Candy [Hardcover]

Kevin Brooks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2005

Kevin Brooks, one of today's most critically acclaimed YA voices, delivers another thrilling story about a boy, a girl, and a love worth fighting for.

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Kevin Brooks (Kissing the Rain, Martyn Pig, Lucas) excels at portraying the gritty details of English underclass life, and here, in a story of a boy desperately in love, he has written an irresistibly suspenseful and compelling YA novel.

When Joe Beck, a fifteen-year-old suburban kid, gets lost in a disreputable neighborhood on his way to an appointment in London, he is struck dumb by his first sight of beautiful and seemingly innocent Candy. She talks with him, teases him, but reveals nothing about herself except her phone number. Later they have a perfect day at the London Zoo, and soon Joe is as addicted to Candy as she is to heroin, in spite of the threats of her menacing pimp Iggy. Almost nothing matters except his desire to free her from her terrible life -- not his band’s chance for a recording contract, not the song he has written for her that has become a hit without him. But there is something that still matters to him, and when he rescues the young prostitute from her sordid rooming house and takes her into hiding to sweat out her addiction, Iggy finds and uses that one thing that is stronger than Joe’s passion for Candy, in a heart-thumping, breathless conclusion. (Age 14 and up) -- Patty Campbell

From School Library Journal

Grade 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

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: The Chicken House (March 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0439683270
• ISBN-13: 978-0439683272
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,528,654 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Candy, October 21, 2005

By 

Abigail - See all my reviews

This review is from: Candy (Hardcover)

Candy by Kevin Brooks is an entertaining book to read, it keeps you wondering what Joe Beck's, the main character, next move will be. Joe lives in a nice neighborhood near London with his dad and sister and although he has a few problems with his father and mother, this doesn't seem to bother him much. Basically, Joe is like any other regular adolescent. He plays guitar in a band called the Katies and is very talented with music.
When he meets this beautiful girl, Candy, everything else doesn't seem to matter but her. It's a scary thought, Joe lets everything around him not matter as much as Candy. After meeting Candy, he really changes. Candy is a young girl with various problems involving drugs and prostitution hence, causing problems for Joe. Of course Joe doesn't see these problems himself, all he cares about is protecting Candy, but the problems keep on piling up.
The author doesn't  make the reading as difficult so its pretty easy to read for those who are younger.  Kevin Brooks keeps you anticipating in certain scenes where there might be confrontation. This book kept me reading longer in order to find out what's going to happen. In one of the many scenes that kept me reading was when Joe is confronted by Candy's pimp, Iggy. Iggy is a violent man who doesn't care about hurting anyone. Joe risks his life when he enters this area in hope of
seeing Candy again, but later Joe finds himself right in front of  Iggy. Joe is defenseless against Iggy but fortunately for Joe, Candy helps him escape. Both Candy and Joe care for each other and although Candy is a prostitute, she acts totally different with him. No one seems to realize this and tell Joe he needs to leave her alone, but Joe is convinced he can help her in some way and continues to get in deeper trouble. I like the way the author ends the story, it sure isn't a happy ever after
ending, but with all the intense situations Joe gets involved with, it's a satisfactory conclusion.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining thriller/romance/coming of age tale, April 18, 2005

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Candy (Hardcover)

Who doesn't crave a piece of sugary goodness every now and then? A morsel of the sweetness can lift our spirits and put a smile on our faces. Joe Beck is obsessed with Candy. But Joe's Candy is not a confection. Candy is a girl. And she is not your average teen. Candy holds secrets and lives a dark world. Little does Joe know, but once he becomes entrapped in Candy's world, his life will never be the same.

In the opening pages of CANDY, Joe muses: "It's hard to imagine life before Candy. Sometimes I sit here for hours, staring into the past, trying to remember what it was like, but I never seem to get very far. I just can't see myself without her. About the best I can manage is the last half hour before we met, the last few moments of my pre-Candy existence, when I was still just a boy. I was innocent then."

Joe is pretty much what one would call an "average Joe." He's a high school student from the suburbs of London. He's not exceptional at school, but he gets by. Plus, he has his music. Joe plays guitar in a band, The Katies, with some boys from school. They play in clubs, sometimes even in London clubs. Joe's parents are divorced and he lives with his father and older sister, Gina. Joe is still trying to figure out who he is and where he will go in the world. Maybe that's why he is so easily drawn in to Candy.

Joe first meets Candy when he goes to London for a doctor's appointment. She's standing outside of a drugstore and she notices him. "Nice hat," she says. Joe is wearing a new wool hat with a star on it. He stands motionless, shocked that this beautiful girl he had been staring at has spoken to him. She disappears as he tries to muster up the nerve to say something in return. Then fate strikes again. Joe runs into the same girl in McDonald's, and she helps him out of an embarrassing situation. As a thank you, Joe buys her a chocolate donut. The girl tells him her name is Candy.

Joe and Candy are enjoying their time in McDonald's until a dark shadow is cast over the table. It's a huge guy who sits down between them. He has "the emptiest eyes I've ever seen --- empty of feeling, empty of hearing, empty of everything but himself. His face was a death mask." His name is Iggy, and Candy is obviously very, very afraid. Iggy knows Candy, and he has control over her. She won't look at Joe with Iggy there, and Iggy does not want Joe around. "I see you again," he says, "you'll be smiling to the bone."

The first encounter with Candy has been both thrilling and frightening for Joe, but when he finds Candy's phone number slipped into his pocket, he knows that he has to see her again.

Kevin Brooks is the critically acclaimed author of MARTYN PIG, KISSING THE RAIN, and LUCAS. His fourth novel, CANDY, is as captivating and entertaining as his previous books. CANDY is a thriller, a romance, and a coming-of-age tale all mixed into one book. Brooks's words are cleverly crafted and make for a haunting story about what happens when an average Joe falls for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. Amidst the danger and the fear, Joe has to put everything that is important in his own life on the line in order to save Candy from herself.

--- Reviewed by Kristi Olson ([e-mail])

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Candy" Kept Me Hooked, February 1, 2007

By 

Kalie A. Gipson (Louisville, KY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Candy (Paperback)

"Candy", a novel by Kevin Brooks, is quite simply one of the best YA novels I've read in the past few years. The book's subject matter is not exactly joyful; prostitution and drug use and abuse are parts of the plot, but looking past that, the story really is captivating.

It starts with the story's protagonist, Joe, getting lost in an underclass neighborhood. He hears a girl shout out at him. He's amazed by her looks, and finds himself fascinated by her. His fascination turns into an attraction, and then his attraction turns into an obsession for this girl named Candy. But, he soon realizes that his love for her can become dangerous. Her world is the complete opposite of his. Turns out, Candy is a prostitute, working for a pimp named Iggy. She works for him to support her Heroin addiction. But Joe still wants to be involved with Candy.

But as Joe gets deeper into Candy's world, the road turns dark. His world is turned upside down, and he's forced to make the decision of his life.

The characters were pretty well developed in the story. I found myself liking both Joe and Candy rather quickly, and I believe that Kevin Brooks did a great job at bringing Joe and Candy to life, as well as Mike and Gina, who are Joe's sister and boyfriend. The books portrays drug addiction rather realistically, for there are scenes were Candy goes through withdrawals from not using heroin and Brooks doesn't hold back describing what it's like. So I recommend this book to anyone looking to read a good story. The most important thing of all is that it keeps you reading. Pick this book up today.