Customer Reviews

32 Candles: A Novel

5 star:		(120)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I truly enjoyed this book. I have next to nothing in common with the main character - except that I love Sixteen Candles - but I didn't feel left out, or that I didn't know what she meant or why she did the things she did. The author has a knack of making even the "crazies" very sympathetic. The characters are flawed, but not in an unappealing way.

The writing was nice and tight. I didn't run across any errors or choices that made me cringe, which is always nice. This was a quick read for me. I started and finished in one evening, but I also didn't want to put it down until it was done, which is a great sign.

The book is divided mostly into "Then" and "Now" sections, with some others along the way, and the first "Then" section was maybe a little slow to get going. We needed the background to understand what happened later, but it was the slowest-moving part of the book for me. Otherwise, the pacing was good and I didn't mind the jumping around in time. Sometimes in novels it's jarring, but this made sense and was well done.

I'd recommend this to fans of slightly more serious chick lit. It's funny in many ways, but can also be saddder than more humorous offerings like those from Helen Fielding and Sophie Kinsella.

Fans of the movie Sixteen Candles would also enjoy this book. ;) In fact, I think it would help to be up on your John Hughes canon, or you'll be missing something.

You know those movies that make you want to stand up in the theater and cheer? Well, I had that feeling while reading this book. Davey is the very best of protagonists: we can all sympathize with her early life (ugly duckling, high school social difficulties); we can also, vicariously, thoroughly enjoy watching as things get better, and downright triumphant, when she grows up (her transformation into a successful, soulful chanteuse). This isn't all sweetness and light: Carter does a great job of making the story amazingly believable, yet taking us to places we can only imagine experiencing in our own lives. When Davey sings for the first time, I got chills. The love story is compelling. The characters are vivid.

32 Candles does a very good job of straddling the divide between chick lit (it's not about shoes! I hate books like that) and literary fiction (I grinned and giggled while reading this). I suppose I'd call it upmarket women's fiction. Women who like reading about pink drinks? They'd like it. Women who think shoes are dumb? They'd like it too.

This is smart, sassy, and so uplifting. A perfect book for summer.

32 Candles by Ernessa T.Carter

There is only one bad thing I just have to say about this book, and it is - do NOT do like I did and start reading it at 10 pm. I could NOT put it down; so inevitably I was up until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, reading this fabulous book.

This book is a mixture of "chick lit" and serious prose. With a lot of chuckle worthy parts and many more parts that will have you running for the tissue box. The combination of tight writing and plotting, perfect timing with the comedic and dramatic bits, having both sympathetic and non sympathetic characters and lessons in pop culture in the 80's and 90's makes this a book that I can absolutely see becoming a movie. This was written with an excellent use of first person writing and I never regret not hearing the voices of the characters.

I can easily see that this "ugly duckling" coming into her own, story is going to strum the heartstrings of many people out there. This is book written for all ages to enjoy; you will love it and be able to both sympathize and cheer for Davie no matter what your age is. I'm well into my 50's and could totally relate to this character.

This is really one of the best books I have read from this particular genre in ages and I can't wait to read more from Ernessa T Carter. I can easily see Ms Carter's writing eventually surpassing authors such as Terry McMillan.
Brava Ms Carter and thank you for the sleepless night and hours of pure enjoyment.

African American Davidia Jones grows up on Glass, Mississippi with a mother who does nothing for her. By the time she is six she knows the smell of an alcoholic and the noise of sex. The only thing good about being especially dark skinned is that the bruises don't readily show. As a young teen, already a victim of neglect and abuse, Davie assumes she is ugly; enhanced by the cruel comments at school where she is called Monkey Night. Her unrequited attraction to the top jock James Farrell augments her feelings of the ugliest non in Mississippi.

In 1984, fifteen years old Davie sees Sixteen Candles in the only theater in town. She cries about the ending in which a loser wins and decides to leave Glass. Davie gets a ride out of town with a long haul truck driver. In Los Angeles, Davie obtains work as a 1940s chanteuse as she reinvents herself. All is great until James arrives at the club where she performs. He fails to recognize the thirtyish Davie, which hurts her, but he clearly wants her. Davie seeks revenge for her mistreatment in Glass so she hides who she was and plans to break his heart. She failed to calculate either falling in love again or Mississippi mud returning to destroy her chance for that Molly Ringwald ending.

This is an entertaining at times intense look at an abused bullied child as a thirty something adult. Davie is terrific holding the tale together with her prime desires fighting one another since James reentered her life; though in some ways for the first time as their high school spheres were as far apart as the sun (him) and relegated Pluto (her). Although the story line has no major twists, readers will enjoy 32 Candles rooting for Davie.

Harriet Klausner

This was a great read, from a new writer w/ a unique voice. The main character 'Monkey Night' as her tormentors in high school so lovingly called her, was one that you feel compassion for. Her ups and downs are chronicled via flashbacks and current times, and all the while you find yourself so engaged it was hard to let her go when the book came to an end. The whole 'Sixteen Candles' homage should be corny, but for anyone who ever dreamed of their 'Jake Ryan'; it really hit home. Can't wait for her next novel!

I never read fiction, but after finding this book on a "give a book, take a book," bookshelf a work, I was very intrigued by how the chapters were named. I thought the cover was so unique and clever. I just sat down and started reading. Wow, I was blown away! I didn't even read the back of the book until I was about half way through the story. I normally read non-fiction books by authors like Torey Hayden, who deal with selective mutism, or Cathy Glass who recounts the experiences she has had with the children who have been put in her care. Ernessa T. Carter is an amazing writer! As I was reading, I completely forgot that this was a fiction book and felt a roller coaster of emotions. The whole Molly Ringwald side story was absolutely brilliant! Their are so many twist and turns to this book it will keep you guessing until the very end. I cannot wait until this book comes out on paperback so I can by several copies to hand out to friends. This book needs to be turned into a movie!

Ernessa T. Carter's debut, 32 Candles, is a coming-of-age story that begins in Glass, MS and takes readers on a journey leading to Los Angeles, CA. Readers begin this journey with Davidia Jones, the intelligent ugly duckling whose mother, Cora, is mean and abusive - the person who is also the reason Davidia does not use her voice.

While reading this story, I was particularly enthralled with Davidia's strength in the face of adversity while in high school, staying focused on her grades and not caring about material things. The plot thickens as Davidia attempts to escape her past, her mom, and the cruel Farell sisters. She moves to L.A. and begins to use her voice. Things are not so cut and dry though. Davidia ends up a minor in the hands of an L.A. club owner, Nicky, and doesn't let go of her obsession with James Farrell. Themes that stood out for me while reading this selection were childhood safety, incest, abuse, parental influence, fame/fortune, greed, and the potential psychological effects of the same. The author also touches on atonement, righting wrongs.

Ms. Carter does a fantastic job with character development and the pace of the story was on point. I really liked the "In Between Then and Now" chapter. I didn't know Davie had it in her! I was happy with how things turned out, but sad the story ended. I will definitely read future offerings from Ms. Carter.

Review by Tavares S. Carney

My book club read this as our July BOTM. Everyone absolutely loved the story. We were all surprised to learn that this was the author's first novel. I love the layout of the story and how she went about saving certain information until it was pertinent to what was going on in Davie's life. This book made me cry, sympathize, and laugh with Davie's character. At some points throughout the story I was beginning to think that she was really psycho..but then I came to realize that she was just a human being and acting out on her emotions. Still that didn't make some of the things she did right, however I didn't feel like she should have been persecuted for them. But it was strange that she could and did hold a grudge for so long. She wanted love like most of us do, and when she felt betrayed and humiliated, she did what most of us do...retaliate. However, the true nature of her heart came out when she wanted to fix any and everything she had done to hurt people. I was very pleased with the ending of the story. It's still kind of hard to ever fathom this truly happening in real life. I guess that's the irony of this novel, people should be able to forgive and forget. All in all, this was a great book and I can't wait for more from this author.

Wow! I loved this book from when I first saw the cover----Davie Jones is me!--a sista rocking a 'fro with no apologies! This book has so many twists and has such a great story line. Even though she touched on child abuse, incest, infidelity, and bullying, the book's fairytale ending was a nice break from so many other "heavy topics" now found in contemporary African-American fiction. Get ready to be a fierce Davie Jones' fan! Fabulous read!

Such an attention grabber, I read this book in one day. Totally relatable.
The Then & Now section dividers were brilliant The In Between Now & Then (The Amendment) bowled me over.
The end of the book had such a movie like ending, it made me wonder what could have the late John Hughes do with such a nice book like this.