Candy by Kevin Brooks

From the Publisher

When Joe meets Candy, it seems like a regular boy-meets-girl scenario. They chat over coffee, she gives him her number, and he writes her a song. But then Joe is drawn into Candy's world --- a world of drugs, violence, and desperation. As the dark truth about Candy's life emerges, Joe finds himself facing real danger at every twist and turn. Soon Joe's conflicting emotions begin to mirror Candy's, and he understands that falling in love just might be worth the struggle. This intoxicating tale of heartache, danger, and hope will enthrall teen readers.

Sharon Salluzzo - Children's Literature

On his way to his doctor's appointment in London, Joe meets Candy and is mesmerized from the first moment he sees her. Little does he know at that point that she will so consume his thoughts that he will risk his life, and his sister Gina's life as well. As he attempts to rescue Candy from a life of heroin addiction and prostitution, her pimp Iggy arrives. Candy hits Iggy over the head and runs away with Joe to a cottage owned by his father. Through his connections, Iggy not only discovers where they are, but he has also kidnaps Gina. Brooks has created a tightly written cautionary tale; he sets up an interesting parallel between Joe's obsession with Candy and her addiction to drugs. The author addresses the race issue by contrasting Iggy with Gina's fiance, Mike, who is also black. The book is impossible to put down, and Brooks creates the perfect ending to a story that is tough, gritty and suspenseful. 2005, The Chicken House/Scholastic, Ages 14 up.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Joe is boring. He lives in a comfortable London suburb. He does alright in school, but shows no real promise. He plays in a band, but is less than passionate about music. Then he meets Candy. She is 16, beautiful, addicted to heroin, and a prostitute. She's also the only girl ever to look at him twice. He convinces himself that he loves her, and tries to get her off smack and the streets. Her enormous, terrifying pimp is very unhappy with Joe, and tries to murder him and everyone he loves. Brooks's plotting is masterful, and the action twists and builds to a frenzied and violent climax. Unfortunately, much of the book leading to this climax is filled with Joe's simpering, prosaic inner monologues. The author embellishes the teen's narration with stanzas of fragment or one-word sentences, which are more pretentious than dramatic or pointed. For all the fuss made over her, Candy's character is underdeveloped. If readers assume the book isn't about her, but how she changes Joe, her lack of nuance makes some sense. The shame is that he is the same humorless robot before and after risking his life for her. The minor characters-Joe's sassy sister and her tough, good-guy boyfriend-are so smartly and lightly drawn that they elicit more emotion than Joe and Candy.-Johanna Lewis, New York Public Library Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A gripping, fast-moving love story set in a dangerous underworld. Joe meets Candy on the streets of London and is instantly, painfully smitten. He buys her a doughnut at McDonald's and becomes embroiled in a confrontation with a mammoth, terrifying man-Iggy, Candy's all-controlling pimp. Candy's hooked on heroin, but Joe and Candy begin a delicate and electric relationship anyway. Joe's confused entrancement by Candy shimmers under Brooks's deft hand. He's addicted to her almost like she is to heroin. When Iggy catches up with them, they may be murdered-or the victim could be Joe's sister, who's been taken hostage by Iggy. Candy goes cold-turkey off drugs in Joe's country cottage; the violent denouement offers real suspense. Only a disturbing association between scariness and black skin mars Brooks's narrative, not simply because Iggy is black but because it's mentioned over and over again. Otherwise, this is a psychological page-turner adeptly capturing love's hypnotic feel. (Fiction. YA)

Product Details

• ISBN: 0439683289
  
• ISBN-13: 9780439683289
• Format: Paperback, 364pp
• Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
• Pub. Date: February 2006
• Edition Description: Reissue
• Sales Rank: 24,354
• Age Range: Young Adult