Brooks, Kevin. Candy.BROOKS, Kevin. Candy. Scholastic, The Chicken House. 368p. c2005. 0-439-68327-0. $16.95. S Joe is on the way to a doctor's appointment in London when he meets beautiful young Candy--and soon discovers that she's a drug-addicted prostitute prostitute n. a person who receives payment for sexual intercourse or other sexual acts, generally as a regular occupation. Although usually a prostitute refers to a woman offering sexual favors to men, male prostitutes may perform homosexual acts for money or with a violent pimp named Iggy. Up until now Joe hasn't cared about much besides his music (he's a bass player in an up-and-coming band) but he falls hard for Candy--though the relationship remains platonic--and before long he finds himself involved in her dark and dangerous world. When Iggy beats Candy up and then threatens Joe with a knife when he goes to see her, Candy bashes Iggy with a lamp and the two teenagers go on the run. Joe ends up taking Candy to his parents' country cottage to help her go cold turkey, but Iggy kidnaps Joe's sister. What will Joe and Candy sacrifice for each other? Brooks, author of Martyn Pig Martyn Pig is a thriller by Kevin Brooks, published on April 1, 2002 by The Chicken House and aimed at teens and young adults. Martyn Pig won the Branford Boase Award in 2003 and was shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal in 2002. , Lucas, and Kissing the Rain, provides yet another grittily realistic and suspenseful sus·pense n. 1. The condition of being physically suspended. 2. a. The state or quality of being undecided, uncertain, or doubtful. b. study of teenagers in crisis. The plot sounds melodramatic mel·o·dra·mat·ic adj. 1. Having the excitement and emotional appeal of melodrama: "a melodramatic account of two perilous days spent among the planters" Frank O. Gatell. , but Brooks makes it feel very real, and the ending is soberingly realistic, too. Some might find Iggy, a huge and menacing black man, something of a racist stereotype stereotype (stĕr`ĕətīp'), plate from which printing is done, made by casting metal in a mold, usually of paper pulp. The process was patented in 1725 by the Scottish inventor William Ged. ; this is balanced somewhat by the noble character of Joe's sister's heroic he·ro·ic adj. Relating to a risky medical procedure that may endanger the patient but also has a possibility of being successful, whereas lesser action would result in failure. black boyfriend. Certainly, all readers can relate to Joe's attraction to Candy and his anguish over her plight. As always, Brooks puts his characters in difficult situations, and readers will identify with their struggles. Paula Rohrlick, KLIATT S--Recommended for senior high school students. |
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