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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...more
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...more
Paperback, 310 pages
Published
September 4th 2006
by Graphia
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Jan 03, 2011
Jillian -always aspiring-
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Fans of Laurie Halse Anderson and Francesca Lia Block
The Candy Darlings. The title alone makes it sound as if it would be a sweet slice-of-life tale about the friendship between two girls, doesn't it? The cover suggests something different, though, with that red lollipop bleeding dye among the snow. Just like the story itself, the book on the outside makes you wonder: what is the truth?
On a shallow level, this book could be seen as a quirky story about various people, their lives, their stories, and their connections -- but the plot reveals many s...more
On a shallow level, this book could be seen as a quirky story about various people, their lives, their stories, and their connections -- but the plot reveals many s...more
Jul 09, 2010
Heather
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Shelves:
dis-gus-ting,
drug-involved,
ghosty,
hate-main-character,
own,
okish,
read-in-2010,
wierd,
july-read
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I just gave this book away to a boot shop last time I cleaned off my bookshelves. Why, you may ask? Because I knew that I would never read it again and would never recommend it to anyone. It is a strange, pseudo-fairytale retelling of a variety of stories made to involve candy.
It chronicles the lives of two friends; the more mature and "new kid" friend and a more naive partner. The "new kid" goes on to tell all of these disturbing and often paranoid stories about candies and sweets that is enoug...more
It chronicles the lives of two friends; the more mature and "new kid" friend and a more naive partner. The "new kid" goes on to tell all of these disturbing and often paranoid stories about candies and sweets that is enoug...more
I ended up liking this a little bit more at the end. I think the ideas were good elementarily, but the ways they were presented were not beneficial to the quality of the book. Some parts were really weird and twisted, and I didn't feel like I really got closure on a lot of the conflicts at the end. I guess this could be drawing parallels to the nature of stories, their ability to sustain and endure, but we never find out who Rose is or what happened to Blake.
I liked that the name of the protagon...more
I liked that the name of the protagon...more
Dec 07, 2007
Stephanie
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who like good YA
Shelves:
from-library
This book was very readable and very disturbing. Children can be so horrible to each other, and I had nightmares after finishing this book. It was so good, though, that I read it all in one evening, devouring it like the candy it celebrates. Recommended.
I really really liked this book. This book is about the srtruggle of teenage life at home and in school in a new town with one girl(the main character,unknown name) trying to keep her dad from going mad and the desire to become a popular "normal" girl for the start of her new life. The other girl(Megan) with having to go home to an empty house waiting for her mother to come back from her bussiness trips.Both dealing with a lost loved one and an obsession with candy.The find each other at school...more
I first discovered The Candy Darlings over six years ago when I was seventeen or sixteen in a clearance bin a Borders.
I always would look through the clearance out of curiosity, and the title and cover of this book intrigued me.
Now, it has been my experience with fiction that the title of a book is often not describing the plot at all.
'The Last Unicorn', for instance, is in fact truly about the last unicorn on Earth.
But 'The Mermaid Chair' is not about mermaids. At all.
So, I was pleasantly surp...more
I always would look through the clearance out of curiosity, and the title and cover of this book intrigued me.
Now, it has been my experience with fiction that the title of a book is often not describing the plot at all.
'The Last Unicorn', for instance, is in fact truly about the last unicorn on Earth.
But 'The Mermaid Chair' is not about mermaids. At all.
So, I was pleasantly surp...more
1 like · like · see review
view 1 comment
After her mother dies, a girl and her father move out of their house filled with memories to a smaller house and a new neighborhood. Our narrator (whos name we never learn) is desperate to reinvent herself, to be popular, and it works for a time, until Megan Chalmers moves in. Megan is weird and unabashed - and though our heroine tries to keep away from her, they form an instant bond of outcast friendship. Megan is also addicted to candy, a stark contrast to our heroine, who vowed never again to...more
2 likes · like · see review
Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com
What the new girl wanted was to start over, find a completely new identity. Now that she and her dad had moved, she was able to do just that. She had it all mapped out--start the new school year at a new school, make some new friends and become part of the "in" crowd. Then all chances of being popular were ruined when Megan Chalmers entered the scene, with her weird self, eating candy all the time.
But now the girls befriend ea...more
What the new girl wanted was to start over, find a completely new identity. Now that she and her dad had moved, she was able to do just that. She had it all mapped out--start the new school year at a new school, make some new friends and become part of the "in" crowd. Then all chances of being popular were ruined when Megan Chalmers entered the scene, with her weird self, eating candy all the time.
But now the girls befriend ea...more
This book, was purely amazing.
I got the honor of being proclaimed as Christine Walde's number one fan and she got to visit my Writing Workshop. It was a delight to meet her, and her words create instant pictures in your mind even when not on paper.
The book is my favorite. It's dark and twisted and the candy is described in such a way it makes me crave the candy. Her writing really creates pictures in my mind. The Candy Darlings-a great read!
I got the honor of being proclaimed as Christine Walde's number one fan and she got to visit my Writing Workshop. It was a delight to meet her, and her words create instant pictures in your mind even when not on paper.
The book is my favorite. It's dark and twisted and the candy is described in such a way it makes me crave the candy. Her writing really creates pictures in my mind. The Candy Darlings-a great read!
I bought this book because it was absolutely everywhere at Chapters, against the warnings of my close friends. I should've listened - I strongly disliked this book. The story was unoriginal and unbelievable, the prose awkward and trashy, the characters either Mary-Sues or far too flawed.
This book is my favorite book of all time because it brings me back to my best year in middle school that I will never forget and always treasure.
Are those stories about Megan??? And I can't find the girl name, I think it's creepy like no one ever called her by name in the book.
This was a great and sordid combination of Heathers and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, with some spooky twists thrown in.
This is one of my favorite books I've every read it's so twisted and chilling
This book was amazing. Very thought-provoking. Amazingly realistic.
That she slowly accepts what happens to her mother.
dark and sinister and oddly compelling
I read about this author in the newspaper and was happy to support local talent. The book was very well-written, but extremely dark for a Young Adult book (unless it's just me getting older!). I'm also a candy fiend, so I identified in that way with the main girls, and loved their interaction with a mentor figure. Overall, though I just felt a little unsatisfied with the characters and the conclusion. I will definitely watch for Walde in the future!
The writing itself was good, and the plot was good, but it was a bit inconsistent, if you will? There was something about it...the writing style didn't exactly fit the plot or the narrator...And the ending could've used more clarification...Overall, it was pretty good. Not revolutionary, but better than a lot of books for teens (in my opinion).
I thought there where some great ideas and concepts for a young person to enjoy but it didn't really go any where interesting like I thought it would at the beginning.
I did love the way the author strung words together to create beautiful images in my mind.
But a bit of a disappointment over all.
I did love the way the author strung words together to create beautiful images in my mind.
But a bit of a disappointment over all.
Jan 09, 2008
claire
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
those into the whole fairytale mentality but looking for something a little sugar-funked up
Recommended to claire by:
local library reccommended reading shelf
juvenille at times, but a good read. kind of a francescia lia block fairytale feel with a middle school new girl meets new girl meets the boy who sits behind her in sugary metaphor.
May 08, 2008
Sam
added it
a girl jus lost her mother and wont eat candy but ironicly she befriends a person who eats nothing but that and fins the strenght to stand up for herself.
this. was. really. bad. it was kind of stupid, and just really crazy and kooky and BAD.
Apr 29, 2013
Melanie
marked it as to-read
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Christine Walde has been published in several national and international journals, including The New Quarterly, Descant, The Antigonish Review, and Plath Profiles. She was most recently shortlisted for The 2009 Descant Winston Collins Award. Her first novel, The Candy Darlings, was published by Houghton Mifflin in the US (2006) and by Penguin Canada (2007). She is currently the Writer-in-Residence...more
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