Close to Famous

Title: Close to Famous

Author: Joan Bauer

Publication date: 2011

Book's setting: The late 2000's

Random facts: Bauer's Hope Was Here won a 2005 Newbery Honor.

Plot summary: Twelve-year-old Foster McFee is an avid cupcake lover and extraordinary baker who almost failed sixth grade and doesn't know how to read. Her mother is a back-up singer with dreams of stardom. The two of them leave their apartment in Memphis in the middle of the night, fleeing Mom's abusive boyfriend who thinks he's a reincarnation of Elvis. Eventually they break down in rural West Virgina. Foster and her mother are taken in by a kindly older couple and it seems like the town of Culpepper might be an indefinite stop for the McFees. Friendships are formed, dreams are shared, and awful secrets unravel.

Favorite aspects: I just love books with a great ensemble cast. All the characters in Close to Famous are strange and lovable and quirky without being stereotypes. But my favorite thing about this book was that it had that lovely "tremble in the sight of God" vibe. A surprising amount of children's books seem to have a nonspecific and incredibly powerful religious vein that runs right through the heart. It is very beautiful and powerful, the way that God can be at the heart of a book you'd never suspect. Hope Was Here had a similar core. I get all giddy when religion is "sneaked" into something that is seemingly "secular."

Least favorite aspects: Close to Famous was too short for the amount of characters and issues brought into it. The ending was... rushed? It ended on a high note that you know won't last long. Culpepper is still falling apart, and no amount of cupcakes will save it. Maybe I am looking at it through a cynical eye and it is meant to be read by an optimistic thirteen-year-old, but I just felt depressed when it was done. Every scene (especially the climax) was weighed down with issues that were not fully addressed. When you're dealing with child abuse, war, death, learning disabilities, politics, divorce, affairs, an an economic crisis in a book written for nine to fifteen-year-olds it's only reasonable that nothing would be explored too much. Otherwise you end up with something completely inappropriate, preachy, and self aware. Perhaps Bauer should have picked only one or two of the heavy themes in Close to Famous and carefully covered them completely instead of lightly brushing over half a dozen weighty issues.

Other works it reminded me of: Northward to the Moon by Polly Horvath; Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo; Criss-Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins.

Sadie's merciless break-down: I read this book while listening to Mandy Moore. I REALLY LOVE MANDY MOORE. Sometimes the music you listen to while reading will stick to the book forever. I guess if I ever read Close to Famous again I'll start humming Merrimack River. Anyway.
There need to be more kids books like Close to Famous. By that I mean books that deal with real issues like abuse and death and low self esteem in a hopeful, uplifting, age appropriate way. Although I previously said that Bauer had too much on her plate, at the same time it'd good that hard to talk about topics are being explored in a safe way. This isn't My Corner of the Universe or Speak, that's for sure. Kids need more books like this. That's why I'm such a champion of Polly Horvath, Kate DiCamillo, Lynne Rae Perkins, and Joan Bauer. Preteens are a hard group to market towards. They need something meaty or they won't bother. They want to be respected like adults in their books, but if an author goes to far you end up with a confused, inappropriate novel that is likely to wind up on the Banned Books list.
A few weeks ago I was with some friends in Barnes and Nobles and we found the "Issues" table. Yeah, an entire table of young adult books that were about ISSUES. They all looked like crap. "Issues" shouldn't be romanticized. Stories about angsty sex, self harm, suicide, and anorexia shouldn't be published with sparking covers and placed on an attractive table. Novels for that awkward age group should approach issues with reserve and caution. Maybe I'm being naive or something, but I don't think so. A novel written entirely in slam-style poetry about kids who take drugs and have alcoholic mothers don't exactly make kids afraid of drugs, do they? I think it makes it all look kinda cool, because then if you've got mad issues, then you too can write freestyle poems and feel deep and shit!
Actually well written novels for preteens that handle hard to talk about issues with delicacy are a bit of a niche... but it's a good niche and a really important one.

Recommendation rate: If you are a fan of modern children's literature you should definitely try it.