I Want It Now! By Julie Dawn Cole

Book:  I Want It Now! 

Author:  Julie Dawn Cole 

Grade:  B

Recommended to:  WONKA fans!! 

This is the true life account of the actress that played Veruca Salt in the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.   I lived and breathed that movie as a kid.  I knew it by heart and my sister and I would rent it over and over again from Blockbuster in VHS.

Remember Veruca?  The total brat who wanted a bean feast?  (I want a bean feast!  Give it to me now!)  What the hell is a bean feast?  Sounds terribly gaseous.   She was one of my favorites, so much so that we have a 20-year-old cat named Veruca after Ms. Salt's very character.  Veruca, the cat, would eat by balancing on her hind legs, place her two front paws on the heads of the kittens next to her and lower herself down to the food.   She's an awesome cat and a perfect namesake for the Wonka character.

This book has all sorts of insight and details into the making of the movie.  Plus, the actress actually got to meet Roald Dahl, which makes me completely jealous.   It was so fun to read about the chocolate river, the Wonka boat, the golden goose room, and the lickable wall paper.  This book made me want to watch the movie, maybe in Blu-Ray, immediately.  Perhaps with a delicious chocolate sundae or some everlasting gobstobbers.

This book evened out a bit when Julie Cole described the rest of her life in television and in various other stage shows because I haven't seen the British show she starred in.  But, otherwise, this book was a fascinating account of how the sets, dialogue, and characters came to live to make this deliciously epic movie.

I recommend this to anyone who loved the original Wonka and who wants some insight into how the movie magic was made.

Happy Reading!!