The Candy Darlings

The candy became an obsession between two outcasts — one who only wanted to fit in, the other who knew she never would. Urban legends, rumors, lies, myths, mysteries, fairy tales. Stories, in all their magical forms, bound them together. "Satin Chocolate-Covered Chicken Bones," "Astro Pop," "Fun Dip," "Thrills." The candy stories — outrageous, twisted, hysterical — were an escape from a harsh reality and revealed a startling truth.

Darkly lyrical, sensual, suspenseful, and disturbing, The Candy Darlings is a celebration of friendship, story, and the power of each to help you define yourself — or simply survive.

"Canadian writer Walde's twisted debut tells the not-so-sweet story of two teenage girls in a new town, and their angst-ridden relationships at home, at school and with the world at large. The book's themes recall those of Adele Griffin's Amandine and Margaret Atwood's Cat's Eye, given the uneasy relationship between the duo and also their solidarity when faced with the cruel and beautiful popular clique. The role of the candy cited in the title seems elusive: as the novel opens, the unnamed narrator alludes to her own aversion to sugar ever since her terminally ill mother could only tolerate an I.V. full of glucose. But when the protagonist, midway through the novel, suddenly does eat candy, the author treats it as a non-event. The other key character, Megan Chalmers, constantly sucks on hard candy while spinning bizarre tales that border on the pornographic (one describes a store clerk who suggests that a girl perform fellatio on him in exchange for candy), and she disappears for days at a time. The subplots seem piled on at the expense of character development, and the ending leaves many holes (is Megan's mother a prostitute on the run, as Megan's stories suggest? why do she and her mother leave town?). Unfortunately, the framing device ('I could tell others the truth. My truth. The way things really happened... I could write my own story') likely won't convince readers that the narrator has resolved these issues for herself either. Ages 16-up. (Sept.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

The candy became an obsession between two outcasts&mdash;one who<BR>only wanted to fit in, the other who knew she never would.<BR>Urban legends, rumors, lies, myths, mysteries, fairy tales. Stories, <BR>in all their magical forms, bound them together.<BR>&quot;Satin Chocolate-Covered-Chicken Bones, &quot; &quot;Astro Pop, &quot; &quot;Fun<BR>Dip, &quot; &quot;Thrills.&quot; The candy stories&mdash;outrageous, twisted, hysterical&mdash;<BR>were an escape from a harsh reality and revealed a startling truth.<BR><BR>Darkly lyrical, sensual, suspenseful, and disturbing, The Candy<BR>Darlings is a celebration of friendship, story, and the power of each<BR>to help you define yourself&mdash;or simply survive.

When Christine Walde noticed a young girl buying bubble gum out of a machine outside a grocery store, she found the initial inspiration for Candy Darlings. She says, "I wrote this book because I was interested in the psychological war zone of adolescence and the hard lessons it teaches us about life." Christine writes full-time in Ontario, Canada. She has a wicked sweet tooth, and was happy to eat all sorts of candy while doing research for this book.