Dear Julia by Amy Bronwen Zemser. This story was so much fun, I loved it. It reads like Emma-Jean Lazarus Fell Out of a Tree meets Another Kind of Cowboy . I laughed out loud many times.

Elaine Hamilton has always dreamed of becoming a chef. Julia Child is her hero and inspiration. At six Elaine told her mother this dream. Elaine's mother dismissed it telling Elaine to dream bigger. After that Elaine wrote her first letter to Julia Child.

dear Julia
"When I grow up I want to be a cook like you. Yesterday I made a sauce hollondaze from your
rec ressup cookbook but I couldn't find a wisp of steam like you said and I think the yolks got to hot. The sauce sepuraded and I was going to throw it out but dad said Elaine this is delishus.
He poured it on his brocki."

Elaine is a practical and shy (too shy to send Julia her letters) high school junior with an extensive vocabulary using sentences like "It's my preferred mode of transportation" Elaine feels most at home in the kitchen. She loves cooking for her parents and five brothers. Elaine life is ordinary until she meets Isadora Wilhelminetta Fischburger. Isadora changed her name to Lucida Sans, a computer font. Lucida Sans dreams of becoming famous for anything. She is always on the lookout for a talent. Lucida is a very smart girl but her weakness is Croton Harmon, a snake of a boy who uses Lucida's ability to improve the talent of others. Elaine's weakness is an omelet. She has mastered French cuisine but has failed to make a proper omelet.
Lucida gets Elaine to open up, take chances and say her dream out loud again. There is so much good about Dear Julia I don't even know what to write. So I will just find 2 more passages I loved and share

"Lucida took off the sock on her left foot. She was wearing a toe ring that had a tiny clock on it. It's almost seven thirty, she said tilting her head and looking at Elaine. Lets go wait for moms in the living room."

"I'm tired of duck,Elaynee, said Robyn, Me too, said Leslie. Lucida nodded. Life is hard in the entertainment world. We'll all have to get used to the sacrifices."

Bronwen Zemser writing is off beat, serious, quirky, funny and sprinkled with love all over. Future chefs, will love Dear Julia , its filled with cooking references, terminology and recipes. Or maybe you know a pre teen or teen who's parents just can't cook. Gift them with Dear Julia maybe they will be inspired to cook and save their palate. If you're familiar with the two titles I compared Dear Julia with you know that's a lot to live up to. Dear Julia does that and more, I loved it.

Dear Julia will be released in October 2008