in the Iraq War, escaped (and again, abusive) convicts, an unfaithful spouse, and a delusional Elvis impersonator. It would appear, with this list, that the adults in this story do their best to mess up the lives of the children in the sleepy West Virginia town.
On the other side of things lies the overall theme of facing your fears and pursuing your dreams. I found the theme well developed, for the most part, but dissatisfying in the end. This was one time when I wanted less reality and more satisfaction for the main characters; I wanted them all to experience complete success in their pursuits and (not much of a spoiler) the author simply doesn't fulfill all of her characters' dreams.
| At the same time, it just seemed like Bauer resolved some of the problems in an overly-simplistic manner. To explain it further would require me to give too much of a spoiler. The author's website describes the story in a few words: It's midnight and Foster McFee and her mother are being chased out of Memphis by an Elvis impersonator. Where are they heading? Somewhere. You can not help but want to eat Foster's cupcakes when you read about them. The description of her cooking process truly brings out the art involved in the baking process - though I doubt it's really as much fun as she makes it sound. |
If a student reads (or is read) as few as four of the twelve Mark Twain Award nominees from the Missouri Association of School Librarians list, s/he may officially vote to help determine the 2014 recipient of the award.
