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Dear Julia (2008)

by Amy Bronwen Zemser(Favorite Author)

3.55 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0060294582 (ISBN13: 9780060294588)

languge

English

genre

Food & Cookbooks

publisher

Greenwillow Books

review 1: Elaine Hamilton is quite shy and has barely any friends, but she is extremely talented when it comes to cooking. She has always loved making Julia Child's recipes in particular. Her mother is not very supportive of her lifelong dream of becoming a chef, and would much rather have her follow in her footsteps involving government. But Elaine is not at all interested. Whenever Elaine has a question about something she writes a letter to Julia Child asking about it, though she never exactly mails the letters. Instead she locks them away in a big chest among all the others she has wrote over time, all tucked away. Then life suddenly changes the moment she meets Lucia Sans. Lucia is obsessed with trying to get famous in some way, although she has no idea what she will do to bec... moreome famous. There is a competition for a movie coming up, and Lucia has an idea for an entry. I thought this book was ok. It was all around pretty good at most times and I might reccomend it to my friends. I would give this book 3 out of 5 stars.
review 2: Charming YA novel about a teen whose life ambition is to cook, and who has been secretly writing letters to her idol, Julia Child since she was 6 years old. But she’s never gotten an answer. That’s to be expected, since Elaine Hamilton is far too shy to actually mail the letters. Her mother, an elected official, is horrified at the thought her daughter would aspire to “domesticity” vs a profession. But Elaine follows her dream. At age six Elaine begins to rise early to prepare breakfast and pack lunches for herself and her younger siblings. By the time she’s in third grade she is preparing dinner from Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Now she is an awkward high school student with no friends, and a tendency to use extremely formal language when she feels stressed. But at a community fair she comes across a girl who is completely opposite – Isadora Fischburger (now known as Lucida Sans) is convinced she will be known for her talent (if she can just find which talent). She’s exuberant and fearless, a real individualist. Their friendship will temper each of their personalities. I enjoyed this gentle coming-of-age story. I did think the adults, in particular Elaine’s mother, were not really sufficiently fleshed out. The relationships between the teens and adults, as a result, didn’t ring true, and the conclusion was just a little too neatly tied up in a ribbon. Still, it’s nice to read a YA book that does not rely on witches, werewolves, ghosts, goblins, etc. less

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