Close to Famous

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer has been on my to-read list for quite some time.  I love reading books about people who live in small towns.  And Culpepper, West Virginia is certainly small.  There's a restaurant called Angry Wayne's, Fish's Hardware, the FOOD store, and...not much else. 

Foster and her mother arrive in Culpepper late one night after escaping a bad situation in Memphis.  Lester and Kitty give them a place to stay for awhile and they begin the task of starting over in a new place.  Mom gets a job at the hardware store and Foster begins to meet other kids in town.  She meets Garland, who loves to run.  Amy, who wants to change the way her father runs the hardware store.  And Macon, who wants to be a filmmaker and who works for Miss Charleena, a famous actress who lives in town. 

The most important thing about Foster is that she is a baker.  There is nothing she loves more than baking cupcakes and muffins to share with others.  She becomes quite popular in Culpepper when she starts selling her baked goods at Angry Wayne's Bar and Grill.  But Foster has a secret that she tries to hide from everyone she meets.  Eventually, Miss Charleena figures it out.  With her help (and the help of her new friends), Foster realizes that she truly can do anything she sets her mind to. 

I loved this book!  The author has two other books on my radar, Hope Was Here (a Newbery Honor book, which I read and really enjoyed) and Almost Home (which I am hoping to read this summer). 

        

Let me know if you try out any of these books!  And leave a comment with your current summer read!