I WANT CANDY

Author: Kim Wong Keltner ISBN: 9780060847982 2/2008 FICTION Publisher: AVON

Fourteen-year-old Candace Ong is wasting away in wonderland—Eggroll Wonderland, the restaurant where her under-Americanized family toils in San Francisco. She loves rock candy and rock music, jelly beans and jelly shoes—and hangs with her best friend Ruby, whose wild life she envies. Candace wants more than another stifling summer stuck in the kitchen. So when a new opportunity arises, she leaps at the chance—even though it means leaving home to experience a tantalizing, dangerous life far beyond the dim sum ho hum. But the waiting world may be a lot more than one brainiac Chinese Lolita can safely handle.

RRAH's THOUGHTS AND PONDERINGS:

I WANT CANDY by Kim Wong Keltner is a coming-of-age story that is, at times, hysterically funny, while at other times so realistic and poignant it could pull tears from a stone. While it is a bit more crass in spots than I would have liked, I can see how the author knew the coarse and sometimes shocking descriptions were necessary. In short, they all work-well. This is a finely crafted story that sucked me in from the first pages.

Candace is a fourteen-year-old girl living in a home where modern America beckons while ancient Chinese traditions hold sway. The reader is introduced to Candace at the moment she gets her first menstrual period. Her mother hurries up from the Chinese restaurant to assist her in the art of period protection, while announcing to Candace's father and all the patrons below that Candace's body is now ready for sex. Candace's body may be ready, but Candace definitely is not-the poor girl is stuck in a quagmire of adolescent angst and there doesn't seem to be any help in sight. Her best friend Ruby doesn't remain in the story for long. Candace's most constant companions are her monthly cycle and a jade pendant she wears around her neck.

We get a birds-eye view of life and growing up in the Chinese community. Understanding all Candace goes through is optional. Falling in love with her is not. Candace Ong is one of the most heartwarming characters I've read about. I loved her and I think any reader, especially one who recalls the wobbly years of adolescence, will love her too.

Kay James