This book review is part of series of reviews written by students at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School for their 7th grade English classes.

Who would’ve thought that a 12 year old girl would leave her home and belongings to run away from her mother’s crazy ex-boyfriend? Joan Bauer perfectly explains “the story with no destination” in the book Close to Famous. Using events from her past, Ms. Bauer perfectly depicts difficult life situations with both humor and hope. This story is full of suspense, drama, conflict, and of course, a little bit of baking.

Foster McFee and her mother continue to drive as far away from Memphis as possible. The girls end up in the little city of Culpepper, West Virginia, where mama describes it by stating “a little town like this is very sweet” (15). Foster and her mama are greeted by the warm-hearted people of the town, who give them a home and a job. Spunky little Foster uses her baking talents to brighten the wilting town.

The underlying truth with Foster and her mom is that Foster’s father was killed as a loyal soldier in Iraq. Every day, the McFee’s struggle to maintain an income, while coping with their loss. The only way Foster is able to hold on to the last memories of her father are through his items, which she keeps in his favorite pillowcase. But when Foster finds that she has misplaced this infamous pillow case… I guess you will have to read the book to find that out.

I thoroughly enjoyed Foster’s confident personality, which Miss Bauer depicted when she wrote “I got an Easy-Bake oven when I was four and the rest is history” (8). Foster knows she has many issues going on in her life but she prefers to stay positive. I believe that this is a very noble character trait for a 12 year old to embody.

Foster aspires to one day become a well-known baker, including her own TV show. However, her dyslexia does not help her to read those pesky cook-books. Foster is the best example of a character who deals with sorrow and everyday obstacles, much like Sara Crewe in A Little Princess. You will relate to her when you are experiencing days when you just want to stop trying. Foster inspires me to keep on going because the situation WILL get better in the long run.

Miss Bauer explains themes of sorrow, loss, and disabilities in an exquisitely relatable way. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a suspenseful story that twists and turns at the least expected times. If you want to find out more about what happens to Foster, mama, the pillowcase, the crazy boyfriend, and a guy named Crazy Dave; I would highly recommend this book.

 -Natalie M., 7th grade

Hildy Biddle is a writer for her high school paper, The Core. Their rival newspaper is the local paper, The Bee. And when the Ludlow house in Banesville, their town in Upstate New York, begins to scare the townspeople, both papers try to get the whole story. The only problem is that the editor of The Bee seems not to be giving the public the truth, and Hildy Biddle is trying to do just that.

A new counselor takes over the high school paper, and the reporters receive advice from a professional journalist. Hildy Biddle learns what a reporter must do: Ask questions and prove everything.

Meanwhile, strange things start happening in the town. Weird signs show up at the Ludlow house. An attempted break-in is suspected, then a possible murder occurs on the property. In addition, a psychic arrives in town and begins putting stories into people’s heads, claiming she was called to the town by the ghosts of the Ludlow house.
In order to find the truth of the whole ordeal, Hildy Biddle starts calling people all over related to the mystery.

The story is both realistically spooky and engaging as Hildy attempts to explain and report about all the strange occurrences. Will she successfully peel back all the false layers to expose the core in Peeled, despite all the challenges thrown her way?

I would recommend this novel to younger teens, but older teens may enjoy the story as well. I would rate this book pretty highly, as I enjoyed the plot twists and the surprise ending.

-Leila S., 8th Grade

This book review is part of series of reviews written by students at St. Margaret’s Episcopal School for their 7th grade English classes.

If you like a slow book, Close to Famous by Joan Bauer is the one for you! Joan Bauer is a Newbery Honor winner, but in my opinion this was not her best piece.

Close to Famous is about Foster Mcfee and her mother that fled out of their home town of Memphis, because of her mom’s ex-boyfriend who was an Elvis impersonator was abusing her. While driving, they ended up in a town called Culpepper. Foster was an amazing baker and her dream was to be the first kid on Food Network.

First of all, this story spends too much time on the small problems. For example they talk about the jail they have in the town and the jail doesn’t play a big role in the story.

Secondly, the conflict is really confusing. When I was reading this book, I felt the author kept jumping around. I didn’t know what was happening half the time until I re-read the section again. Also I felt that Mrs. Bauer should have explained the characters in more detail. I felt I didn’t know the characters well. Certain characters were mentioned in the beginning of the book and had no association with the main character until towards the end of the story. By that time I almost forgot about that character. For example Foster is talking to Ms. Morningstar I have no idea who that is!

“I reached into my bag and pulled out a pumpkin spice muffin with walnuts that was as moist as anything. It can be plain for breakfast or I can top it with cream cheese frosting. I like a muffin that can go from day to evening. I gave it to her. She sniffed it, nodded, and held it up.

“How do I know you’re not trying to poison me?”

I wasn’t expecting that question. “Ms. Morningstar, I swear, if I was going to poison you, I wouldn’t ruin a perfectly fine muffin to do it.” (74)

Thirdly the conflict seems too artificial. It felt like I was reading a Cinderella story and everyone lived happily ever after. This is a realistic fiction but it never feels realistic! Also the book title has nothing to do with her becoming famous. The story was mainly about what Foster does in her daily life. If I were you, I wouldn’t waste my time reading this book. It is un-realistic and very confusing.

-Alyssa C., 7th grade